Correlation of Growth Performance with Total Nitrogen, Carbon and Nitrogen Isotope Compositions in the Xylem of Pinus koraiensis

摘要

In this study, we investigated the relationship of tree-ring growth with total nitrogen content, and stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes from the core samples of Pinus koraiensis (35-year-old). Annual ring width showed significant positive correlations with the delta~(13)C (P=0.003). The total nitrogen content (P=0.024), and the delta~(13)C content was also correlated with total nitrogen content (P=0.038), indicating that the growth of P. koraiensis was stimulated as the contents of both delta~(13)Cand total nitrogen were increased. On the other hand, the less the delta~(15)N content and the C/N ratio were, the larger the annual ring width was. Moreover the families with relatively better growth performance contained the higher levels of delta~(13)C in the xylem compared to other families. These results suggest that the delta~(13)C and total nitrogen contents are the important determinants in the growth performance of P. koraiensis.