Effects of Increased Nitrogen Deposition and Precipitation on Seed and Seedling Production of Potentilla tanacetifolia in a Temperate Steppe Ecosystem

Abstract

BackgroundThe responses of plant seeds and seedlings to changing atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition and precipitation regimes determine plant population dynamics and community composition under global change.Methodology/Principal FindingsIn a temperate steppe in northern China, seeds of P. tanacetifolia were collected from a field-based experiment with N addition and increased precipitation to measure changes in their traits (production, mass, germination). Seedlings germinated from those seeds were grown in a greenhouse to examine the effects of improved N and water availability in maternal and offspring environments on seedling growth. Maternal N-addition stimulated seed production, but it suppressed seed mass, germination rate and seedling biomass of P. tanacetifolia. Maternal N-addition also enhanced responses of seedlings to N and water addition in the offspring environment. Maternal increased-precipitation stimulated seed production, but it had no effect on seed mass and germination rate. Maternal increased-precipitation enhanced seedling growth when grown under similar conditions, whereas seedling responses to offspring N- and water-addition were suppressed by maternal increased-precipitation. Both offspring N-addition and increased-precipitation stimulated growth of seedlings germinated from seeds collected from the maternal control environment without either N or water addition. Our observations indicate that both maternal and offspring environments can influence seedling growth of P. tanacetifolia with consequent impacts on the future population dynamics of this species in the study area.Conclusion/SignificanceThe findings highlight the importance of the maternal effects on seed and seedling production as well as responses of offspring to changing environmental drivers in mechanistic understanding and projecting of plant population dynamics under global change.

Effects of Increased Nitrogen and Phosphorus Deposition on Offspring Performance of Two Dominant Species in a Temperate Steppe Ecosystem

“…Seed performance of S. kryloii and A. frigida after dispersal were highly dependent on maternal environmental cues in our study, which were in line with previous studies232526. Nutrient addition will alter maternal plant growth6, photosynthesis37, and root extend38 to stimulate biomass accumulate especially reproductive biomass allocation29.…”

“…It is well known that maternal environments, such as CO 2 1621, water2223, nutrients524, light242526, and temperature26 substantially have effects on offspring development27. Moreover, transgenerational effect on the phenotype of progeny has been indicated in terms of the resource parents have available and will invest in offspring28.…”

Consequences of Changing Precipitation Patterns for Ecosystem Functioning in Grasslands: A Review

“…Water manipulation experiments at the pot and mesocosm scale are widely conducted (e.g. Li et al 2011;Nagy et al 2013;O'Brien et al 2013). However, they do not necessarily reflect natural conditions, often are of short duration, and are limited in the number of parameters studied (i.e.…”

Nitrogen (N) Deposition Impacts Seedling Growth of Pinus massoniana via N:P Ratio Effects and the Modulation of Adaptive Responses to Low P (Phosphorus)

“…The functional effect of N on root development and plant growth has been widely reported [12,14,15]. Moreover, dramatically increased N levels elevate an ecosystem’s N:P ratios [10,12,13], which might increase the degree of relative soil P deficiency. These factors potentially influence plant growth and P nutritional traits [10,12,14,15].…”

“…Since highly weathered and acidified red soil dominates in this area, low P availability has seriously limited conifer wood plantation productivity [22,24,28]. Concurrently, the average inorganic N wet deposition in the southern part of China has increased in recent years, reaching 20–30 kg N ha −1 year −1 [12,13,15]. As a result, forest vegetation is encountering coupled conditions of P deficiency and N excess [12,24,29,30].…”