Effects of spatial expansion of Phragmites australis and Cyperus malaccensis on distributions and stocks of phosphorus in marshes in the Minjiang River estuary, China.

Abstract

To investigate the distributions and stocks of total phosphorus (TP) in plant-soil systems of marshes in Shanyutan of the Minjiang River estuary and explore its influencing factors, Phragmites australis (PA) marsh and Cyperus malaccensis (CM) marsh before spatial expansion and ecotonal marsh (EM, P. australis and C. malaccensis in EM were denoted by PA' and CM', respectively) during spatial expansion were studied. Results showed that, as affected by spatial expansion, the contents of TP in both plant and soil in different marshes showed great variations. Compared with PA and CM marshes, soil TP in EM increased by 20.0% and 7.1%, respectively. The variation of soil TP in EM might be attributed to the alteration of soil particle composition, plant bio-mass and root/shoot ratio during spatial expansion. Except for leaves, TP in organs of P. australis in P. australis-C. malaccensis community (PA') was lower than that in C. malaccensis in P. australis-C. malaccensis community (CM'), due to the differences in absorption, utilization and translocation way of P among organs between the two species. The competition effect caused by spatial expansion greatly changed plant P allocation ratio of the two species. Compared with PA and CM, the allocations of P in roots and leaves of PA' increased, while only that in roots of CM' rose. During spatial expansion, the two species might adopt different adaptation strategies for P absorption and utilization to maintain their competitiveness. The PA might compete primarily by strengthening the P accumulation capacities of its roots and promoting leaf photosynthesis, whereas the CM might resist the spatial expansion of PA by increasing its underground biomass to enhance P absorption.