The uptake diversity of soil nitrogen nutrients by main plant species in Kobresia humilis alpine meadow on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

We studied the uptake of ammonium, nitrate, and a variety of amino acids by alpine plant species in the Kobresia humil alpine meadow ecosystem in situ. We examined the extent of niche separation in uptake of N source by different plant species in alpine communities, and investigated the contribution of symbiotically fixed N to the total N in alpine meadow. The results are （1） δ15N natural abundance values of 13 plant species lie between -2.680‰ and 5.169‰, and the scope is 7.849‰. （2） Le- guminous plants, such as Trigonella ruthenica, Gueldenstaedtia diversiffolia, and Oxytyopis ochrocephala, and non-legumi- nous plant Gentiana straminea uptake low amounts of 15N labeled ammonium, nitrate, glycine or aspartate in soil. （3） As far as the plant uptake of organic N is concerned, Kobresia humilis, Poa pratensis, and Gentiuna spathutifolta can effectively uptake organic nitrogen, and about 37%-40% of the nitrogen of these species comes from soil organic nitrogen sources （such as glycine and aspartate）. Stipa aliena can effectively uptake nitrate, and 60% of its nitrogen comes from soil nitrate. Potentilla anserina, Poa pratensis, and Thalictrum alpinum can effectively absorb ammonium in comparason to other plant species in the meadow, and about 25%-27% of the nitrogen in these plants comes from soil ammonium. （4） The contribution of leguminous fixed N to total N is 7.48%-9.26% in Kobresia humilis alpine meadow. （5） These data show many plant species of alpine meadow may effectively utilize dissolved organic nitrogen such as amino acids, and these plants have diverse ways to uptake soil nitrogen in alpine meadows. Based on the results we can partly explain why there are abundant biodiversities and how plants at alpine habitat utilize the limited soil N sources.

Distribution and Fate of Anthropogenic Nitrogen in the Calamagrostis angustifolia Wetland Ecosystem of Sanjiang Plain, Northeast China

Wetlands are important for the protection of water quality of rivers and lakes, especially those adjacent to agricultural landscapes, by intercepting and removing nutrients in runoff. In this study, the ^15N tracer technique was applied to study the distribution and fate of anthropogenic nitrogen （^15N-fertilizer） in Calamagrostis angustifolia Kom wetland plant-soil microcosms to identify the main ecological effects of it. ^15NH4^15NO3 solution （14.93 mg N/L, 20.28 at.% ^15N） was added to each microcosm of the first group, which was approximate to the current nitrogen concentration （CNC） of farm drainage, and 29.86 mg NIL ^15NH4^15NO3 solution was added to another group, which was approximate to the double nitrogen concentration （DNC） of farm drainage, while no nitrogen （NN） was added to the third group. The results suggest that the input of anthropogenic nitrogen has positive effects on the biomass and total nitrogen content of plant, and the positive effects will be elevated as the increase of its input amount. The increase of ^15N-fertilizer can also elevate its amounts and proportions in plant nitrogen. Soil nitrogen is still the main source of plant nitrogen, but its proportion will be reduced as the increase of ^15 N-fertilizer. The study of the fate of ^15N-fertilizer indicates that, in CNC treatment, only a small proportion is water-dissolved （0,13 ± 0.20%）, a considerable proportion is soil-immobilized （17.02 ± 8.62%）, or plant-assimilated （23.70 ± 0.92%）, and most is lost by gaseous forms （59.15 ± 8.35%）. While in DNC treatment, about 0.09 ± 0.15% is water-dissolved, 15.33 ± 7.46% is soil-immobilized, 23.55±2.86% is plant-assimilated, and 61.01±5.59% is lost by gaseous forms. The double input of anthropogenic nitrogen can not elevate the proportions of plant-assimilation, soil-immobilization and water-dissolution, but it can enhance the gaseous losses.