Tissue carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus content of Ipomoea pes-caprae (Linnaeus) roth (Convolvulaceae)

• Main Authors: Aguilar, Christine C., Cammayo, Rebecca B., Tiu, Corina Mae G.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 1999
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_bachelors/10925
• Institution: De La Salle University

Tissue samples of Ipomoea pes-caprae (Linnaeus) collected at the shore of Talin bay, Matuod, Batangas measured higher nutrient concentrations in all plant parts during the march 1998 sampling (representing the dry month) compared to the July 1998 sampling (representing the wet month) period. This coincided with the high soil nutrient available in the substrate. Tissue C:N, C:P, and N:P varied between the two sampling months. All plant parts were observed to measure relatively lower C:N and C:P ratios during the dry month. This scenario support that the increase in tissue nitrogen and phosphorus concentration did not produce corresponding increase in biomass (in terms of carbon content), thus the observed lower carbon nutrient ratio. On the other hand, a magnitude higher C:P ratio was measured relative to C:N ratio, suggesting that phosphorus was the limiting nutrient in the medium during both sampling periods. Using N:P ratio as an index to infer relative importance of nitrogen and phosphorus, as the limiting nutrients require more data on the C:N:P ratio of terrestrial plants. The average C:N:P ratio was 724:25:1 of Ipomoea pes-caprae (Linnaeus) which is proximate to the average value for macrophyte measured at 550:30:1.