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Chinese Journal of Plant Ecology >

2025 , Vol. 49 >Issue 3: 446 - 459

DOI: https://doi.org/10.17521/cjpe.2024.0086

Research Articles

Effects of Artemisia ordosica on the nitrogen uptake rate and proportion of associated herbaceous plants in the Mau Us Sandy Land

  • MIAO Chun ,
  • LIU Liang ,
  • ZHU Guan-Nan ,
  • BAI Yu-Xuan ,
  • SHE Wei-Wei ,
  • QIN Shu-Gao ,
  • GUO Yan-Pei ,
  • ZHANG Yu-Qing
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  • 1Yanchi Research Station, School of Soil and Water Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
    2State Key Laboratory of Efficient Production of Forest Resource, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
    3Key Laboratory of State Forestry and Grassland Administration on Soil and Water Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
* ZHANG Yu-Qing(zhangyqbjfu@gmail.com)

Received date: 2024-03-27

  Accepted date: 2024-09-28

  Online published: 2024-09-29

Supported by

National Natural Science Foundation of China(U22A20504);National Natural Science Foundation of China(32071844)

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Abstract

Aims Nitrogen is a key nutrient element for maintaining species diversity in plant communities. In nitrogen-limited desert ecosystems, the impact of interspecific interactions within sand-fixed plant communities on nitrogen uptake rates and distribution among different functional groups of plants remains unclear.
Methods A field experiment was conducted in the Mau Us Sandy Land, northern China, with two treatments: removal of Artemisia ordosica and a control that retained A. ordosica. Nitrogen uptake rate and proportion of nitrate nitrogen, ammonium nitrogen, and glycine by three associated functional groups of herbaceous plants (annual herbaceous, perennial grasses, and perennial forbs) and the overall herbaceous community, were measured using 15N isotope labeling. Environmental factors, such as soil ammonium nitrogen, nitrate nitrogen, total nitrogen, soluble organic nitrogen content, soil moisture, and plot light transmittance were also determined. Additionally, the relationships between nitrogen uptake rate, proportion and environmental factors for each functional group and herbaceous community were analyzed.
Important findings Inorganic nitrogen and micromolecular organic nitrogen were effective nitrogen sources for herbaceous plants in A. ordosica community. The preference of herbaceous plants for different forms of nitrogen followed the order: nitrate nitrogen, ammonium nitrogen, and micromolecule organic nitrogen. After the removal of A. ordosica, the nitrogen uptake rate of annual herbaceous, perennial grasses, and the overall herbaceous community increased by 48.32%, 129.77%, and 55.53%, respectively, with perennial grasses showing a 10.65% increase in the proportion of nitrate nitrogen uptake. Artemisia ordosica affected the nitrogen uptake absorption mode of herbaceous plants by altering the microenvironment under the plants, particularly by reducing plot light transmittance and soil nitrate nitrogen content. Nitrogen uptake rate and proportion among different functional groups of herbaceous plants were influenced by various environmental factors, among which perennial grasses demonstrating flexible nitrogen source plasticity and higher nitrogen use efficiency. The study showed that the differentiated nitrogen acquisition strategies of herbaceous plants may be a crucial mechanism underlying that herbaceous plants in A. ordosica community coped with interspecific nitrogen competition and resource scarcity, thereby enhancing community stability and resilience. Perennial grasses, with flexible nitrogen source utilization and efficient absorption capabilities, may gradually become the dominant functional group as community succession. These findings may enhance the understanding of nutrient competition and species coexistence mechanisms in the typical sand-fixed community, which would provide scientific evidence for vegetation restoration and management in desertification areas.

Key words： plant-plant interaction; Artemisia ordosica; nitrogen uptake rate; nitrogen uptake proportion; Mau Us Sandy Land

Cite this article

MIAO Chun , LIU Liang , ZHU Guan-Nan , BAI Yu-Xuan , SHE Wei-Wei , QIN Shu-Gao , GUO Yan-Pei , ZHANG Yu-Qing . Effects of Artemisia ordosica on the nitrogen uptake rate and proportion of associated herbaceous plants in the Mau Us Sandy Land[J]. Chinese Journal of Plant Ecology, 2025 , 49(3) : 446 -459 . DOI: 10.17521/cjpe.2024.0086

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