Abstract
The nutrient ecological stoichiometry of plants and soil is important for the growth and dynamics of species, but the stoichiometric relationships among leaf, litter, and soil remain poorly understood. We analyzed the carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) stoichiometry of the leaves, litter, and soil for 31 species at 140 sites in warm temperate forests in northwestern China to document the patterns of nutrient traits and their relationships with climatic factors. The average concentrations of C, N, and P in the combined forests were 462.97, 18.04, and 1.32 g kg−1 for leaves, 365.12, 12.34, and 0.87 g kg−1 for litter, and 15.72, 1.29, and 0.54 g kg−1 for soil, respectively. The concentrations differed significantly among the leaves, litter, and soil. Leaf and soil nutrients were not significantly correlated, whereas leaf and litter nutrients and litter and soil nutrients were significantly correlated, indicating that litter provided a link between leaves and soil and demonstrating the nutrient associations among leaves, litter, and soil. Soil nutrients were strongly correlated with climatic factors, and precipitation had a larger impact than temperature on the plants and soil. This study will help to predict the growth and dynamics of species under environmental changes.
Highlights
Ecological stoichiometry, which balances energy and multiple chemical elements and unifies the theories of various ecological disciplines, has greatly advanced our understanding of ecological dynamics and processes[1,2,3]
These results contribute to our understanding of the dynamics of plant and soil elements under large environmental perturbations, but little is known about the differences in the responses of leaves, litter, and soil nutrients to climatic factors and plant types, especially on the Loess Plateau in China
Are the relationships between leaf, litter, and soil nutrients and climatic factors consistent? How are the leaf, litter, and soil nutrients affected by climatic factors? What are the relationships among leaf, litter, and soil nutrients? Studying the relationships of leaf, litter, and soil nutrients with climatic factors simultaneously is important to help to resolve these questions and to provide practical references for understanding the role of nutrient cycles in forest growth across broad geographic scales and their dynamics under global warming
Summary
Ecological stoichiometry, which balances energy and multiple chemical elements and unifies the theories of various ecological disciplines, has greatly advanced our understanding of ecological dynamics and processes[1,2,3]. Yuan and Chen[24] found that the senesced-leaf N concentration significantly increased but the P concentration decreased as MAT and MAP increased, whereas Chen et al.[19] found that the soil N and P concentrations both decreased significantly in response to climatic factors These results contribute to our understanding of the dynamics of plant and soil elements under large environmental perturbations, but little is known about the differences in the responses of leaves, litter, and soil nutrients to climatic factors and plant types, especially on the Loess Plateau in China. Studying the relationships of leaf, litter, and soil nutrients with climatic factors (e.g., temperature and precipitation) simultaneously is important to help to resolve these questions and to provide practical references for understanding the role of nutrient cycles in forest growth across broad geographic scales and their dynamics under global warming. We (i) compared the concentrations and ratios of the leaf, litter, and soil nutrients of different plant types on the Loess Plateau, (ii) quantified the correlations among the leaf, litter, and soil nutrients, and (iii) determined the relationships of the spatial variations of leaf, litter, and soil nutrients with climatic factors
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
