Relationship between ecological stoichiometry and community diversity of plant ecosystems in the upper reaches of the Tarim River, China

Abstract

Relationship between ecological stoichiometry and community diversity of plant3 ecosystems in the upper reaches of the Tarim Abstract 33 Aim Although it is commonly proposed that nutrient cycling can impact plant 34 community diversity, this relationship has not been fully examined in arid and 35 semi-arid zones. Here, we expand on the framework for evaluating the relationship 36 between biodiversity and ecological stoichiometry by scaling up from the level of the 37 community. 38 Location The upper reaches of the Tarim River (Northwest China, 80°10′-84°36′E, 39 0°25′-41°10′N).40Methods We used multivariate analysis of variance to compare the stoichiometric 41 characteristics and species diversity indices of sampled plant communities. We also 42 measured carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorous (P) content of plants. We then 43 assessed correlations between community stoichiometry and species diversity through 44 structural equation models (SEM) and redundancy analysis (RDA). 45 ResultsWe found that the differences between stoichiometric characteristics and 46 community diversity indices were highly significant. The Margalef index was 3 47 strongly related to C and P content. The Simpson's index and Shannon-Weaner index 48 were most strongly correlated with C content. Pielou's index was closely related to C 49 and N contents, and the C:N and C:P ratios were important at driving ecological 50 dominance. 51Main Conclusions Our study highlights the importance of ecological stoichiometry in 52 driving community assembly and diversity within a desert ecosystems in northwestern 53 China. The relationship between eclogical stoichiometry in the desert plant 54 community had an effect on species diversity, and it was a good indicator of plant 55 community diversity. 56 KEYWORDS 57 community stoichiometry, diversity, structural equation model, redundancy analysis.58 59 INTRODUCTION 60 Ecological stoichiometry is an important tool for studying ecological processes 61 and ecological functions(Zechmeister-Boltenstern S et al. 2016; Shang B et al. 2018), 62 which is mainly used to explore the dynamic balance of various elements and their 63 interactions (Sterner&Elser 2002; Moorthi S D et al. 2016). The C, N, and P 64 concentrations are vital source elements in plants, and their changes in characteristics 65 limit plant growth(Zeng Q et al. 2016; Sperfeld E et al. 2017 ). It can be used to judge 66 the nutrient limitation of plants and to reveal the utilization strategies of plants for 67 nutrients (Sterner&Elser 2002). At present, stoichiometry has been applied as a new 68 ecological research tool to all levels, such as molecules, cells, individuals, 69 communities and ecosystems (Elser J J et al. 2007; Elser J J et al. 2010; Yan Z B et 70 al. 2016). With the changes of the global environment,terrestrial ecosystems have also 71 undergone significant changes in the aspects of structure, process, function and 72 vegetation distribution pattern (Freudenberger L et al. 2012). Among them, the role of 73 community ecological st...

Impact of groundwater depth and soil salinity on riparian plant diversity and distribution in an arid area of China

“…The tugai forests thus constitute a highly threatened ecosystem 52 . Plant species diversity and richness are considered to be the primary objectives of successful restoration 53 . Our study demonstrates that the plant diversity indices in classes 1 and 2 were higher than those in classes 4 and 5 (Fig.…”

Recent advances and future research in ecological stoichiometry

“…We highlighted the lack of ES studies in terrestrial ecosystems in a previous review to evaluate topics such as the GRH, relationships of elemental stoichiometry with trophic web function and species composition in ecosystems and communities (Sardans et al, 2012). Several recent studies have provided further evidence that changes in the N:P ratios of media (water or soil) or food affect the structure of food webs in terrestrial ecosystems (Fanin et al, 2013;Zechmeister-Bolstenstren et al, 2015;Paseka and Grunberg, 2019) and other studies have observed this link in aquatic ecosystems (Plum et al, 2015;Sitters et al, 2015;Lee et al, 2017;Zhao et al, 2018b;Nhu et al, 2019). Shifts in organismic stoichiometry throughout trophic webs due to changes in excreted stoichiometry and/or resource use (nutrients, light, water) have provided new insights into the changes in community composition, dynamics, and functionality in freshwater and marine ecosystems (Glibert et al, 2011;Hillebrand and Lehmpfuhl, 2011;Hessen et al, 2013;Plum et al, 2015;Galbraith and Martiny, 2015;Vanni and McIntyre, 2016;Filipiak, 2016;Moorthi et al, 2017;Vanderploeg et al, 2107;Branco et al 2018;Moody et al, 2018;Mousing et al, 2018;Prater et al, 2018;Spilling et al, 2019;Tanioka and Matsumoto, 2019).…”