LAUSR

Abstract Previous studies have mainly focused on the changes in plant growth, but few have quantified the alternations in nutrient productivities to explain the climate warming-induced shifts in species compositions and community structures of forest ecosystems. Here, we conducted a 6-year warming experiment by translocating model forest ecosystems from high-elevation sites to lower-elevation sites, to investigate the plant biomass allocation patterns and nutrient productivities of four native tree species. The results showed that warming increased the biomass of Schima superba, Syzygium rehderianum, and Itea chinensis, but decreased the biomass of Machilus breviflora. Seedlings of S. superba, S. rehderianum, and I. chinensis under warming allocated more biomass to stems at the expense of leaves and roots. In contrast, M. breviflora allocated 34% greater biomass to the roots. Warming increased the nitrogen productivity of S. rehderianum by 35%; however, it decreased the nitrogen and phosphorus productivity of I. chinensis and M. breviflora by approximately 40% and 60%, respectively. These results indicate that M. breviflora has a low fitness in long-term warming conditions due to its reduced biomass and nutrient productivities. Our findings may have important implications for better understanding the effects of warming on the species compositions of subtropical forests.