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Annals of Botany 74: 217-226, 1994
© 1994 Annals of Botany Company

Seasonal Changes in Nitrogen Fractions of Coptis japonica, a Temperate Forest Evergreen Chamaephyte, and their Ecological Implications

Fumio Yoshie, Hideaki Nakashima, Hirohito Arai and Shoichi Kawano

Institute of Natural Science, Senshu University, Higashi-mita, Tama-ku, Kawasaki 214; Department of Biology, College of Liberal Arts, Toyama University, Toyama 930; Graduate School of Environmental Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, 060; Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, Kyoto Univ., Kyoto 606, and Institute of Genetic Ecology, Tohoku Univ., Sendal 980, Japan

Seasonal changes in several forms of nitrogen were investigated in Coptis japonica, an evergreen rosette hemicryptophyte in temperate deciduous forest. The concentration of total nitrogen in rhizomes and roots decreased during the period of new shoot growth from winter to spring. In the rhizomes, total soluble protein stored by early summer decreased gradually until winter, coupled with an increase in free amino acids. Nitrogen was largely stored in free amino acids in the roots, especially during summer. The total soluble protein in current-year leaves decreased from spring to summer and then increased during winter. The seasonal changes in nitrogen components were coincident with the change in light-saturated photosynthetic rates recorded in a previous study. The ratio of total soluble protein to total nitrogen decreased from spring to summer and then increased from late summer to winter in the current-year leaves. In contrast, chlorophyll content and the ratio of chlorophyll to total nitrogen were higher in summer than in other seasons. The results indicate that nitrogen was used in a manner that better utilizes the very weak light in summer and the higher light intensities in other seasons. The major component of the free amino acid pool was asparagine, in every organ throughout the season, except for the senescent leaves. Since asparagine has a high N:C ratio, we suppose that the asparagine-dominated amino acid pool is advantageous in the carbon-limited environment of the forest floor.Copyright 1994, 1999 Academic Press

Free amino acid composition, total nitrogen, total soluble protein, photosynthesis, evergreen hemicryptophyte


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