Abstract
Silicon (Si) plays an important role in plant nutrient capture and absorption, and also promotes plant mechanical strength and light interception in alpine meadows. In this study, we conducted a field experiment to examine the effect of nitrogen (N) application, with (N + Si) and without Si (N-only), on the potential for soil nutrient and the growth of grass and legume plant functional types (PFTs) in an alpine meadow. It was found that N + Si resulted in higher soil nutrient contents, leaf N and P concentrations, abundance and biomass of legume and grass PFTs than N-only. The aboveground biomass of grass (598 g m−2) and legume (12.68 g m−2) PFTs under 600 kg ha−1 ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3) per year addition with Si was significantly higher than that under the same level of N addition without Si (515 and 8.68 g m−2, respectively). The grass:legume biomass ratio did not differ significantly between the N + Si and N-only. This demonstrates that Si enhances N fertilization with apparently little effect on grass:legume ratio and increases plant-available nutrients, indicating that Si is essential for the plant community in alpine meadows.
Highlights
Silicon (Si) plays an important role in plant nutrient capture and absorption, and promotes plant mechanical strength and light interception in alpine meadows
Si could play an important role in plant community composition such as plant abundance and biomass ratios of different plant functional types (PFTs), but has received little research attention[21,22,23]
To our knowledge, no studies have examined the impacts of N + Si on soil nutrient ions and growth of grass and legume PFTs and abundance and biomass grass:legume ratios
Summary
Silicon (Si) plays an important role in plant nutrient capture and absorption, and promotes plant mechanical strength and light interception in alpine meadows. In an alpine meadow under different levels of N addition without Si (N-only), Si addition only and N added with Si (N + Si), and N + Si has a more beneficial effect than N-only To test this hypothesis, our objectives were to (1) evaluate the effect of Si or N addition only and the interactive effect of N + Si addition simultaneously on the concentrations of soil ammonium (NH4+-N), nitrate (NO3−-N) and available P, (2) identify whether there were any different responses of the growth of grass and legume PFTs under the different fertilizers and (3) determine whether or not there is a beneficial interaction effect of N and Si addition on grass:legume abundance and biomass ratios
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