Determining thresholds of low soil temperature for ecophysiological traits of black spruce and jack pine seedlings

Many studies have estimated approximately ranges of thresholds of low soil temperature in the growth and ecophysi-ological traits of trees, but difficultly determined the exact values. To resolve the problem, black spruce （Picea mariana） and jack pine （Pinus banksiana） seedlings were exposed to 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 and 35℃ soil temperature in greenhouses. After 90 days of the treatment, net photosynthetic rate （A）, stomatal conductance （gs）, transpiration rate （E）, water use efficiency （WUE） and specific leaf area （SLA） were measured. This study showed that all the traits had an asymmetrical peak relationship with changing soil temperature, the relationship was well simulated using a cubic curvilinear model, and the exact thresholds could be derived from the second derivative of the model. The results revealed that the thresholds varied among ecophysiological traits and between tree species. In black spruce, the thresholds were 14.1, 14.7, 10.7, 14.4 and 16.2℃ forA, gs, E, WUE and SLA; 15.4, 10.4, 14.7, 16.9 and 10.5℃ for the corresponding traits in jack pine. The lowest thresholds of E in black spruce and gs in jack pine were an indicator representing the minimum requirement of soil temperature for the regular processes of ecophysiology. The highest thresholds of SLA in black spruce and WUE in jack pine suggest they are the most sensitive to decreasing soil temperature and may play an important role in the acclimation. The averaged thresholds were at 14.0 and 13.6℃ for black spruce and jack pine, suggesting that the sensitivity of both species to low soil temperature was quite close.

Water Supply Changes N and P Conservation in a Perennial Grass Leymus chinensis

Changes in precipitation can influence soil water and nutrient availability, and thus affect plant nutrient conservation strategies. Better understanding of how nutrient conservation changes with variations in water availability is crucial for predicting the potential influence of global climate change on plant nutrient-use strategy. Here, green-leaf nitrogen （N） and phosphorus （P） concentrations, N- and P-resorption proficiency （the terminal N and P concentration in senescent leaves, NRP and PRP, respectively）, and N- and P-resorption efficiency （the proportional N and P withdrawn from senescent leaves prior to abscission, NRE and PRE, respectively） of Leymus chinensis （Trin.） Tzveh, a typical perennial grass species in northern China, were examined along a water supply gradient to explore how plant nutrient conservation responds to water change. Increasing water supply at low levels （〈 9000 mL/year） increased NRP, PRP and PRE, but decreased green-leaf N concentration. It did not significantly affect green-leaf P concentration or NRE. By contrast, all N and P conservation indicators were not significantly influenced at high water supply levels （〉 9000 mL/year）. These results indicated that changes in water availability at low levels could affect leaf-level nutrient characteristics, especially for the species in semiarid ecosystems. Therefore, global changes in precipitation may pose effects on plant nutrient economy, and thus on nutrient cycling in the plant-soil systems.