Chin J Plant Ecol ›› 2023, Vol. 47 ›› Issue (4): 546-558.DOI: 10.17521/cjpe.2022.0066

Special Issue: 生态化学计量 生物地球化学

• Research Articles • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Leaf and soil ecological stoichiometry of Caragana korshinskii in windy and sandy hilly region of northwest Shanxi, China

LIU Jing1, GOU Qian-Qian1,2,*(), WANG Guo-Hua1,2,3, ZHAO Feng-Xia1   

  1. 1. College of Geographical Sciences, Shanxi Normal University, Taiyuan 030000, China
    2. Linze Inland River Basin Research Station, Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730010, China
    3. Key Laboratory of Desert and Desertification, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Science, Lanzhou 730010, China
  • Received:2022-02-17 Accepted:2022-07-06 Online:2023-04-20 Published:2022-07-15
  • Contact: *(gqqqianqian@163.com)
  • Supported by:
    National Natural Science Foundation of China(41807518);National Natural Science Foundation of China(42171033);Science and Technology Innovation Project of Higher Education Institutions in Shanxi Province(2019L0457);Science and Technology Innovation Project of Higher Education Institutions in Shanxi Province(2019L0463)

Abstract:

Aims Caragana korshinskii is the dominant species in the hilly area of northwest Shanxi, which plays very important roles in maintaining community species diversity, ecosystem stability and soil environment restoration.

Methods In order to investigate the stoichiometric characteristics of carbon (C), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) in the ecosystem of C. korshinskii artificial forest with different ages and their effects on leaf photosynthesis, the plant leaves and soil of C. korshinskii artificial forest with different ages (0, 6, 12, 18, 40, and 50 years) were collected. The variations of C, N, P stoichiometry in plant leaves and soil were analyzed.

Important findings With the increase of plantation time, the contents of C and N in the leaves of C. korshinskii increased significantly, while the contents of P increased firstly and then decreased. The contents of C, N and P in the leaves ranged from 434.14-452.26, 15.72-28.11 and 1.32-1.95 g·kg-1, the contents of C and N in leaves reached the maximum value after 50 years of plantation, while the content of P in leaves reached the maximum value after 18 years of plantation. Leaf C:N increased first and then decreased, and reached the maximum in 18 years, while N:P increased significantly and reached the maximum in 50 years. The photosynthetic pigments (chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, carotenoid and total chlorophyll) contents of leaves decreased significantly with increasing time of plantation, and leaf C and N contents had a significant effect on the changes of photosynthetic pigments contents. Soil water content increased first and then decreased with increasing time of plantation in the 0 -20 cm soil depth, and decreased significantly after 18 years of plantation. Soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (STN) contents in the 0-20 cm soil depth profile increased with increasing time, and soil total phosphorus (STP) contents had no significant change with time. Soil C:N, C:P and N:P increased with the increase of forest age. Soil water content of C. korshinskii was significantly positively correlated with SOC and STN contents, and SOC and STN contents were also significantly positively correlated. The N and P contents of C. korshinskii leaves were significantly positively correlated. Leaf C and N contents were significantly positively correlated with SOC, STN and STP contents, and negatively correlated with soil water content. Leaf stoichiometric ratio was significantly positively correlated with corresponding soil stoichiometric ratio. The results of this study are of guiding significance to systematically understand the nutrient changes of artificial C. korshinskii forest ecosystem and to regulate and manage forest nutrients.

Key words: northwest Shanxi, windy and sandy hilly region, Caragana korshinskii, artificial forest, leaf, soil, ecological stoichiometry