Ecological stoichiometric characteristics and influencing factors of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus in the leaves of Sophora alopecuroides L. in the Yili River Valley, Xinjiang

Abstract

Background Sophora alopecuroides L. (S. alopecuroides L.) is a perennial herb widely distributed throughout Xinjiang, China. It is characterized by its rapid diffusion ability. Methods To reveal the ecological mechanism of the rapid spread of S. alopecuroides, and to elucidate the ecological stoichiometric characteristics of C, N, and P (and the influencing factors) in the leaves of S. alopecuroides, leaves were sampled from four habitats—forest, roadside, farmland, and desert—across the Yili River Valley. The variation rules of the ecological stoichiometric characteristics of C, N, and P in the leaves of S. alopecuroides were analyzed. Correlations between the ecological stoichiometric characteristics of leaves and environmental factors were examined using redundancy analysis (RDA). Results (1) The C, N, and P contents of S. alopecuroides leaves were 391.30–533.10 g/kg, 8.90–43.14 g/kg, and 0.71–2.04 g/kg, respectively, and the C/N, C/P, and N/P ratios were 10.34–4.94, 209.05–698.73, and 10.78–31.43 respectively. (2) The C content and C/P ratio of S. alopecuroides leaves were the highest in the desert habitat, leaf N content and N/P ratio were the highest in the forest habitat, leaf P content was the highest in the farmland habitat, and the leaf C/N ratio was the highest in the roadside habitat. (3) RDA showed that available potassium (AK) and pH were the main factors affecting the ecological stoichiometric characteristics of S. alopecuroides leaves in Yili Valley (p ≤ 0.05), and these factors were positively correlated with C, N, P, and N/P, and negatively correlated with C/P and C/N. AK was the dominant factor that affected the P content of S. alopecuroides leaves, and appropriate reduction of K fertilizer would be conducive to restraining the spread of S. alopecuroides. Soil C, N, P, and K content, soil organic matter (OM), nitrate nitrogen (NO3−-N), ammonium nitrogen (NH4+-N), and AK had no significant effect on the ecological stoichiometric characteristics of leaves (p > 0.05).

Ecological stoichiometry, salt ions and homeostasis characteristics of different types of halophytes and soils

“…However, the nutrient changes among roots, stems, and leaves of different types of halophytes showed consistency again during plant growth. For example, three different types of halophytes showed higher N and P contents in their leaves, which is consistent with most studies (Zhang et al, 2021a;Zhang et al, 2021b). On the one hand, this is because the sampling time is summer when the transpiration of leaves is vigorous, and the N and P absorbed by roots are transported upward to the leaves with water, resulting in the enrichment of N and P in the leaves.…”

“…(2015) found that plant leaf C: N and C: P values were proportional to the nutrient use efficiency of plant N and P elements and inversely proportional to plant growth rate, it is clear that the growth rate of S. salsa among the three halophytes was relatively faster during this period. In addition, the N and P content of leaves were able to determine the plant nutrient limitation in that environment ( Zhang et al., 2019 ), plant growth was limited by N elements when N: P < 14, by N and P elements when 14 < N: P < 16, and by P elements when N: P > 16. Therefore, the growth of P. communis and S. salsa is mainly limited by P, A. sinensis is limited by both N and P, which is consistent to some extent with the finding of Han et al.…”

Impacts of Climate Change on the Habitat Suitability and Natural Product Accumulation of the Medicinal Plant Sophora alopecuroides L. Based on the MaxEnt Model

“…The whole plant can be used as medicine, with antitumor [ 17 , 18 , 19 ], anti-inflammatory [ 20 , 21 ], antiviral [ 22 ], insecticidal [ 15 , 23 ], and other pharmacological effects. Studies have shown that S. alopecuroides has a well-developed root system and strong drought and salinity resistance [ 15 , 24 ] and can fix nitrogen [ 25 ]. Therefore, it can improve soil quality [ 26 ] and plays an important role in desertification control.…”

Leaf nutrient resorption of two life-form tree species in urban gardens and their response to soil nutrient availability

“…Nutrient availability is important for plant productivity ( Chen & Chen, 2022 ). Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) are the most common limiting elements for woody plant growth ( Zhang et al, 2021 ), and their ratio can indicate the presence of a nutrient limitation ( Hong et al, 2022 ; Zhang et al, 2022 ). Before shedding leaves, a plant tissue or organ transfers part of its nutrients (mostly N and P) to other living tissues or organs.…”