Nutrient limitations in the northern pitcher plant Sarracenia purpurea

The idea that carnivorous plants capture insects to supply limiting nutrients is often conjectured but rarely tested with fertilization trials or the construction of nutrient budgets. Accordingly, Sarracenia purpurea plants were analyzed for nitrogen and phosphorus after a 4-month fertilization of the pitchers with nitrogen, phosphorus, micronutrients, combinations thereof, and insect material. Neither the number of leaves produced in the same season nor average leaf mass differed significantly between treatments. Nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations were significantly higher in those leaves that received the respective treatments. Plots of concentration versus content indicated that plants were nitrogen and phosphorus limited. A nutrient budget for nitrogen was determined by soil mineralization, insect removal from the pitchers, and rainwater analysis. This budget showed that nitrogen in captured insects is one-tenth the annual plant requirement. However, soil N mineralization is sometimes more than adequate to supply demands were it to be exploited.