Effects of nitrogen addition on plant community composition and microbial biomass ecological stoichiometry in a desert steppe in China

doi:10.17521/cjpe.2019.0046

Abstract

Abstract: Aims Increasing atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition accelerates soil N cycling, potentially resulting in decoupling of microbial biomass carbon (C):N:phosphorus (P), loss of plant species, and reductions of provision of ecosystem service. Studies on how the changes of elemental balance in microbes affect plant community composition, could provide a new insight for making clear the mechanism of N-induced loss of plant species. Methods We conducted a manipulative N addition experiment in a desert steppe in Ningxia, northwestern China to quantify the changes in plant biomass and species composition over two years. We analyzed the individual effects of microbial biomass C:N:P ecological stoichiometry and the joint effects with other key soil factors on plant community composition. Important findings The responses of plants to N addition appeared species-specific. The biomass of Salsola collina increased substantially; the biomass of Lespedeza potaninii decreased gradually. Other species showed slightly decreasing in biomass although statistically insignificant (p > 0.05). Along the N addition gradient, Shannon-Wiener diversity index, Simpson dominance index, and Patrick richness index of the plant community increased initially but decreased over time later. With increase in N addition level, the N content and N:P ratio of the microbial community increased, but the C:N ratio decreased. Plant community composition showed stronger correlations with microbial biomass N content, microbial biomass C:N ratio, microbial biomass N:P, soil NO₃ ^--N concentration, soil NH₄ ⁺-N concentration, and the total P content of the soils. Microbial biomass C:N:P ecological stoichiometry explained <3% of the variation in aboveground plant biomass and community diversity index. Surprisingly, the joint influences from microbial biomass C:N:P ecological stoichiometry and other soil properties explained 51% of the variation in plant biomass and 26% of the change in plant community diversity. These results indicate that the effect of microbial biomass C:N:P ecological stoichiometry on plant community was highly related to the effects of other soil properties under N addition.

http://jtp.cnki.net/bilingual/detail/html/ZWSB201905005

Key words: atmospheric nitrogen deposition, ecological stoichiometry, species diversity, degraded ecosystem

WANG Pan, ZHU Wan-Wan, NIU Yu-Bin, FAN Jin, YU Hai-Long, LAI Jiang-Shan, HUANG Ju-Ying. Effects of nitrogen addition on plant community composition and microbial biomass ecological stoichiometry in a desert steppe in China[J]. Chin J Plant Ecol, 2019, 43(5): 427-436.

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Figures/Tables 5

Fig. 1 Effects of N addition on biomass of plant community (A) and individual species (B) (mean + SE, n = 5). N0, N1.25, N2.50, N5, N10, and N20 represent N addition level of 0, 1.25, 2.50, 5, 10, and 20 g·m-2·a-1, respectively. Different lowercase letters indicate significant differences among N treatments (p < 0.05).

Fig. 2 Effects of N treatments on plant community diversity (mean + SE, n = 5). N0, N1.25, N2.50, N5, N10, and N20 represent N addition level of 0, 1.25, 2.50, 5, 10, and 20 g·m-2·a-1, respectively. Different lowercase letters indicate significant differences among N treatments (p < 0.05).

Fig. 3 Effects of N treatments on microbial biomass C, N, P, and their stoichiometric ratios (mean + SE, n = 5). N0, N1.25, N2.50, N5, N10, and N20 represent N addition level at 0, 1.25, 2.50, 5, 10, and 20 g·m-2·a-1, respectively. Different lowercase letters indicate significant differences among N treatments (p < 0.05).

Fig. 4 RDA of plant biomass (A) and community diversity (B) explained by soil factors. Sc, Am, As, and Lp represent Salsola collina, Astragalus melilotoides, Artemisia scoparia, and Lespedeza potaninii, respectively. H and D represent Shannon-Wiener diversity index and Simpson dominance index, respectively. MBC, MBN, MBP, C:Nm, C:Pm, and N:Pm represent microbial biomass C content, N content, P content, C:N, C:P, and N:P, respectively. TOC, TN, TP, C:Ns, C:Ps, N:Ps, NH4+-N, NO3--N, and AP represent soil organic C content, total N content, total P content, C:N, C:P, N:P, NH4+-N concentration, NO3--N concentration, and available P concentration, respectively.

Fig. 5 Variation partitioning of plant population biomass (A) and community diversity index (B) by soil factor groups. Values < 0 not shown. Data in one circle represent the variation individually explained by the soil factor group, data in the overlapped part of circles represent the variation jointly explained by soil factor groups. X1 group includes microbial biomass C content, N content, P content, C:N, C:P, and N:P; X2 group includes soil organic C content, total N content, total P content, C:N, C:P, N:P; X3 group includes soil NH4+-N, NO3--N, and available P concentrations, respectively.

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