We examined foliar nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) stoichiometry of 3 wetland plants (Phalaris arundinacea, Miscanthus sacchariflorus, and Carex brevicuspis) distributed along an elevation gradient in the Dongting Lake, China, and how this stoichiometry is related to soil physico-chemical characteristics, elevation, and flooding days. Plant and soil samples were collected from 3 lakeshore sites. Total N and P concentrations of plants and six physico-chemical characteristics of the soil were measured, in addition to the elevation and flooding days. P. arundinacea and M. sacchariflorus had higher total N and P concentrations than C. brevicuspis. The foliar N:P ratio decreased with increasing elevation, and only increased with increasing foliar total N concentration. Canonical correspondence analysis indicated that the foliar stoichiometry was primarily regulated by soil water content, followed by soil nutrient concentration. The foliar N and P stoichiometry of the 3 wetland plants was insignificantly correlated with soil total P concentration. However, foliar stoichiometric characteristics and soil total N concentration significantly differed among the 3 species. These results demonstrate that spatial variation of foliar stoichiometry in wetland plants exists along an elevation gradient, with this information being useful for the conservation and management of wetland plants in this lake.

In this paper, the effect of plant density, sediment type, and macrophyte fragment size on the fragment colonization ability of Myriophyllum spicatum was evaluated in an outdoor experiment. The relative growth rate (RGR) was higher in the mud and low-density treatments than in the sand and high-density treatments. The relative elongation rate (RER) decreased with increasing density and fragment size, with RER values being much higher in the mud than the sand treatments. Both branching number and shoot diameter increased with decreasing density and increasing fragment size, and were significantly higher in the mud than the sand treatments. The shoot : root ratio was higher in the mud treatments than in the sand treatments. Total N content in both the shoot and root was significantly higher in the mud and low-density treatments than in the sand and high-density treatments. Shoot P content only decreased with increasing density, while root P content was higher in the mud and low-density treatments than in the sand and high-density treatments. These data indicate that fragment colonization by M. spicatum is improved by large fragments, low density, and nutrient-rich sediments, and that these conditions contribute to the rapid population expansion of this species.

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Both competition and burial are important factors that influence plant growth and structuring plant communities. Competition intensity may decline with increased burial stress. However, experimental evidence is scarce. The aim of this study was to elucidate the role of burial stress in influencing plant competition by investigating biomass accumulation, biomass allocation, and clonal growth performance of Carex brevicuspis, one of the dominant species in the Dongting Lake wetland in China. The experiment was conducted with two typical wetland species, C. brevicuspis (target plant) and Polygonum hydropiper (neighbor plant), in a target-neighbor design containing three densities (0, 199, and 398 neighbor plants m-2) and two burial depths (0 and 12 cm). The biomass accumulation of C. brevicuspis decreased with increment of P. hydropiper density in the 0 cm burial treatment. However, in the 12 cm burial treatment, biomass accumulation of C. brevicuspis did not change under medium and high P. hydropiper densities. The relative neighbor effect index (RNE) increased with enhancement of P. hydropiper density but decreased with increasing burial depth. The shoot mass fraction decreased with P. hydropiper density in the 12 cm burial treatments, but the root mass fraction was only affected by burial depth. However, the rhizome mass fraction increased with both P. hydropiper density and burial depth. The number of ramets decreased with increasing P. hydropiper density. With increasing burial depth and density, the proportion of spreading ramets increased from 34.23% to 80.44%, whereas that of clumping ramets decreased from 65.77% to 19.56%. Moreover, increased P. hydropiper density and burial depth led to greater spacer length. These data indicate that the competitive effect of P. hydropiper on C. brevicuspis was reduced by sand burial, which was reflected by different patterns of biomass accumulation and RNE at the two burial depth treatments. A change from a phalanx to a guerrilla growth form and spacer elongation induced by sand burial helped C. brevicuspis to acclimate to competition.

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Abstract. Litter decomposition plays a vital role in wetland carbon cycling. However, the contribution of aboveground litter decomposition to the wetland soil organic carbon (SOC) pool has not yet been quantified. Here, we conducted a Carex brevicuspis leaf litter input experiment to clarify the intrinsic factors controlling litter decomposition and quantify its contribution to the SOC pool at different water levels. The Carex genus is ubiquitous in global freshwater wetlands. We sampled this plant leaf litter at −25, 0, and +25 cm relative to the soil surface over 280 d and analysed leaf litter decomposition and its contribution to the SOC pool. The percentage litter dry weight loss and the instantaneous litter dry weight decomposition rate were the highest at +25 cm water level (61.8 %, 0.01307 d−1), followed by the 0 cm water level (49.8 %, 0.00908 d−1), and the lowest at −25 cm water level (32.4 %, 0.00527 d−1). Significant amounts of litter carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus were released at all three water levels. Litter input significantly increased the soil microbial biomass and fungal density but had nonsignificant impacts on soil bacteria, actinomycetes, and the fungal∕bacterial concentrations at all three water levels. Compared with litter removal, litter addition increased the SOC by 16.93 %, 9.44 %, and 2.51 % at the +25, 0, and −25 cm water levels, respectively. Hence, higher water levels facilitate the release of organic carbon from leaf litter into the soil via water leaching. In this way, they increase the soil carbon pool. At lower water levels, soil carbon is lost due to the slower litter decomposition rate and active microbial (actinomycete) respiration. Our results revealed that the water level in natural wetlands influenced litter decomposition mainly by leaching and microbial activity, by extension, and affected the wetland surface carbon pool.

Plant nutrient stoichiometry is affected by both environmental factors and plant physiological processes. However, we know little about how small elevation gradients (influencing e.g. flooding regimes) and seasonality combine with soil physicochemical properties to influence nutrient stoichiometry in wetland plants. In this study, we examined these factors in Carex brevicuspis at Dongting Lake, China, during the non‐flooding periods in March, May and December of 2015 and February of 2016. We found that total foliar C concentration increased as elevation increased, especially during December 2015 and February 2016. At the low‐elevation site, total foliar C concentration decreased over the season, whereas it first increased and then decreased over time at higher elevations. Foliar total N and P concentrations decreased from March to May and subsequently increased throughout the season, and these concentrations were always much higher at the low‐elevation site. The C:N and C:P ratios first increased and then decreased over the season, while increasing with rising elevation. The N:P ratio was lower at the low‐elevation site, especially during May 2015 and February 2016; its variation over time differed across the elevations. A canonical correspondence analysis revealed that soil organic C, total N and soil nitrate N are important for determining C. brevicuspis stoichiometry. Our results suggest that both elevation and plant life stage have a significant influence on plant stoichiometry. This study improves our understanding of the seasonal dynamics of plant nutrients under different geographical conditions.