Nitrogen and phosphorus resorption of Artemisia scoparia, Chenopodium acuminatum, Cannabis sativa, and Phragmites communis under nitrogen and phosphorus additions in a semiarid grassland, China

Abstract

A factorial nitrogen (N) × phosphorus (P) addition experiment was conducted to evaluate responses of leaf nutrient resorption to increased soil N and P availability in a semiarid grassland in Keerqin Sandy Lands, China. Four plant species were selected, among which Artemisia scoparia and Chenopodium acuminatum were dominant species in the control and P-added plots, and Cannabis sativa and Phragmites communis were dominant in the N-and N + P-treated plots. Results showed that N and P resorption varied substantially among species (P < 0.01). A general trend of decrease in N resorption efficiency (NRE) and N resorption proficiency (NRP) was observed in response to increased soil N availability for all species, except P. communis only for NRE. Similarly, P resorption proficiency (PRP) decreased in response to P addition for all species, whereas P resorption efficiency (PRE) was not affected by P addition. Species responded differently in terms of PRE and PRP to N addition, whereas no changes in NRE and NRP occurred in response to P addition except P. communis for NRE. Our results suggest that increased soil nutrient availability can influence plant-mediated nutrient cycling directly by changing leaf nutrient resorption and indirectly by altering species composition in the sandy grassland.

Soil nitrogen affects phosphorus recycling: foliar resorption and plant–soil feedbacks in a northern hardwood forest

“…Longterm N additions to a boreal peatland increased P resorption efficiencies in two evergreen shrubs (Wang et al 2014). Nitrogen fertilization in grasslands caused increased P resorption efficiency in some species but not others in Mongolia (Li et al 2012) and in northeastern China (Lu and Han 2010). In the latter study, soil P concentrations did not differ significantly from controls, suggesting that the observed changes in P resorption were not caused by decreased soil P availability following N addition.…”

Enhancement of Carbon Sequestration in Soil in the Temperature Grasslands of Northern China by Addition of Nitrogen and Phosphorus

“…C gain efficiency decreased quadratically with increasing P input, which also supported this assumption. The possible explanation for the observed logarithmic relationship is that P absorption proficiency of plant species decreased in response to P addition intensities[32]. Niu et al [33] reported that P addition has no apparent effect on net ecosystem exchange in temperate steppe.…”

The application of ecological stoichiometry to plant–microbial–soil organic matter transformations

“…2). First, a greater fraction of foliar N and P are resorbed in nutrient-poor soil-plant systems (Aerts 1996, Richardson et al 2005, Silla and Escudero 2006, Li et al 2012, Lu et al 2012. Second, N:P resorption ratios generally increase when the soil is N limited and generally decrease when the soil is P limited (van Heerwaarden et al 2003, Zotz 2004).…”