Effects of nutrient addition on leaf traits of six plant species in a Stipa baicalensis grassland in Inner Mongolia, China

doi:10.11686/cyxb2016242

Abstract

Abstract: Nutrient addition is an effective management measure for recovery of degraded grassland. Stipa baicalensis grassland is a type of meadow steppe that plays an important role in livestock husbandry in China. We conducted a field experiment to explore the mechanisms underlying variation in plant leaf traits in a mature typical steppe ecosystem in Inner Mongolia where nutrients have been added since 2010. The experiment had a randomized block design with six blocks of eight treatments: CK (control, no nutrient addition), N (N addition only, 100 kg/ha), P (P addition only, 100 kg/ha), K (K addition only, 100 kg/ha), NP (mixed N and P addition, 100 kg/ha each), NK (mixed N and K addition, 100 kg/ha each), PK (mixed P and K addition, 100 kg/ha each), and NPK (mixed N, P, and K addition, 100 kg/ha each). We selected six dominant and sub-dominant plant species for analyses: S. baicalensis, Leymus chinensis, Achnatherum sibiricum, Melissitus ruthenica, Serratulay amatsutanna, and Filifolium sibicum. Together, these species account for >90% of the total community aboveground biomass. We investigated variations in specific leaf area (SLA), leaf chlorophyll content, leaf N content, and leaf P content of the six plants under different nutrient treatments, to determine their responses to variations in soil physical and chemical properties. In all six plant species, the SLA, chlorophyll content, and leaf nutrient contents varied among different nutrient treatments, but the scope and direction of changes differed among plant species. A correlation analysis demonstrated that leaf SLA was positively correlated with leaf chlorophyll content and leaf N content (P<0.01), and with leaf P content (P<0.05). Leaf chlorophyll content was positively correlated with leaf N content and soil NH4+-N (P<0.01). Leaf N content was positively correlated with soil pH (P<0.01). Leaf P content was positively correlated with soil P, soil available P, and soil pH (P<0.01). Our results indicate that there is a very low leaf N content, and that plant growth is N-limited in the S. baicalensis grassland in Inner Mongolia, China. Different species had different responses to N addition. Differences in soil nutrients may be one important reason for the observed variations in leaf structure and leaf nutrient contents.

CLC Number:

yangdianlin@caas.cn

LIU Hong-Mei, LI Jie, YU Li, HUANGFU Chao-He, YANG Dian-Lin. Effects of nutrient addition on leaf traits of six plant species in a Stipa baicalensis grassland in Inner Mongolia, China[J]. Acta Prataculturae Sinica, 2017, 26(5): 81-91.

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