Abstract:Seasonal dynamics of foliar nutrient concentrations and resorption efficiencies are key ecological indicators of the strategies of nutrient utilization in vegetation ecosystems at the alpine treeline. In the present study, we examined the strategies of nutrient utilization in three dominant woody plants, namely, Betula ermanii, Rhododendron aureum, and Vaccinium uliginosum, which were growing patchily at the treeline on Changbai Mountain. We compared the foliar nutrient resorption efficiencies of N, P, K, Ca, Mg, and Fe. We found that B. ermanii and V. uliginosum exhibited similar seasonal patterns of foliar nutrient utilization. In each species, we observed a decrease in foliar N, P, and K, but an increase in foliar Ca, during the growing season. The concentration of foliar Mg was the highest in the middle of growing season; by contrast, the concentration of foliar Fe was the lowest in the middle of growing season. The evergreen shrub R. aureum exhibited markedly different foliar nutrient dynamics. In this species, the concentrations of all six foliar nutrients were the lowest at the start of the growing season. The nutrient resorption efficiencies of foliar N, P, K, and Fe were higher in V. uliginosum than in B. ermanii, suggesting that the former species shows a higher degree of acclimation to the harsh environment and barren soil at the alpine treeline. We determined no significant correlations between soil nutrient contents and foliar nutrient concentrations in any of the three species, implying that the edaphic nutrient feathers at the treeline do not directly influence the distribution and growth of these three woody plants on Changbai Mountain.