Plant and soil stoichiometric ratios can be used to explain changes in the structural and functional characteristics of plant communities. Exploring the relationships between the stoichiometric ratios and plant diversity is helpful to further elucidate the effects of soil and nutrient constraints on community vegetation. However, such studies remain poorly understood in desert ecosystems. In this study, we analyzed the effects of soil moisture and salt content on soil and leaf stoichiometry, species diversity and their relationships in the desert ecosystem of the Ebinur Lake basin. The results showed that: (1) compared with the low soil moisture and salinity (SW2) environment, the soil and leaf C, N, P contents and soil stoichiometric ratios were larger in the high soil moisture and salinity (SW1) environment, and the leaf stoichiometric ratios were smaller. (2) in SW1 environment, species diversity was negatively correlated with soil C:N and C:P, but weakly correlated with soil stoichiometric ratios in SW2 environment. In addition, the relationships between it and leaf stoichiometric ratios were reversed in different moisture and salinity environments. (3) structural equation modeling showed that leaf C:P, C:N and soil C:P had strong effects on species diversity. This research aims to provide a scientific reference for maintaining plant diversity, vegetation reconstruction and ecosystem restoration in desert areas, and enrich the ecological stoichiometric theory of desert ecosystems.
Foliar water uptake (FWU) has increasingly been regarded as a common approach for plants to obtain water under water-limited conditions. At present, the research on FWU has mostly focused on short-term experiments; the long-term FWU plant response remains unclear; Methods: Through a field in-situ humidification control experiment, the leaves of Calligonum ebinuricum N. A. Ivanova ex Soskov were humidified, and the changes of leaf water potential, gas exchange parameters and fluorescence physiological parameters of plants after long-term and short-term FWU were discussed; The main results were as follows: (1) After short-term humidification, the water potential of Calligonum ebinuricum decreased, the non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) increased, and the plant produced photoinhibition phenomenon, indicating that short-term FWU could not alleviate drought stress. (2) After long-term humidification, the leaf water potential, chlorophyll fluorescence parameter and net photosynthetic rate (Pn) increased significantly. That is to say, after long-term FWU, the improvement of plant water status promoted the occurrence of light reaction and carbon reaction, and then increased the net photosynthetic rate (Pn); Therefore, long-term FWU is of great significance to alleviate drought stress and promote Calligonum ebinuricum growth. This study will be helpful to deepen our understanding of the drought-tolerant survival mechanism of plants in arid areas.
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