Why C/N is lower in wild plants?

Question

I'd really appreciate it if you could tell me why C/N (Carbon to Nitrogen ratio) is lower in the remains of older plants and also in the wild varieties of any cultivated plant, for example in rice.

In other words, why are there more organic Nitrogen compared to organic Carbon in the dry content of wild plants than in cultivated ones?

Answer 1

The C/N ratio has no correlation with wild nature of plants. But tender parts, have more nitrogenous material than hard and sturdy parts which have wide C/N ratio. Also during the course of digestion C/N changes from wider to narrower ratio due to micro organism. C/N depends on cell wall content ie cellulose, pectin, suberine etc rather than wildness.

Answer 2

Young, tender plants have more digestible fiber than indigestible (lignin) and as the plant matures, that becomes reversed.  Digestible fiber releases protein (nitrogen) more easily than does indigestible fiber.  That's why the four chamber digestive system of ruminants (cows, sheep, goats) are better able to untilize older, mature forage than a single stomach animal like a horse.

In addition, legumes contain more nitrogen than do non-legumes, leaves of any plant contain more nitrogen than do stems and newer growth has more than older growth of any plant.  

I too doubt whether it's true that wild varieties are lower in protein-nitrogen than domesticated varieties.

Answer 3

I don't know if what you're saying is always true, or even ever true.  However, if is sometimes true, then I'm going to guess that because of selective breeding, cultivars have more protein.