Effect of nitrogen and phosphorus addition on leaf nutrient concentrations and nutrient resorption efficiency of two dominant alpine grass species

Nitrogen(N)and phosphorus(P)are two essential nutrients that determine plant growth and many nutrient cycling processes.Increasing N and P deposition is an important driver of ecosystem changes.However,in contrast to numerous studies about the impacts of nutrient addition on forests and temperate grasslands,how plant foliar stoichiometry and nutrient resorption respond to N and P addition in alpine grasslands is poorly understood.Therefore,we conducted an N and P addition experiment(involving control,N addition,P addition,and N+P addition)in an alpine grassland on Kunlun Mountains(Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region,China)in 2016 and 2017 to investigate the changes in leaf nutrient concentrations(i.e.,leaf N,Leaf P,and leaf N:P ratio)and nutrient resorption efficiency of Seriphidium rhodanthum and Stipa capillata,which are dominant species in this grassland.Results showed that N addition has significant effects on soil inorganic N(NO_(3)^(-)-N and NH_(4)^(+)-N)and leaf N of both species in the study periods.Compared with green leaves,leaf nutrient concentrations and nutrient resorption efficiency in senesced leaves of S.rhodanthum was more sensitive to N addition,whereas N addition influenced leaf N and leaf N:P ratio in green and senesced leaves of S.capillata.N addition did not influence N resorption efficiency of the two species.P addition and N+P addition significantly improved leaf P and had a negative effect on P resorption efficiency of the two species in the study period.These influences on plants can be explained by increasing P availability.The present results illustrated that the two species are more sensitive to P addition than N addition,which implies that P is the major limiting factor in the studied alpine grassland ecosystem.In addition,an interactive effect of N+P addition was only discernable with respect to soil availability,but did not affect plants.Therefore,exploring how nutrient characteristics and resorption response to N and P addition in the alpine grassland is important to understand nutrient use strategy of plants in terrestrial ecosystems.

Leaf nutrient dynamics and nutrient resorption:a comparison between larch plantations and adjacent secondary forests in Northeast China

Aims Conversion of secondary forests to pure larch plantations is a common management practice driven by the increasing demand for timber production in Northeast China,resulting in a reduction in soil nutrient availability after a certain number of years following conversion.Nutrient resorption prior to leaf senescence was related to soil fertility,an important nutrient conservation strategy for plants,being especially significant in nutrient-poor habitats.However,the seasonal dynamics of leaf nutrients and nutrient resorption in response to secondary forest conversion to larch plantations is not well understood.Methods A comparative experiment between larch plantations(Larix spp.)and adjacent secondary forests(dominant tree species including Quercus mongolica,Acer mono,Juglans mandshurica and Fraxinus rhynchophylla)was conducted.We examined the variations in leaf nutrient(macronutrients:N,P,K,Ca and Mg;micronutrients:Cu and Zn)concentrations of these tree species during the growing season from May to October in 2013.Nutrient resorption efficiency and proficiency were compared between Larix spp.and the broadleaved species in the secondary forests.Important Findings Results show that the seasonal variation of nutrient concentrations in leaves generally exhibited two trends,one was a downward trend for N,P,K,Cu and Zn,and another was an upward trend for Ca and Mg.The variations in foliar nutrient concentrations were mainly controlled by the developmental stage of leaves rather than by tree species.Resorption of the observed seven elements varied among the five tree species during leaf senescence.Nutrient resorption efficiency varied 6–75%of N,P,K,Mg,Cu and Zn,while Ca was not retranslocated in the senescing leaves of all species,and Mg was not retranslocated in Larix spp.Generally,Larix spp.tended to be more efficient and proficient(higher than 6–30%and 2–271%of nutrient resorption efficiency and resorption proficiency,respectively)in resorbing nutrients than the broadleaved species in the secondary forests,indicating that larch plantations had higher leaf nutrient resorption and thus nutrient use efficiency.Compared with Larix spp.,more nutrients would remain in the leaf litter of the secondary forests,indicating an advantage of secondary forests in sustaining soil fertility.In contrast,the larch plantation would reuse internal nutrients rather than lose nutrients with litter fall and thus produce a positive feedback to soil nutrient availability.In summary,our results suggest that conversion from secondary forests to pure larch plantations would alter nutrient cycling through a plantmediated pathway.