Nutrient covariance between forest foliage and fine roots

Plants face a trade-off in distributing C and nutrients between above- and below-ground resource acquiring tissues. We compiled data on tree foliar and fine root nutrient concentrations from across a range of forest biomes and leaf forms to reveal general patterns in the covariance of nutrients in these tissues, as well as N and lignin concentrations in leaf litter and fine roots. Linear patterns between foliar and fine root tissues for N, P, Ca, and Mg clearly indicate covariance in nutrient concentrations between above- and below-ground resource acquiring tissues. However, concentrations of N and P in foliage were higher than in roots in nearly all cases. Slopes