Plant-soil relationships in a New Caledonian serpentine flora

✍ Scribed by J. Lee; R. R. Brooks; R. D. Reeves; C. R. Boswell; T. Jaffré

• Book ID: 104614204
• Publisher: Springer
• Year: 1977
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 295 KB
• Volume: 46
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0032-079X
• DOI: 10.1007/bf00015930

✦ Synopsis

Elemental concentrations were studied ill two New C a l e d o n i a n hyperaccumulators of nickel and in the soils supporting these plants. The nickel c o n t e n t of Hybanthus austroealedonieus was directly related to the total nickel content of the soil, and this species m a y therefore be used for biogeochemical prospecting. Nickel was correlated well with other elements of the iron family in non-lateritic ultrabasic soils but not in laterites. B o t h H. austrocaledonicus and Homalium kanaliense contained adequate amounts of potassium despite v e r y low concentrations in the supporting soils. These low nutrient levels were further aggravated by antagonism to potassium uptake caused by other soil elements. Because of the paucity of relationships between nickel in H. kanaliense and elements in the soil, it is suggested t h a t the high nickel levels in this plant m a y be controlled by organic constituents in this species.