Correlation relationship between soil phosphorus availability and ectomycorrhizal tree dominance in a subtropical forest

doi:10.17521/cjpe.2024.0414

Abstract

Abstract:

Aims Phosphorus (P) is an essential nutrient for plant growth and a critical factor in determining forest productivity. Most terrestrial plants can form symbiotic associations with arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) or ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi to enhance their phosphorus uptake. AM and ECM mycorrhiza vary significantly in their P-absorption strategies, which impacts the P cycling in ecosystems. Understanding how soil P availability varies across the forests dominated by AM and ECM trees can be conducive to elucidating the mechanisms of productivity maintenance in subtropical forests and guiding forest nutrient management.

Methods We established 35 forest plots across a natural gradient of ECM tree dominance in the Badagongshan Nature Reserve, Hunan Province. We measured the contents of four forms of soil bioavailable P (CaCl₂-P, enzyme-P, citrate-P, HCl-P), and analyzed their relationships with ECM tree dominance. Correlation analyses were further employed to identify the key factors influencing soil bioavailable P contents.

Important findings The results revealed that enzyme-P content increased significantly with ECM tree dominance, while CaCl₂-P, citrate-P and HCl-P contents showed no significant correlations with ECM tree dominance. CaCl₂-P content was positively correlated with leaf litter P content. Citrate-P and HCl-P contents were positively correlated with the contents of soil organic carbon, total nitrogen, and microbial biomass carbon. Enzyme-P content was positively correlated with the contents of soil organic carbon and dissolved organic carbon, and negatively correlated with soil pH. Additionally, soil acid phosphatase activity increased significantly with ECM tree dominance. In conclusion, ECM-dominated forests exhibit higher levels of enzyme-hydrolysable P and acid phosphatase activity, which can facilitate P solubilization through organic P mineralization, thereby promoting the rapid growth of ECM trees in subtropical forests.

Key words: mycorrhizal type, phosphorus, soil phosphorus bioavailability, ectomycorrhizal tree dominance, acid phosphatase activity

YANG Mi, LU Meng-Zhen, FENG Zhi-Yang, YUAN Xu-Dong, ZHAO Xiao-Xiang, LIU Feng, TIAN Qiu-Xiang. Correlation relationship between soil phosphorus availability and ectomycorrhizal tree dominance in a subtropical forest[J]. Chin J Plant Ecol, 2026, 50(3): 639-648.

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URL: https://www.plant-ecology.com/EN/10.17521/cjpe.2024.0414

https://www.plant-ecology.com/EN/Y2026/V50/I3/639

Figures/Tables 4

Fig. 1 Relationships between ectomycorrhizal (ECM) tree dominance and species richness (A), Shannon-Weiner index (B), basal area of trees (C), the community weighted mean litter carbon content (CWM-LC) (D), the community weighted mean litter nitrogen content (CWM-LN) (E), the community weighted mean litter phosphorus content (CWM-LP) (F), the community weighted mean litter carbon and nitrogen ratio (CWM-LCN) (G) the community weighted mean litter carbon and phosphorus ratio (CWM-LCP) (H) (n = 35). Solid lines indicate significant correlation (p < 0.05). The C, N, P content, C-to-N ratio and C-to-P ratio of the litter represent the weighted average of the C, N, P content, C-to-N ratio and C-to-P ratio of the litter at the plot level.

Fig. 2 Relationships between ectomycorrhizal (ECM) tree dominance and soil organic carbon content (A), soil total nitrogen content (B), soil total phosphorus content (C), soil dissolved organic carbon content (D), microbial biomass carbon content (E), acid phosphatase activity (F), soil pH (G), and soil clay content (H) (n = 35). Solid lines indicate significant correlation (p < 0.05), and dashed lines indicate non-significant correlation (p > 0.05).

Fig. 3 Relationships between ectomycorrhizal (ECM) tree dominance and contents of soil CaCl2-P (A), enzyme-P (B), citric-P (C) and HCl-P (D) (n = 35). Solid lines indicate significant correlation (p < 0.05), and dashed lines indicate non-significant correlation (p ≥ 0.05).

Fig. 4 Pearson correlation between plant properties, soil physico-chemical characteristics and the four bioavailable phosphorus contents CWM-LC, community weighted mean litter carbon content; CWM-LCN, community weighted mean litter carbon and nitrogen ratio; CWM-LCP, community weighted mean litter carbon and phosphorus ratio; CWM-LN, community weighted mean litter nitrogen content; CWM-LP, community weighted mean litter phosphorus content. ·, *, ** and *** in the figure represent correlation levels p < 0.1, p < 0.05, p < 0.01 and p < 0.001, respectively.

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