SPECIAL FEATURE: ORIGINAL PAPER Nutrient dynamics and carbon partitioning in larch seedlings (Larix kaempferi) regenerated on serpentine soil in northern Japan Masazumi Kayama Æ Kobayashi Makoto Æ Mutsumi Nomura Æ Fuyuki Satoh Æ Takayoshi Koike Received: 7 November 2008 / Revised: 18 April 2009 / Accepted: 27 April 2009 / Published online: 12 June 2009 Ó International Consortium of Landscape and Ecological Engineering and Springer 2009 Abstract Japanese larch (Larix kaempferi) grows at a relatively high rate in northern Japan, even in serpentine soil. Serpentine soil has high concentrations of heavy metals (Ni, Cr), excessive Mg, and is nutrient deficient. These factors often suppress plant growth. We examined the mechanisms of Japanese larch’s tolerance to serpentine soil. We compared growth, photosynthetic capacity, and concentrations of elements in needles and roots between larch seedlings growing in serpentine soil and in nonser- pentine (i.e., brown forest) soil. Dry mass of needles, stems, and branches were lower in seedlings grown on serpentine soil than in those grown on brown forest soil. There were lower concentrations of phosphorus and potassium in seedlings grown on serpentine soil than in those grown on brown forest soil. Seedlings growing on serpentine soil had lower Ni in plant organs. Our results suggest that larch seedlings grown on serpentine soil were able to exclude toxic elements. Moreover, the photosyn- thetic capacity and nitrogen concentration in needles was almost the same for seedlings grown in the two soil types. A wide range in growth was observed among individuals grown on both soil types. This may be regulated by nitrogen storage in the roots. Keywords Larch  Photosynthetic capacity  Nutrient physiology  Nitrogen storage  Relative growth rate Introduction Serpentine soils are found worldwide, and are character- ized by excess of elements such as Ni, Cr, and Mg, low Ca/Mg ratio, and low levels of several essential plant nutrients (Proctor 1971; Brooks 1987; Roberts and Proctor 1992). Many plant species that are intolerant to serpentine soil suffer from toxicity. Accordingly, serpentine regions have specialized flora with endemic species distribution (Brooks 1987; Roberts and Proctor 1992). If the vegetation of a serpentine region is disturbed, it recovers very slowly (Curtis and Claassen 2005). Serpentine regions are fre- quently disturbed by erosion and landslides (Lee et al. 2004; O’Dell and Claassen 2006; Kayama et al. 2007a). Thus, we need to identify appropriate plant species for reforestation of such regions to prevent disasters and con- serve the environment. Some plant species distributed in serpentine regions have adapted to tolerate the edaphic factors in serpentine soils. Sakhalin spruce (Picea glehnii Masters) is dominant on serpentine soil in northern Japan (Tatewaki 1958; Nakata and Kojima 1987; Matsuda 1989). In northern Japan, therefore, Sakhalin spruce is a commonly used plantation species because of its high tolerance to serpen- tine soil (Kayama 2006; Kayama et al. 2002, 2005, 2006). Moreover, nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations were higher in needles of Sakhalin spruce planted on serpentine soil than in needles of other species, despite the low con- centrations of these nutrients in serpentine soil (Kayama et al. 2002). Sakhalin spruce has a high capacity to obtain M. Kayama (&) Kyushu Research Center, Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, 4-11-16 Kurokami, Kumamoto 860-0862, Japan e-mail: kayama@ffpri.affrc.go.jp K. Makoto  T. Koike Faculty of Agriculture, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-8589, Japan M. Nomura  F. Satoh Hokkaido University Forests, FSC, Sapporo 060-0809, Japan 123 Landscape Ecol Eng (2009) 5:125–135 DOI 10.1007/s11355-009-0069-4