Mineral‐nutrient concentrations in the mountain mahogany species Cercocarpus montanus and Cercocarpus intricatus and in their associated soils

Abstract Data taken from study sites in northeastern Utah and northeastern Arizona were used to describe the mineral‐nutrient relationships of C. montanus and C. intricatus. General habitat and soil relationships are discussed as well as nutrient dynamics with respect to beneath and between plants, uptake patterns ‐soil to plant, transfer within the plant and ideas of leaf duration (evergreen vs. deciduous) in relation to nutrient conservation. The shrubs exhibited three patterns of nutrient concentration along a gradient from shrub to adjacent open area (accumulation, depletion and no change). Nutrient concentrations in the plant were significantly correlated with the “available” minerals in the soil. All ions became concentrated from soil to plant with phosphorus and nitrogen being the most highly magnified and micronutrients being pumped at much higher levels than macronutrients. All nutrients (except iron) concentrated toward stem tip and leaf. Four ions (nitrogen, magnesium, iron, manganese) increase...