Effects of different management methods on carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus contents and their stoichiometric ratios in tea plants

doi:10.17521/cjpe.2021.0071

Abstract

Abstract:

Aims The content of carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) in different plant organs and their stoichiometric characteristics can reflect the nutrient allocation and balance within the plant. In this paper, the response of C, N and P in different organs of tea plants to three management modes was investigated by field experiment. The purpose was to explore the variation characteristics of C, N and P contents and their stoichiometric ratios in roots, stems and leaves of tea plant and its allometric growth relationship under different management modes.

Methods We set up three different management modes in Tieguanyin tea plantations in Anxi, Fujian: routine management mode (M1), intercropping mode (M2) and modern technology mode (M3). In this paper, we investigated C, N, and P contents in the roots, stems, and leaves and their stoichiometric characteristics, nutrient variations and the allometric relationships of tea plants under different management modes.

Important findings The results showed that the N and P contents in roots, stems and leaves of tea plants under M2 and M3 management mode were significantly higher than those under M1 management mode, but no significant differences were observed for the C contents; the order of C:N, C:P and N:P ratios in roots, stems and leaves of tea plants was M1 > M2 > M3. The contents of C, N, and P varied significantly among different organs of tea plants. According to the analysis of variation sources, the management mode factors showed significant impacts on the content variation of all the three elements. The allometric relationships of N and P in roots, stems and leaves (N-P^1.7456, p< 0.01; N-P^1.0987, p< 0.01; N-P^1.1993, p< 0.01) suggested that the nutrient requirements of different organs were similar. Soil pH and bulk density were important factors affecting C:N, C:P and N:P, while soil water content and salinity had great impacts on C content in roots and leaves of tea plants. In general, intercropping, as well as modern drip irrigation and fertilizer management technology, can improve the nutrient absorption efficiency of tea plants, and have positive effects on solving the problem of soil nutrient imbalance.

Key words: organ, ecological stoichiometry, source of variation, allometric relationship, tea plantation

YIN Xiao-Lei, LIU Xu-Yang, JIN Qiang, LI Xian-De, LIN Shao-Ying, YANG Xiang, WANG Wei-Qi, ZHANG Yong-Xun. Effects of different management methods on carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus contents and their stoichiometric ratios in tea plants[J]. Chin J Plant Ecol, 2021, 45(7): 749-759.

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Figures/Tables 8

Fig. 1 Characteristics of carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) contents in tea plants under different management modes (mean ± SE). M1, routine management mode; M2, intercropping mode; M3, modern technology mode. Different lowercase letters indicate significant difference between treatments (p < 0.05).

Table 1 Coefficient of variation (CV, %) of carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) contents and the stoichiometry of tea plants under different management modes

管理模式 Management mode	C			N			P			C:N			C:P			N:P
管理模式 Management mode	根 Root	茎 Stem	叶 Leaf	根 Root	茎 Stem	叶 Leaf	根 Root	茎 Stem	叶 Leaf	根 Root	茎 Stem	叶 Leaf	根 Root	茎 Stem	叶 Leaf	根 Root	茎 Stem	叶 Leaf
M1	17.61	0.20	1.17	5.17	5.42	13.98	2.17	9.78	2.15	15.63	5.32	14.90	19.22	9.52	1.14	6.56	15.01	12.27
M2	1.26	1.22	1.53	4.06	5.47	4.02	3.35	16.10	7.93	4.65	6.18	2.56	3.72	14.10	9.20	0.96	11.16	11.03
M3	18.03	3.17	0.76	14.63	6.07	2.35	15.81	2.41	4.80	11.47	3.11	2.59	27.56	5.44	2.85	20.63	8.24	5.26

Table 2 Variation source analysis of carbon (C), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) content and their stoichiometric ratios of tea plants

	变异来源 Source of variation	df	离差平方和 SS	均方 MS	F	p
C (g·kg^-1)	管理方式 Management mode	2, 12	20 017.89	10 008.94	4.21	0.04^*
	器官 Organ	2, 6	87 690.42	43 845.21	40.03	<0.01^**
	管理方式×器官 Management mode × Organ	4, 12	3 785.61	9 346.40	3.93	0.03^*
N (g·kg^-1)	管理方式 Management mode	2, 12	476.04	238.02	91.00	<0.01^**
	器官 Organ	2, 6	992.25	496.13	138.98	<0.01^**
	管理方式×器官 Management mode × Organ	4, 12	90.47	22.62	8.65	<0.01^**
P (g·kg^-1)	管理方式 Management mode	2, 12	6.95	3.48	67.28	<0.01^**
	器官 Organ	2, 6	0.27	0.14	2.68	0.15
	管理方式×器官 Management mode × Organ	4, 12	2.45	0.61	11.84	<0.01^**
C:N	管理方式 Management mode	2, 12	2 926.23	1 463.12	23.42	<0.01^**
	器官 Organ	2, 6	2 501.42	1 250.71	70.82	<0.01^**
	管理方式×器官 Management mode × Organ	4, 12	574.02	143.51	2.30	0.12
C:P	管理方式 Management mode	2, 12	1 101 790.54	550 895.27	50.32	<0.01^**
	器官 Organ	2, 6	10 833.52	5 416.76	1.10	0.39
	管理方式×器官 Management mode × Organ	4, 12	18 979.84	4 744.96	0.43	0.78
N:P	管理方式 Management mode	2, 12	137.92	68.96	16.11	<0.01^**
	器官 Organ	2, 6	471.81	235.91	41.13	<0.01^**
	管理方式×器官 Management mode × Organ	4, 12	43.98	11.00	2.57	0.09

Fig. 2 Stoichiometric characteristics of carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) in tea plantations under different management modes (mean ± SE). M1, routine management mode; M2, intercropping mode; M3, modern technology mode. Different lowercase letters indicate significant difference between treatments (p < 0.05).

Fig. 3 Standardized major analysis (SMA) of carbon (C), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) contents of different organs in tea plants.

Fig. 4 Principal component analysis (PCA) of the relationship between environmental factors and carbon (C), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) contents and their stoichiometric ratios in different tea plant organs. M1, routine management mode; M2, intercropping mode; M3, modern technology mode. BD, soil bulk density; SWC, soil saturated water content; TC, soil total C content; TN, soil total N content; TP, soil total P content; WC, soil water content.

Fig. 5 Comprehensive correlation between carbon (C), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) contents and their stoichiometry and environmental factors under three management modes. M1, routine management mode; M2, intercropping mode; M3, modern technology mode. BD, soil bulk density; SWC, soil saturated water content; TC, soil total C content; TN, soil total N content; TP, soil total P content; WC, soil water content.

Fig. 6 Conceptual model of nutrient characteristics of tea plant under three management modes. M1, routine management mode; M2, intercropping mode; M3, modern technology mode.

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