Chinese Journal of Plant Ecology >
Environmental heterogeneity and mechanism of stoichiometry properties of vegetative organs in dominant shrub communities across the Loess Plateau
# Co-first authors
Received date: 2015-01-22
Accepted date: 2015-03-31
Online published: 2015-05-26
Exploring variation patterns of C, N, P contents and their ratios of plant vegetative organs along environmental gradient can provide insight on the resource allocation strategy of plants. In order to search the environmental heterogeneity and mechanism of stoichiometry properties of plant vegetative organs (including root, stem and leaf), we investigated the influences of different soil nutrients conditions on the element allocation among plant vegetative organs in the dominant shrub communities along a hydro-thermic gradient across Loess Plateau.
The species compositions and structures of 123 small quadrats (5 m × 5 m) of dominant shrub communities in 41 sites were investigated by standard community sampling method along the declined hydro-thermic conditions from southern Gansu Province to northern Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region and western Gansu. The data about height, coverage and number of the dominant shrub were recorded. At least 369 biological samples of plant vegetative organs (root, stem and leave) of dominant shrubs were collected and their fresh and dry mass were measured, respectively. About 123 soil samples were taken by earth boring auger and ring knife. C, N and P contents of all biological and soil samples were measured after lapping and sieving.
1) Organic matter content (mean concentration of leaf C ((424.11 ± 42.21) mg·g-1) in Gansu and Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region was relatively low, and nitrogen (mean concentration of leaf N ((23.00 ± 8.09) mg·g-1) was higher while phosphorous (mean concentration of leaf P ((1.18 ± 0.50) mg·g-1) was relatively deficient. 2) Along the increasing growing season temperature and declining annual precipitation from southern Gansu to northern Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region and western Gansu, soil nutrients content decreased, and the storage of C, N and P in root, stem and leaf decreased. The shift trends of C:N agreed with the N storage’s shift trends in root and stem while N:P in all organs were contrary to the P storage’s shift trends. Meanwhile, the allocation patterns of C, N and P among vegetative organs among the three regions dominated by shrub communities were much different. 3) In the region with high soil nutrients, the nutrient storage in vegetable organs were similar among different species in the same dominant shrub regions, but in the regions with low soil nutrients, the nutrient storage in vegetable organs displayed high variations. The variations of nutrient storage of vegetable organs for the same shrub communities from different regions were not significant.
LI Dan-Feng,YU Shun-Li,WANG Guo-Xun,FANG Wei-Wei . Environmental heterogeneity and mechanism of stoichiometry properties of vegetative organs in dominant shrub communities across the Loess Plateau[J]. Chinese Journal of Plant Ecology, 2015 , 39(5) : 453 -465 . DOI: 10.17521/cjpe.2015.0044
| 1 | Abrahamson WG, Caswell H (1982). On the comparative allocations of biomass, energy, and nutrients in plants.Ecology, 63, 982-991. |
| 2 | Andersen T, Elser JJ, Hessen DO (2004). Stoichiometry and population dynamics.Ecology Letters, 7, 884-900. |
| 3 | Bazzaz FA, Grace J (1997). Plant Resource Allocation. Academic Press, San Diego, USA. 303. |
| 4 | Burke IC, Lauenroth WK, Vinton MA, Hook PB, Kelly RH, Epstein HE, Aguiar MR, Robles MD, Aguilera MO, Murphy KL, Gill RA (1998). Plant-soil interactions in temperate grasslands.Biogeochemistry, 42, 121-143. |
| 5 | Cease AJ, Elser JJ, Ford CF, Hao SQ, Kang L, Harrison JF (2012). Heavy livestock grazing promotes locust outbreaks by lowering plant nitrogen content.Science, 335, 467-469. |
| 6 | Chen JQ, Zhang R, Hou YC, Ma LN, Ding LM, Long RJ, Shang ZH (2013). Relationships between species diversity and C, N and P ecological stoichiometry in plant communities of sub-alpine meadow.Chinese Journal of Plant Ecology, 37, 979-987.(in Chinese with English abstract) |
| 6 | [陈军强, 张蕊, 侯尧宸, 马丽娜, 丁路明, 龙瑞军, 尚占环 (2013). 亚高山草甸植物群落物种多样性与群落C、N、P生态化学计量的关系. 植物生态学报, 37, 979-987.] |
| 7 | Cheplick GP (1995). Life history trade-offs in Amphibromus scabrivalvis (Poaceae): Allocation to clonal growth, storage, and cleistogamous reproduction.American Journal of Botany, 82, 621-629. |
| 8 | Craine JM (2006). Competition for nutrients and optimal root allocation.Plant and Soil, 285, 171-185. |
| 9 | de la Rosa TM, Aphalo PJ, Lehto T (1998). Effects of far-red light on the growth, mycorrhizas and mineral nutrition of Scots pine seedlings.Plant and Soil, 201, 17-25. |
| 10 | Delph LF (1990). Sex-differential resource allocation patterns in the subdioecious shrub Hebe subalpina.Ecology, 71, 1342-1351. |
| 11 | Drenovsky RE, Richards JH (2004). Critical N:P values: Predicting nutrient deficiencies in desert shrublands.Plant and Soil, 259, 59-69. |
| 12 | Elser JJ, Bracken MES, Cleland EE, Gruner DS, Harpole WS, Hillebrand H, Ngai JT, Seabloom EW, Shurin JB, Smith JE (2007). Global analysis of nitrogen and phosphorus limitation of primary producers in freshwater, marine and terrestrial ecosystems.Ecology Letters, 10, 1135-1142. |
| 13 | Elser JJ, Fagan WF, Denno RF, Dobberfuhl DR, Folarin A, Huberty A, Interlandi S, Kilham SS, McCauley E, Schulz KL, Siemann EH, Sterner RW (2000a). Nutritional constraints in terrestrial and freshwater food webs.Nature, 408, 578-580. |
| 14 | Elser JJ, Sterner RW, Gorokhova E, Fagan WF, Markow TA, Cotner JB, Harrison JF, Hobbie SE, Odell GM, Weider LJ (2000b). Biological stoichiometry from genes to ecosystems.Ecology Letters, 3, 540-550. |
| 15 | Evans-White MA, Lamberti GA (2006). Stoichiometry of consumer-driven nutrient recycling across nutrient regimes in streams.Ecology Letters, 9, 1186-1197. |
| 16 | Fang JY, Liu GH, Xu SL (1996). Biomass and net production of forest vegetation in China.Acta Botanica Sinica, 16, 497-508.(in Chinese with English abstract) |
| 16 | [方精云, 刘国华, 徐嵩龄 (1996). 我国森林植被的生物量和净生产量. 生态学报, 16, 497-508.] |
| 17 | Fanin N, Fromin N, Buatois B, Hättenschwiler S (2013). An experimental test of the hypothesis of non-homeostatic consumer stoichiometry in a plant litter-microbe system.Ecology Letters, 16, 764-772. |
| 18 | Freudenberg K (1959). Biosynthesis and constitution of lignin.Nature, 183, 1152-1155. |
| 19 | Freudenberg K, Neish AC (1968). Constitution and Biosynthesis of Lignin. Springer-Verlag, Berlin. 199. |
| 20 | Güsewell S (2004). N:P ratios in terrestrial plants: Variation and functional significance.The New Phytologist, 164, 243-266. |
| 21 | Güsewell S, Koerselman W, Verhoeven JTA (2003). Biomass N:P ratios as indicators of nutrient limitation for plant populations in wetlands.Ecological Application, 13, 372-384. |
| 22 | Han WX, Fang JY, Guo DL, Zhang Y (2005). Leaf nitrogen and phosphorus stoichiometry across 753 terrestrial plant species in China.The New Phytologist, 168, 377-385. |
| 23 | Hillebrand H, Borer ET, Bracken MES, Cardinale BJ, Cebrian J, Cleland EE, Elser JJ, Gruner DS, Harpole WS, Ngai JT, Sandin S, Seabloom EW, Shurin JB, Smith JE, Smith MD (2009). Herbivore metabolism and stoichiometry each constrain herbivory at different organizational scales across ecosystems.Ecology Letters, 12, 516-527. |
| 24 | Holleman AF, Jaeger FM (1914). The allocation of grants, given by the Van T. Hoff foundation, for the encouragement of the study of pure and applied chemistry.Elsvier Science Bv, 33, 204-205. |
| 25 | Koerselman W, Meuleman AFM (1996). The vegetation N:P ratio: A new tool to detect the nature of nutrient limitation. Journal of Applied Ecology, 33, 1441-1450. |
| 26 | Konings H, Verhoeven JT, de Groot R (1992). Growth characteristics and seasonal allocation patterns of biomass and nutrients in Carex species growing in floating fens.Plant and Soil, 147, 183-196. |
| 27 | Li YL, Mao W, Zhao XY, Zhang TH (2010). Leaf nitrogen and phosphorus stoichiometry in typical desert and desertified regions, North China.Environmental Science, 31, 1716-1725.(in Chinese with English abstract) |
| 27 | [李玉霖, 毛伟, 赵学勇, 张铜会 (2010). 北方典型荒漠及荒漠化地区植物叶片氮磷化学计量特征研究. 环境科学, 31, 1716-1725.] |
| 28 | Mooney HA, Chu CL (1974). Seasonal carbon allocation in Heteromeles arbutifolia, a California evergreen shrub.Oecologia, 14, 295-306. |
| 29 | Niklas KJ, Enquist BJ (2002). On the vegetative biomass partitioning of seed plant leaves, stems, and roots.The American Naturalist, 159, 482-497. |
| 30 | Niklas KJ, Owens T, Reich PB, Cobb ED (2005). Nitrogen/ phosphorus leaf stoichiometry and the scaling of plant growth.Ecology Letters, 8, 636-642. |
| 31 | Ordoñez JC, Van Bodegom PM, Witte JPM, Wright IJ, Reich PB, Aerts R (2009). A global study of relationships between leaf traits, climate and soil measures of nutrient fertility.Global Ecology and Biogeography, 18, 137-149. |
| 32 | Pieters A, Baruch Z (1997). Soil depth and fertility effects on biomass and nutrient allocation in jaragua grass.Journal of Range Management, 50, 268-273. |
| 33 | Redfield AC (1958). The biological control of chemical factors in the environment.American Scientist, 46, 205-221. |
| 34 | Reich PB, Oleksyn J (2004). Global patterns of plant leaf N and P in relation to temperature and latitude.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 101, 11001-11006. |
| 35 | Tessier JT, Raynal DJ (2003). Use of nitrogen to phosphorus ratios in plant tissue as an indicator of nutrient limitation and nitrogen saturation.Journal of Applied Ecology, 40, 523-534. |
| 36 | Thompson K, Parkinson JA, Band SR, Spencer RE (1997). A comparative study of leaf nutrient concentrations in a regional herbaceous flora.The New Phytologist, 136, 679-689. |
| 37 | Wallace CS, Rundel PW (1979). Sexual dimorphism and resource allocation in male and female shrubs of Simmondsia chinensis.Oecologia, 44, 34-39. |
| 38 | Wang T, Yang YH, Ma WH (2008). Storage, patterns and environmental controls of soil phosphorus in China.Acta Scientiarum Naturalium Universitatis Pekinensis, 44, 549-556.(in Chinese with English abstract) |
| 38 | [汪涛, 杨元合, 马文红 (2008). 中国土壤磷库的大小、分布及其影响因素. 北京大学学报(自然科学版), 44, 549-556.] |
| 39 | Witkowski ETF, Lamont BB (1996). Disproportionate allocation of mineral nutrients and carbon between vegetative and reproductive structures in Banksia hookeriana.Oecologia, 105, 38-42. |
| 40 | Xie YH, An SQ, Wu BF (2005). Resource allocation in the submerged plant Vallisneria natans related to sediment type, rather than water-column nutrients.Freshwater Biology, 50, 391-402. |
| 41 | Yang X, Tang ZY, Ji CJ, Liu HY, Ma WH, Mohhamot A, Shi ZY, Sun W, Wang T, Wang XP, Wu X, Yu SL, Yue M, Zheng CY (2014). Scaling of nitrogen and phosphorus across plant organs in shrubland biomes across Northern China.Scientific Reports, 4, 5448. |
| 42 | Yu Q (2009). Ecological Stoichiometric Study on Vascular Plants in the Inner Mongolia Steppe. PhD dissertation, Institude of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing. 108.(in Chinese with English abstract) |
| 42 | [庾强 (2009). 内蒙古草原植物化学计量生态学研究. 博士学位论文, 中国科学院植物研究所, 北京. 108.] |
| 43 | Zheng SX, Shangguan ZP (2006). Spatial pattern of the plant leaf nutrient elements in the area of Loess Plateau.Progress in Natural Science, 16, 965-973.(in Chinese) |
| 43 | [郑淑霞, 上官周平 (2006). 黄土高原地区植物叶片养分组成的空间分布格局. 自然科学进展, 16, 965-973.] |
/
| 〈 |
|
〉 |
Copyright © 2026 Chinese Journal of Plant Ecology
Tel: 010-62836134, 62836138, E-mail: apes@ibcas.ac.cn, cjpe@ibcas.ac.cn
