Effects of nitrogen addition on leaf traits of common species in natural Pinus tabuliformis forests in Taiyue Mountain, Shanxi Province, China

Leaves and roots are important resource acquisition organs of seedlings and both are sensitive to the environment. However, it is currently unclear whether leaf and root traits have a similar response model to nitrogen (N) deposition. Furthermore, the relationships between the responses of leaf and root traits to N deposition are still unknown.Exogenous nitrogen input experiments were conducted to simulate the effects of nitrogen deposition in Shunchang County, south of China. We measured the biomass, morphological characteristics, and nutrient concentrations (total of 12 functional traits of leaves and roots) of Machilus pauhoi seedlings. The responses of leaf and root traits to N addition were analyzed. In addition, the relationships between paired leaf and root traits were analyzed.We found that the responses of the leaves and roots to short-term nitrogen deposition were not consistent. The specific leaf area (SLA) (specific root length, SRL), tissue density (TD), carbon (C) content, N content, C/N, and N/phosphorus (P) of the leaf and root did not appear to respond to N addition. However, the biomass, P content, and C/P of the leaf and root markedly responded to N addition. The nutrient concentrations of the leaf and root were correlated, while the phenotypic traits were not. Furthermore, short-term N addition did not alter the relationship between the leaves and roots.Our results show that, in the context of global change of nitrogen deposition, the correlation between the leaves and roots of a plant has a certain tolerance for nitrogen deposition, which is of great significance for the efficient cultivation of quality seedlings and understanding how terrestrial forest ecosystems respond to nitrogen deposition.

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Variation in Nitrogen Utilization and Nutrient Composition across Various Organs under Different Strip Logging Management Models in Moso Bamboo (Phyllostachys edulis) Forest

Li,

Xu,

Chen

et al. 2024

Plants

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The rapid restoration and renewal of the moso bamboo logging zone after strip logging has emerged as a key research area, particularly regarding whether nutrient accumulation and utilization in reserve zones can aid in the restoration and regeneration of the logging zone. In this study, a dynamic 15N isotope tracking experiment was conducted by injecting labeled urea fertilizer into bamboo culms. Logging zones and reserve zones of 6 m, 8 m, and 10 m widths were established. The conventional selective logging treatment served as a control (Con). Measurements were taken in May and October to assess the differences in nitrogen accumulation ability, utilization rates, and nutrient content across different organs in bamboo forests at different growth stages and under different treatments. Principal component analysis was conducted to evaluate and determine the importance of each indicator and strip logging treatment comprehensively. The results showed that various bamboo organs exhibited higher nitrogen accumulation and utilization rates during the peak growth period compared to the late growth period. Leaves had the highest nitrogen accumulation and utilization rates than the other organs. The average C content in various bamboo organs under different logging treatments exhibited subtle differences, irrespective of variation in logging width treatments. Bamboo culm exhibited the highest carbon accumulation. The C content in various bamboo organs was higher during the peak growth period than in the late growth period. The nitrogen content peaked in the leaves during the two growth stages and was significantly higher compared to the other organs. Most bamboo organs in the logging zones exhibited relatively higher nitrogen content than in the reserve zone and Con group. The P content was highest in bamboo leaves compared with other organs across the different strip logging treatments. Principal component analysis revealed relatively high absolute values of the coefficients for the C content, bamboo stump C content, and culm Ndff%. Log8 and Res10 zones had the highest comprehensive evaluation scores, indicating that Log8 and Res10 had the best effect on the promotion of nitrogen utilization and nutrient accumulation in various organs of moso bamboo.

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Effects of nitrogen addition on leaf traits of common species in natural Pinus tabuliformis forests in Taiyue Mountain, Shanxi Province, China

Cited by 3 publications

References 27 publications

Response of foliar functional traits to experimental N and P addition among overstory and understory species in a tropical secondary forest

Response of foliar functional traits to experimental N and P addition among overstory and understory species in a tropical secondary forest

Nitrogen Addition Did Not Alter the Relationships Between the Leaf and Root Traits of Machilus Pauhoi seedlings

Variation in Nitrogen Utilization and Nutrient Composition across Various Organs under Different Strip Logging Management Models in Moso Bamboo (Phyllostachys edulis) Forest

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