Effects of 10-year nitrogen and phosphorus additions on leaf non-structural carbohydrates of dominant plants in tropical rainforests in Jianfengling, Hainan

doi:10.17521/cjpe.2023.0382

Abstract

Abstract:

Aims Non-structural carbohydrates (NSCs) include starch and soluble sugars, the transformation of which enhances plant resistance to environmental stresses. Tropical rainforests play an important role in the carbon (C) pool of terrestrial ecosystems and in mitigating climate change, and they are also hotspots for atmospheric nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) deposition. To date, the response of leaf NSCs of dominant plants in primary and secondary forests to long-term N and P inputs is unclear.

Methods We investigated the effects of long-term N and P inputs on leaf NSCs of eight species from each of the primary and secondary forests based on a 10-year N and P addition experiment in Jianfengling, Hainan, and analyzed the relationships of NSCs with each of the leaf traits, photosynthesis parameters, and soil nutrients.

Important findings Dominant plant leaves in the secondary forest had higher soluble sugar and NSCs contents than that in the primary forest. Low N addition significantly reduced the content of starch, P addition significantly increased the content of soluble sugar, and combined N and P additions enhanced the ratio of soluble sugar and starch in dominant plant leaves of primary forest; whereas N and P additions did not impact the NSCs content of dominant plant leaves of secondary forest. In the two forests, leaf NSCs content of eight species were negatively correlated with leaf pH and specific leaf area, while positively correlated with leaf C content, photosynthesis rate, and photosynthetic N use efficiency. There was significant positive relationship between leaf NSCs and each of soil available N, total P contents in secondary forest. These results suggest that leaf NSCs of dominant plants is jointly impacted by leaf traits and soil nutrients in tropical rainforests. From the perspective of the leaf C economy, our study demonstrates that dominant plants are more sensitive to atmospheric N and P deposition in primary than in secondary forests, thereby highlighting the importance of protecting tropical primary rainforests.

Key words: tropical rainforest, secondary forest, nitrogen deposition, phosphorus deposition

YU Qing-Shui, NI Xiao-Feng, JI Cheng-Jun, ZHU Jiang-Ling, TANG Zhi-Yao, FANG Jing-Yun. Effects of 10-year nitrogen and phosphorus additions on leaf non-structural carbohydrates of dominant plants in tropical rainforests in Jianfengling, Hainan[J]. Chin J Plant Ecol, 2024, 48(6): 690-700.

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URL: https://www.plant-ecology.com/EN/10.17521/cjpe.2023.0382

https://www.plant-ecology.com/EN/Y2024/V48/I6/690

Figures/Tables 8

Table 1 Stand characteristics of primary and secondary forests in Jianfengling, Hainan (mean ± SD)

因子 Factor	原始林 Primary forest	次生林 Secondary forest
年平均气温 Mean annual air temperature (℃)	19.7 ± 0.9	20.0 ± 0.7
年降水量 Mean annual precipitation (mm)	2 198	2 198
年平均相对湿度 Mean annual relative humidity (%)	89.4 ± 0.8	95.0 ± 0.7
平均胸径 Mean diameter at breast height (cm)	22.43	10.18
平均树高 Mean tree height (m)	18.19	9.31
物种丰富度 Species richness	290	199
生物量 Biomass (t·hm^-2)	476.2 ± 59.3	505.5 ± 55.2
密度(株·hm^-2) Stand density (ind·hm^-2)	4 092	7 717
基面积 Basal area (m²·hm^-2)	52.3	45.3
凋落物产量 Litterfall production (Mg·hm^-2·a^-1)	8.2 ± 0.4	8.0 ± 0.9
土壤pH Soil pH	4.5 ± 0.2	4.4 ± 0.1
土壤有机碳含量 Soil organic carbon content (mg·g^-1)	21.5 ± 0.2	25.9 ± 1.5
土壤总氮含量 Soil total nitrogen content (mg·g^-1)	1.7 ± 0.2	2.1 ± 0.1
土壤总磷含量 Soil total phosphorus content (mg·g^-1)	0.13 ± 0.03	0.16 ± 0.03

Table 2 Effects of plant species, forest types, nutrient additions and their interactions on leaf non-structural carbohydrates (NSCs) in Jianfengling, Hainan

固定效应 Fixed effect	淀粉含量 Starch content	可溶性糖含量 Soluble sugar content	可溶性糖/淀粉 Soluble sugar/starch	非结构性碳水化合物含量NSCs content
物种 Species	***	***	***	***
森林类型 Forest type	ns	*	ns	**
氮添加 Nitrogen (N) addition	ns	ns	*	*
磷添加 Phosphorus (P) addition	ns	ns	ns	ns
氮添加×磷添加 N addition × P addition	ns	ns	ns	ns
物种×森林类型 Species × forest type	ns	**	ns	ns
森林类型×氮添加 Forest type × N addition	ns	ns	***	ns
森林类型×磷添加 Forest type × P addition	ns	**	ns	ns

Fig. 1 Contents of leaf starch, soluble sugar and non-structural carbohydrates (NSCs), and ratio of soluble sugar content to starch content of dominant plants in primary and secondary forests in Jianfengling, Hainan (mean ± SD). *, p < 0.05; **, p < 0.01; ns, p > 0.05.

Fig. 2 Contents of leaf soluble sugar, starch and total non-structural carbohydrates (NSCs), and ratio of soluble sugar content to starch content of dominant plants across fertilization treatments in primary (A-D) and secondary (E-H) forests in Jianfengling, Hainan. *, p < 0.05. CK, control; N25, nitrogen addition (25 kg·hm-2·a-1); N50, nitrogen addition (50 kg·hm-2·a-1); N100, nitrogen addition (100 kg·hm-2·a-1) ; N50P50, nitrogen (50 kg·hm-2·a-1) and phosphorus (50 kg·hm-2·a-1) addition; P50, phosphorus addition (50 kg·hm-2·a-1)。

Fig. 3 Linear relationships between leaf non-structural carbohydrates contents (NSCs) and the leaf pH, carbon content, specific leaf area (SLA), photosynthetic rates (A) and photosynthetic nitrogen use efficiency (PNUE) across plant species of primary forest in Jianfengling, Hainan.

Fig. 4 Linear relationships between leaf non-structural carbohydrates contents (NSCs) and the leaf pH, carbon content, specific leaf area (SLA), photosynthetic rates (A) and photosynthetic nitrogen use efficiency (PNUE) for all species of secondary forest in Jianfengling, Hainan.

Fig. 5 Relationship between leaf non-structural carbohydrates contents (NSCs) of dominant plants and soil chemical properties in primary forest in Jianfengling, Hainan.

Fig. 6 Linear relationships between leaf non-structural carbohydrates contents (NSCs) of dominant plants and soil chemical properties in secondary forest in Jianfengling, Hainan

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