Spatial changes and influencing factors of fine root carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus stoichiometry of plants in China

doi:10.17521/cjpe.2015.0015

Abstract

Abstract: Aims

Fine roots and leaves are important below- and above-ground functional organs. It is widely recognized that leaf nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) stoichiometry displays significant latitudinal variations, and two competing theories (i.e. Temperature-Plant Physiological Hypothesis and Growth Rate Hypothesis) have been proposed to explain this phenomenon. Although considerable efforts have been made to test these theories, comparatively few data have been reported for the plants in China to examine the latitudinal and longitudinal variations in fine root carbon (C), N and P stoichiometry. Accordingly, we compiled an extensive data set of root C, N and P stoichiometry, our objective was to address three main issues: (1) whether the C, N and P stoichiometric latitudinal patterns for roots conform to those reported for leaves, (2) how exactly does root C, N and P stoichiometry changes as a function of longitude, and (3) whether the Temperature-Plant Physiological Hypothesis or Growth Rate Hypothesis can account for the latitudinal patterns observed for fine root stoichiometry.

Methods

We compiled data on fine root C, N and P contents, climate, and geographic location, and analyzed the correlations among these variables.

Important findings

The N and P contents were higher in fine roots as opposed to coarse roots. The N and P contents in fine roots increased with increasing latitude. P content in fine roots declined with increasing longitude, whereas the N:P of fine roots increased with increasing longitude. The N and P contents in fine roots were negatively correlated with mean annual temperature and mean annual precipitation, but positively correlated with soil nutrient. Among the three abiotic factors (i.e. soil N and P contents, temperature and precipitation), soil N and P levels had the greatest effect on the N and P contents in fine roots . The variations observed in fine and coarse root C:P and N:P were inconsistent with the Growth Rate Hypothesis, whereas the positive correlations between root N and P contents and latitude were the same as those observed for leaves, which support Temperature-Plant Physiological Hypothesis, reflecting an adaptive strategy to environmental conditions.

Key words: latitude, longitude, soil nutrient, temperature, precipitation

MA Yu-Zhu,ZHONG Quan-Lin,JIN Bing-Jie,LU Hong-Dian,GUO Bing-Qiao,ZHENG Yuan,LI Man,CHENG Dong-Liang. Spatial changes and influencing factors of fine root carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus stoichiometry of plants in China[J]. Chin J Plan Ecolo, 2015, 39(2): 159-166.

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https://www.plant-ecology.com/EN/Y2015/V39/I2/159

Figures/Tables 5

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	因变量 Dependent variable	n	最小值 Min (%)	最大值 Max (%)	平均值 Mean (%)	标准差 Standard deviation
细根 Fine root	C	33	37.09	58.91	47.39	5.07
	N	146	0.24	2.97	0.92	0.43
	P	123	0.01	0.47	0.10	0.08
	N:P	123	1.63	63.87	14.27	9.88
	C:N	33	23.09	116.02	59.15	27.11
	C:P	17	166.08	1 118.00	522.10	289.86
粗根 Coarse root	C	59	34.80	54.49	45.65	4.42
	N	182	0.07	2.18	0.59	0.33
	P	149	0.01	0.54	0.06	0.05
	N:P	149	1.58	35.07	11.67	6.86
	C:N	55	24.27	560.00	121.98	95.50
	C:P	41	318.15	2 407.22	957.27	551.18

	因变量 Dependent variable	n	最小值 Min (%)	最大值 Max (%)	平均值 Mean (%)	标准差 Standard deviation
细根 Fine root	C	33	37.09	58.91	47.39	5.07
	N	146	0.24	2.97	0.92	0.43
	P	123	0.01	0.47	0.10	0.08
	N:P	123	1.63	63.87	14.27	9.88
	C:N	33	23.09	116.02	59.15	27.11
	C:P	17	166.08	1 118.00	522.10	289.86
粗根 Coarse root	C	59	34.80	54.49	45.65	4.42
	N	182	0.07	2.18	0.59	0.33
	P	149	0.01	0.54	0.06	0.05
	N:P	149	1.58	35.07	11.67	6.86
	C:N	55	24.27	560.00	121.98	95.50
	C:P	41	318.15	2 407.22	957.27	551.18

	因变量 Dependent variable	截距 Intercept	斜率 Slope	R²	p	n
细根 Fine root	C	1.74	-0.002	0.102	0.070	33
	N	-0.36	0.009	0.133	<0.001	146
	P	-1.54	0.013	0.097	<0.001	123
	N:P	1.21	-0.005	0.016	0.161	123
	C:N	2.20	-0.015	0.259	0.003	33
	C:P	2.95	-0.009	0.085	0.256	17
粗根 Coarse root	C	1.71	-0.002	0.099	0.015	59
	N	-0.21	-0.003	0.006	0.316	182
	P	-1.45	0.005	0.020	0.084	149
	N:P	1.37	-0.012	0.095	<0.001	149
	C:N	2.13	-0.004	0.015	0.373	55
	C:P	2.89	0.001	0.001	0.863	41
细根+粗根 Fine root + coarse root	C	1.71	-0.002	0.081	0.006	92
	N	-0.29	0.003	0.008	0.101	328
	P	-1.50	0.009	0.051	<0.001	272
	N:P	1.29	-0.008	0.047	<0.001	272
	C:N	2.26	-0.012	0.097	0.003	88
	C:P	3.04	-0.007	0.034	0.167	58

	因变量 Dependent variable	截距 Intercept	斜率 Slope	R²	p	n
细根 Fine root	C	1.74	-0.002	0.102	0.070	33
	N	-0.36	0.009	0.133	<0.001	146
	P	-1.54	0.013	0.097	<0.001	123
	N:P	1.21	-0.005	0.016	0.161	123
	C:N	2.20	-0.015	0.259	0.003	33
	C:P	2.95	-0.009	0.085	0.256	17
粗根 Coarse root	C	1.71	-0.002	0.099	0.015	59
	N	-0.21	-0.003	0.006	0.316	182
	P	-1.45	0.005	0.020	0.084	149
	N:P	1.37	-0.012	0.095	<0.001	149
	C:N	2.13	-0.004	0.015	0.373	55
	C:P	2.89	0.001	0.001	0.863	41
细根+粗根 Fine root + coarse root	C	1.71	-0.002	0.081	0.006	92
	N	-0.29	0.003	0.008	0.101	328
	P	-1.50	0.009	0.051	<0.001	272
	N:P	1.29	-0.008	0.047	<0.001	272
	C:N	2.26	-0.012	0.097	0.003	88
	C:P	3.04	-0.007	0.034	0.167	58

	因变量 Dependent variable	截距 Intercept	斜率 Slope	R²	p	n
细根 Fine root	C	1.76	-0.000 7	0.024	0.386	33
	N	-0.60	0.004 5	0.028	0.042	146
	P	0.35	-0.013 0	0.059	0.007	123
	N:P	-0.46	0.013 4	0.078	0.002	123
	C:N	2.44	-0.006 3	0.098	0.075	33
	C:P	2.15	0.004 7	0.037	0.462	17
粗根 Coarse root	C	1.81	-0.001 3	0.097	0.016	59
	N	-1.24	0.008 4	0.125	<0.001	182
	P	-1.27	-0.000 2	<0.001	0.932	149
	N:P	0.13	0.007 6	0.083	<0.001	149
	C:N	2.76	-0.006 9	0.060	0.071	55
	C:P	2.19	0.006 8	0.056	0.138	41
细根+粗根 Fine root + coarse root	C	1.78	-0.001 1	0.057	0.021	92
	N	-1.13	0.008 2	0.090	<0.001	328
	P	-0.94	-0.002 5	0.005	0.232	272
	N:P	-0.01	0.009 0	0.077	<0.001	272
	C:N	2.80	-0.008 2	0.084	0.006	88
	C:P	2.24	0.005 6	0.033	0.172	58