N-Exponential Fertilization Could Affect the Growth and Nitrogen Accumulation of Metasequoia glyptostroboides Seedling in a Greenhouse Environment

Metasequoia glyptostroboides(M.glyptostroboides)is a unique plant species related to relic flora in China.It plays a positive role in afforestation and its long-term protection with high paleoclimate research value.However,due to the nutrients-supply deficiency,it is a big challenge to cultivate the high-quality seedlings of M.glyptostroboides.In this study,a pot experiment in a greenhouse environment was carried out to identify the effect of N-exponential fertilization on the growth and nutrient distribution of M.glyptostroboides seedling.The M.glyptostroboides rooted seedlings with 12-month growth were chosen.Different N fertilizer levels with conventional fertilization(CF:5.0 g seedling^(−1)),exponential fertilization including EF1,EF2,EF3 and EF4 were determined.The relevant growth indexes were measured after 210-day growth.The results indicated that non-significant differences in seedlings’height and ground diameter were found among the above treatments(P>0.05);At the same time,N-exponential fertilization promoted the M.glyptostroboides’s biomass in different organs(P<0.05),with the maximum total biomass under EF3 treatment.The N accumulation in root and stem of the N-exponential fertilization treatments were increased in to some extent(P<0.05).The maximum N accumulation was also found under EF3 treatment.Therefore,steady-state nutrition and superior growth performance of M.glyptostroboides could be obtained by N-exponential fertilization of 5.0 g cutting^(−1).