Response of forest species to C:N:P in the plant-litter-soil system and stoichiometric homeostasis of plant tissues during afforestation on the Loess Plateau, China

Bai, Xuejuan; Wang, Baorong; An, Shaoshan; Zeng, Quanchao; Zhang, Haixin

doi:10.1016/j.catena.2019.104186

Cited by 83 publications

(60 citation statements)

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“…Soil N:P ratio can serve as an indicator of N saturation, which in turn indicates the availability of soil nutrient elements during plant growth and is used to determine the threshold of nutrient restriction (Güsewell, Koerselman & Verhoeven, 2003;Tessier & Raynal, 2003). The average soil N:P ratio in the Ziwuling forest area was 3.62, which was lower than that of China's terrestrial soil with an average of 3.9 (Tian et al, 2010), but higher than those found by other scholars on the Loess Plateau (Bai et al, 2019;Cao & Chen, 2017). With the restoration of vegetation, the concentration of N in soil increased significantly, whereas that of P remained stable, resulting in an increasing soil N:P ratio.…”

Section: Responses Of Soil Stoichiometry To Vegetation Succession Andmentioning

confidence: 76%

“…C:N:P stoichiometry mainly focuses on the interaction and balance of chemical elements in ecological processes (Agren, 2008;Mcgroddy, Daufresne & Hedin, 2004;Ren et al, 2016;Wardle et al, 2004), and provides a useful and effective way to study the distribution, nutrient limitation, and regulatory mechanism of nutrient composition in the ecosystem (Wang et al, 2014). In recent years, many researchers have reported the C:N:P stoichiometry patterns in plant organs (Bai et al, 2019;Yang, Liu & An, 2018), plant communities (Fu et al, 2010;Jiao et al, 2013;Zhao et al, 2017), stand ages (Zhang et al, 2019) and plantations and natural secondary forests (Cao & Chen, 2017;Deng et al, 2016). For example , Yang, Liu & An (2018) found that the C:N:P stoichiometry in leaves, roots, litter, and soil varied hugely, and that the plant community makeup had a significant effect on C:N:P stoichiometry.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Soil nutrient concentrations generally undergo dynamic changes over time, and these changes directly influence elemental nutrient stoichiometry (Fan et al, 2015;Ma et al, 2019;Wang et al, 2014). Many studies have found that vegetation restoration enhances soil nutrient status, improves microbial activity (Fan et al, 2015;Ren et al, 2016;Zinn, Marrenjo & Silva, 2018), and improves the C:N:P stoichiometry (Bai et al, 2019;Yang & Luo, 2011). However, other studies have shown that land use change decreases soil nutrient concentrations (Yang et al, 2012), and did not change soil C:N ratio (Zinn, Marrenjo & Silva, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Shifts in soil nutrient concentrations and C:N:P stoichiometry during long-term natural vegetation restoration

Liu

et al. 2020

PeerJ

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Background Ecological stoichiometry (C:N:P ratios) in soil is an important indicator of the elemental balance in ecological interactions and processes. Long-term natural vegetation plays an important role in the accumulation and distribution of soil stoichiometry. However, information about the effects of long-term secondary forest succession on soil stoichiometry along a deep soil profile is still limited. Methods We selected Ziwuling secondary succession forest developed from farmland as the study area, investigated the concentrations and stoichiometry of soil organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen (TN), and total phosphorus (TP) at a depth of 0–100 cm along a 90-year succession chronosequence, including farmland (control), grassland, shrub, early forest, and climax forest. Results SOC and TN concentrations significantly increased with increasing restoration age, whereas soil P concentration remained relatively stable across various successional stages. SOC and TN concentrations decreased with an increase in soil depth, exhibiting distinct soil nutrient “surface-aggregation” (high nutrients concentration in the top soil layer). The soil C:P and N:P ratios increased with an increase in restoration age, whereas the variation of the C:N ratio was small and relatively stable across vegetation succession. The nutrient limitation changed along with vegetation succession, transitioning from limited N in the earlier successional stages to limited P in the later successional stages. Conclusion Our results suggest that more nitrogen input should be applied to earlier succession stages, and more phosphorus input should be utilized in later succession stages in order to address limited availability of these elements. In general, natural vegetation restoration was an ecologically beneficial practice for the recovery of degraded soils in this area. The findings of this study strengthen our understanding of the changes of soil nutrient concentration and nutrient limitation after vegetation restoration, and provide a simple guideline for future vegetation restoration and reconstruction efforts on the Loess Plateau.

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Section: Responses Of Soil Stoichiometry To Vegetation Succession Andmentioning

confidence: 76%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Shifts in soil nutrient concentrations and C:N:P stoichiometry during long-term natural vegetation restoration

Liu

et al. 2020

PeerJ

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“…The plantation ecosystem has a composition and structure similar to that of other forest ecosystems, of which plants, litter, and soil are the primary components [8,9]. The "plantslitter-soil" system is often described as a micro-continuum in which the chemical elements within the ecosystem are transferred between the different parts, leading to complex ecological processes [10,11]. At present, research on the stoichiometry of plantation ecosystems has mainly focused on the tree layer [12,13], but the stability of forest ecosystem functions depends on the specific interrelationships among the plant communities and the interactions between biotic and abiotic factors [14].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seasonal Variations in Carbon, Nitrogen, and Phosphorus Stoichiometry of a Robinia pseudoacacia Plantation on the Loess Hilly Region, China

Dong

Qiao

Cao

et al. 2021

Forests

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Seasonal variations in stoichiometry are a crucial regulatory mechanism for plant communities that respond to environmental changes. However, the seasonal characteristics of stoichiometry in plants, litter, and soil are poorly understood, especially in plantation ecosystems. Therefore, we explored the seasonal variations of C, N, and P contents and ratios between plants, litter, and soil of a Robinia pseudoacacia plantation on the Loess Plateau in China in 2017. The results indicate that the C, N, P contents and ratios in plants, litter and soil showed different seasonal patterns. The N and P contents of tree and shrub leaves substantially decreased over the growing season, while the C:N, C:P, and N:P ratios exhibited the opposite trend. The utilization efficiency of the N and P elements by trees and shrubs gradually increased with the change of the growing season. These results suggest that the C:N:P stoichiometry of plants was more sensitive to seasonal changes than the litter and soil; therefore, the potential impacts of time should be considered when using stoichiometry to explore the utilization of plant nutrients. Additionally, the P content between tree leaves and soil and the N content between herb leaves and soil were significantly positively correlated, indicating that the growth of the tree and herb layer in the R. pseudoacacia plantation in the area was restricted by P and N, respectively. Meanwhile, the N content in the leaves between trees and herbs showed a significant negative correlation, indicating that N competition existed between R. pseudoacacia and understory herbs, which was not conducive to the effective use of environmental resources by the R. pseudoacacia plantation ecosystem. This study contributes to vegetation restoration and plantation management on the Loess Plateau and provides basic information for global stoichiometric analyses.

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“…With the strengthening of global environmental protection, soil ecological stoichiometry has become one of the research hotspots in restoration ecology [15]. The research contents mainly focus on the differences of soil nutrients (or reserves) and ecological stoichiometry for different restoration processes, restoration years and land use types [16][17][18], whereas few studies have focused on the soil stoichiometry of different vegetation restoration patterns.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil C, N, P and K stoichiometry affected by vegetation restoration patterns in the alpine region of the Loess Plateau, Northwest China

Liu

Wang

2020

PLoS ONE

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The Grain-for-Green project is an important ecological restoration measure to address the degradation of alpine ecosystems in China, which has an important impact on the ecological stoichiometry of soil carbon (C), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K). However, soil stoichiometry changes under different vegetation restoration patterns and at different soil depths remain poorly understood in the alpine region of the Loess Plateau. To clarify these soil stoichiometry changes, a 0–60 cm soil profile was sampled from two typical vegetation restoration patterns: grassland (GL) and forestland (FL), including Picea crassifolia (PC), Larix principis-rupprechtii (LR), Populus cathayana (PR) and Betula platyphylla (BP). The control was a wheat field (WF). In all soil layers, the soil organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen (TN), soil available nitrogen and potassium (AN and AK, respectively) and C:P, C:K, N:P and N:K ratios of FL were higher than those of GL and WF. The TN content and N:P and N:K ratios of GL were higher than those of WF in each soil layer. Additionally, the soil nutrients (except TK) of all vegetation types and stoichiometry of PR and GL (except the N:P ratio of GL) were greater at 0–20 cm than at 20–60 cm. Moreover, the SOC and TN showed the strongest correlation with the soil stoichiometry (except P:K ratio); thus, C and N had the greatest effect on the soil stoichiometry. Furthermore, soil fertility was limited by N. Our results indicated that different vegetation restoration patterns and soil depths had significant effects on the soil nutrients and stoichiometry in the alpine region of the Loess Plateau. The recovery of farmland to forestland promoted better improvements of soil nutrients, and PR had the most significant positive effect on soil surface nutrients.

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Response of forest species to C:N:P in the plant-litter-soil system and stoichiometric homeostasis of plant tissues during afforestation on the Loess Plateau, China

Cited by 83 publications

References 49 publications

Shifts in soil nutrient concentrations and C:N:P stoichiometry during long-term natural vegetation restoration

Shifts in soil nutrient concentrations and C:N:P stoichiometry during long-term natural vegetation restoration

Seasonal Variations in Carbon, Nitrogen, and Phosphorus Stoichiometry of a Robinia pseudoacacia Plantation on the Loess Hilly Region, China

Soil C, N, P and K stoichiometry affected by vegetation restoration patterns in the alpine region of the Loess Plateau, Northwest China

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