ABSTRACT
The acquisition of nutrients in soils that are always more or less heterogeneous, the use of absorbed nutrients for carbon assimilation and other plant functions and the loss of nutrients determining the length of the time period that nutrients can be. This chapter consider these three aspects and attempt to integrate them to conclude how plant species cope with nutrient-poor and nutrient-rich environments. In many natural environments, nutrient supply is one of the most important factors that affect the productivity and the species composition of plant communities. The acquisition of nutrients, their transport within the plant from the roots to the other organs, and their subsequent incorporation into organic compounds require a major carbon expense of the plant. Nutrients arrive at the root surface by the mass flow of water toward the root, which is driven by transpiration.
