Effects of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilization on leaf carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus stoichiometry of Arabidopsis thaliana

doi:10.3724/SP.J.1258.2013.00056

Abstract

Abstract:

Aims Arabidopsis thaliana, a widely used model organism in plant biology, is an ideal plant to test the growth rate hypothesis (GRH) and homeostasis theory about plant nutrition. Our objectives are to test i) whether GRH applies to this plant species, ii) how leaf nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) of A. thaliana follow the homeostasis theory and iii) whether the allometric relationship between leaf N and P content is consistent with the 3/4 power function (N-P^3/4) for individual plant species.
MethodsBased on a pot experiment in a phytotron with N and P fertilizer additions, we measured the leaf carbon (C), N and P content and leaf biomass of A. thaliana. Specific growth rate (mg·mg^-1·d^-1) was the leaf biomass increment divided by the initial biomass at planting, and by the days after planting. The homeostasis of plant elements is indicated by the exponent (reciprocal of the regulation coefficient) of the power function of leaf nutrient against soil nutrient concentrations.
Important findings P is the limiting nutrient of the culture substrate for A. thaliana, while N fertilization could cause toxic effects in cases of excessive N uptake. The growth of A. thaliana is consistent with GRH—the specific growth rate decreases with increasing leaf N:P or C:P. Leaf P content shows a significant regulation coefficient (3.51) (leaf-P-substrate-P^1/3.51), but leaf N content has no significant relationship with substrate N. There is a significant allometric relationship between leaf N and P content, which is inconsistent with the 3/4 power function (N-P^3/4). The power exponent (0.209) between leaf N content and leaf P content in the P fertilization treatments is significantly lower than the exponent (0.466) in the N fertilization treatments, suggesting that fertilization may affect the allometry between nutrients. Our findings can offer reference for future field studies on plant ecological stoichiometry at scales from species to community to ecosystem.

Key words: allometric relationship, growth rate hypothesis, homeostasis, leaf carbon/nitrogen/phosphorus stoichiometry, nitrogen and phosphorus fertilization

YAN Zheng-Bing,KIM Nam-Young,HAN Ting-Shen,FANG Jing-Yun,HAN Wen-Xuan. Effects of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilization on leaf carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus stoichiometry of Arabidopsis thaliana[J]. Chin J Plant Ecol, 2013, 37(6): 551-557.

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URL: https://www.plant-ecology.com/EN/10.3724/SP.J.1258.2013.00056

https://www.plant-ecology.com/EN/Y2013/V37/I6/551

Figures/Tables 6

Table 1 N and P stoichiometric characteristics in substrate of control (CK) and each fertilization treatment

基质N、P 水平 Substrate N, P level	基质有效氮含量^a Substrate available N^a content (mg·kg^-1)	基质有效磷含量^b Substrate available P^b content (mg·kg^-1)	基质N:P (质量比) Substrate N:P (mass ratio)
CK	180.73	12.12	14.91
N1	205.73	12.12	16.97
N2	230.73	12.12	19.03
N3	280.73	12.12	23.15
N4	380.73	12.12	31.40
N5	580.73	12.12	47.90
N6	780.73	12.12	64.39
P1	180.73	22.12	8.17
P2	180.73	32.12	5.63
P3	180.73	52.12	3.47
P4	180.73	92.12	1.96
P5	180.73	172.12	1.05
P6	180.73	252.12	0.72

Fig. 1 Effect of different N (P) fertilization treatment on leaf growth rate (G) of Arabidopsis thaliana (mean ± SE). A, nitrogen fertilization treatment. B, phosphorus fertilization treatment. Treatment see Table 1. Different letters indicate significant difference (p < 0.05) in leaf growth rate between different substrate N (P) levels.

Fig. 2 Relationship between substrate P content and leaf growth rate (G) of Arabidopsis thaliana.

Fig. 3 Relationship between Leaf N:P, C:P and leaf specific growth rate (u) of Arabidopsis thaliana. αRMA indicates the reduced major axis regression slope. A, N:P-u. B, C:P-u.

Fig. 4 Relationship between leaf N (P) content of Arabidopsis thaliana and substrate available N (P) content. H, regulation coefficient. A , leaf N content. B, leaf P content.

Table 2 Allometric relationship among leaf C, N, P content of Arabidopsis thaliana

log Y vs. log X	处理 Treatment	α_RMA	95% CI	n	R²	p
logN vs. logC	施氮肥 N-fertilization	4.15	[2.67, 6.47]	21	0.091	0.183
	施磷肥 P-fertilization	-3.76	[-5.68, -2.49]	21	0.217	0.033
logP vs. logC	施氮肥 N-fertilization	8.92	[5.62, 14.15]	21	0.007	0.725
	施磷肥 P-fertilization	-17.98	[-22.28, -14.51]	21	0.798	<0.000 1
logN vs. logP	施氮肥 N-fertilization	0.466^a	[0.373, 0.581]	21	0.785	<0.000 1
	施磷肥 P-fertilization	0.209^b	[0.141, 0.311]	21	0.282	0.013

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