Characteristics of Vegetation Carbon, Nitrogen, and C/N Ratio in a Tamarix chinensis Coastal Wetland of China

Abstract

Variations in carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) of the vegetation in aTamarix chinensis coastal wetland located in Laizhou Bay, China, are analyzed. It is found that T. chinensis accumulates more C and N than the surrounding herbs, and it allocates more C and N in the aboveground parts but less in the roots. Branches store more C, whereas leaves and flowers accumulate more N than other tissues. The C and N contents in the aboveground parts of T. chinensis are mainly influenced by pH, electrical conductivity (EC), water content, and clay content in the top 100 cm of soil as well as the distance from the sea. For the herbs, their C contents vary little in the supratidal zone, but they are higher than those in the intertidal zone. However, N contents in the herbs are higher in the aboveground parts and varied among different communities. The contents of C and N in the herbs are affected by EC, water content as well as the contents of organic C and total nitrogen (TN) in the top 10 cm of soil. The findings confirm that increasing the biomass of T. chinensis is an effective way to increase C sequestration in temperate coastal wetland.

Spartina alterniflora Leaf and Soil Eco-Stoichiometry in the Yancheng Coastal Wetland

“…The C, N, and P contents of plants are affected by the comprehensive effects of environmental factors, such as the soil physical and chemical properties and the atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration [ 48 ]. In this study, RDA analyses were used to evaluate the key environmental factors that affect the stoichiometric characteristics of leaf C, N, and P. Soil is the main source of plant nutrients [ 49 , 50 ]; therefore, the soil C, N, and P concentrations are expected to determine the concentrations of plant C, N, and P. In addition, our study revealed that soil salinity and soil C/N ratio greatly impacted the eco-stoichiometric characteristics of S. alterniflora leaves.…”

“…Some studies have shown that a low C/N ratio can promote microbial decomposition and N mineralization, while a high C/N ratio can slow down the mineralization of organic matter and organic N and promote the fixation of organic C [ 51 ]. In addition, high salinity levels can also slow down the mineralization of organic C [ 48 , 52 ]. A significant correlation was detected between the soil organic C and the leaf C, N, and P levels ( p < 0.01, Figure 4 ).…”

Effects of different growth patterns of Tamarix chinensis on saline-alkali soil: implications for coastal restoration and management

“…This species is found in the western of USA, where it is considered as an invasive species (Swaminathan et al, 2020;Xie et al, 2020). In China, T. chinensis is the vital part of the coastal wetland ecological restoration projects of "Southern Mangrove and Northern Tamarisk" and "Blue Carbon" (Xie et al, 2019;Yang et al, 2021). As one of the dominant shrub in northern China, T. chinensis contributes largely to shoreline protection, carbon sequestration, and ecological function (Jiao et al, 2021;Xie et al, 2020).…”