Internal and external regulation of plant organ stoichiometry

Internal differences between plant organs are caused by the functional differentiation of plant tissue, whereas external supply rates of elements constrain nutrient uptake. Previous studies have concentrated on foliar or whole‐plant stoichiometric response to the environment, whereas investigation of organ‐specific comparisons is still pending. We explore C:N:P ratios of stems, leaves, diaspores and belowground organs in marsh plants, and evaluate the influence of environmental constraints using standardised major axis regression (SMA). For a pooled dataset, SMA resulted in distinct patterns of isometric and anisometric slopes between plant organs. Bivariate line‐fitting for a split dataset of four ecological groups revealed that species of the frequently inundated marsh had higher N:C ratios than those of the infrequently inundated marsh. The influence of nutrient availability was detectable in decreased P:C and increased N:P ratios in P‐poor sites. Across ecological groups, leaves and diaspores showed higher elemental homeostasis than stems and belowground organs. Any change in N:C ratios of belowground organs and diaspores in response to the environment was accompanied by an even stronger internal change in stem N:C ratios, indicating a pivotal role of stems of herbaceous plants in ecosystem processes. We found distinct patterns of C:N:P ratios in plant organs related to their internal function and external environmental constraints. Leaves and diaspores showed a higher degree of homeostasis than stems and belowground organs. We detected a clear external signal in element:element ratios of plant organs, with low soil P translating into lower tissue P:C ratio and stronger N retention in leaves as a response to salt stress.     

香港芒萁群落养分的研究

本文研究香港芒萁群落养分的分配、季节动态和循环。研究结果表明：(1)N、P、K浓度在活物质大于死物质,地上部分大于地下部分。(2)植物的养分贮量是活物质大于死物质,地下部分大于地上部分。(3)当年生芒萁地上部养分贮量随生物量的增加而增加,但是,干物质生产率超过养分吸收率,使得N、P、K浓度由于生物量的增加而降低。(4)虽然芒萁群落的净第一性生产力大于其邻近的草地和灌木林,但其净第一性生产量中的N和P量却小于灌木林。(5)以土壤中的总N和总P来计算,生态系统中的N和P主要贮存于土壤库中,但以土壤有效K来计算,则有大约36％～50％的K贮存于植被中。(6)在研究期间,立枯体和死地被物中的N、P、K贮量逐渐增加,这表明在火灾后生态系统的立枯体和死地被物养分库有一个累积过程。(7)N、P、K通过枯枝落叶的归还量分别占它们在地上部净第一性生产量中的49.1％、30.8％和13.1％,而地上部净第一性生产量中的N和P的31.2％和46.6％来自于养分的内部循环。     

氮素添加对呼伦贝尔草甸草原植物氮钾元素含量和计量比的影响

钾(K)是植物叶片中仅次于氮(N)的第二大营养元素,在调节植物生长发育、稳态维持和胁迫响应等方面具有重要作用。以往关于氮素输入对植物养分状况影响的研究中多关注了氮磷养分,较少关注钾及其与其他元素的计量关系。本研究以内蒙古呼伦贝尔草甸草原为对象,研究氮素添加和刈割对植物功能群水平和群落水平钾含量及计量特征(N∶K)的影响,分析功能群自身养分状况和群落组成改变对群落水平养分状况变化的相对贡献。结果表明: 为期6年的氮素添加提高了所有植物功能群的N含量以及根茎禾草和豆科植物的K含量,刈割降低了根茎禾草和丛生禾草的N含量,而对所有功能群的K含量和N∶K均无显著影响。氮素添加显著提高了群落水平植物N和K含量,刈割仅增加了群落植物的N含量。氮素添加和刈割对功能群和群落水平上的植物N∶K均无显著影响。功能群本身的养分变化情况对群落水平植物养分状况的贡献大于群落组成的贡献。在对群落水平养分特征的影响方面,功能群本身养分变化的贡献与群落组成的贡献具有负的协变关系。呼伦贝尔草甸草原植物具有较高的N∶K内稳性,能够较好地调节自身的氮钾平衡,这对氮沉降背景下维持氮钾元素计量关系具有重要意义。     

Testing the growth rate hypothesis in vascular plants with above- and below-ground biomass

The growth rate hypothesis (GRH) proposes that higher growth rate (the rate of change in biomass per unit biomass, μ) is associated with higher P concentration and lower C:P and N:P ratios. However, the applicability of the GRH to vascular plants is not well-studied and few studies have been done on belowground biomass. Here we showed that, for aboveground, belowground and total biomass of three study species, μ was positively correlated with N:C under N limitation and positively correlated with P:C under P limitation. However, the N:P ratio was a unimodal function of μ, increasing for small values of μ, reaching a maximum, and then decreasing. The range of variations in μ was positively correlated with variation in C:N:P stoichiometry. Furthermore, μ and C:N:P ranges for aboveground biomass were negatively correlated with those for belowground. Our results confirm the well-known association of growth rate with tissue concentration of the limiting nutrient and provide empirical support for recent theoretical formulations.     

C allocation to the fungus is not a cost to the plant in ectomycorrhizae

Mycorrhizal benefit to plants is most frequently evaluated through growth differences between mycorrhizal (M) and non‐mycorrhizal (NM) plants. These growth differences are often considered to be due to differences in belowground C expenditure, or in cost efficiency, i.e. amount of nutrients acquired per C expended. We searched published reports for relations between plant growth and belowground C allocation, C use efficiency, or nutrient uptake, in ectomycorrhizal (ECM) versus non‐mycorrhizal plants. We found a similar number of cases of negative, null or positive effects of ECM on plant growth. These effects were not correlated with differences on belowground C allocation or C use efficiency between M and NM plants. In contrast, they were very strongly correlated with mycorrhizal effects on plant N gain. A comprehensive analysis of the published data therefore provided evidence that C is an excess, rather than a costly, resource, and that the outcome of the symbiosis depends only on whether mycorrhizae result in increased or decreased nutrient acquisition compared with NM plants, and not on cost efficiency differences between M and NM plants. Consequences of this finding for the regulation of resource exchange between symbionts and the nature of the symbiosis are discussed.     

Biomass and mineral element responses of a Serengeti short-grass species to nitrogen supply and defoliation: compensation requires a critical [N]

Large mammalian herbivores in grassland ecosystems influence plant growth dynamics in many ways, including the removal of plant biomass and the return of nutrients to the soil. A 10-week growth chamber experiment examined the responses of Sporobolus kentrophyllus from the heavily grazed short-grass plains of Serengeti National Park, Tanzania, to simulated grazing and varying nitrogen nutrition. Plants were subjected to two clipping treatments (clipped and unclipped) and five nitrogen levels (weekly applications at levels equivalent to 0, 1, 5, 10, and 40 g N m⁻²), the highest being equivalent to a urine hit. Tiller and stolon production were measured weekly. Total biomass at harvest was partitioned by plant organ and analyzed for nitrogen and mineral element composition. Tiller and stolon production reached a peak at 3–5 weeks in unclipped plants, then declined drastically, but tiller number increased continually in clipped plants; this differential effect was enhanced at higher N levels. Total plant production increased substantially with N supply, was dominated by aboveground production, and was similar in clipped and unclipped plants, except at high nitrogen levels where clipped plants produced more. Much of the standing biomass of unclipped plants was standing dead and stem; most of the standing biomass of clipped plants was live leaf with clipped plants having significantly more leaf than unclipped plants. However, leaf nitrogen was stimulated by clipping only in plants receiving levels of N application above 1 g N m⁻² which corresponded to a tissue concentration of 2.5% N. Leaf N concentration was lower in unclipped plants and increased with level of N. Aboveground N and mineral concentrations were consistently greater than belowground levels and while clipping commonly promoted aboveground concentrations, it generally diminished those belowground. In general, clipped plants exhibited increased leaf elemental concentrations of K, P, and Mg. Concentrations of B, Ca, K, Mg, and Zn increased with the level of N. No evidence was found that the much greater growth associated with higher N levels diminished the concentration of any other nutrient and that clipping coupled with N fertilization increased the total mineral content available in leaf tissue. The results suggest that plants can (1) compensate for leaf removal, but only when N is above a critical point (tissue [N] 2.8%) and (2) grazing coupled with N fertilization can increase the quality and quantity of tissue available for herbivore removal. Received: 25 August 1997 / Accepted: 14 April 1998     

Effects of increased N and P availability on biomass allocation and root carbohydrate reserves differ between N‐fixing and non‐N‐fixing savanna tree seedlings

In mixed tree‐grass ecosystems, tree recruitment is limited by demographic bottlenecks to seedling establishment arising from inter‐ and intra‐life‐form competition, and disturbances such as fire. Enhanced nutrient availability resulting from anthropogenic nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) deposition can alter the nature of these bottlenecks by changing seedling growth and biomass allocation patterns, and lead to longer‐term shifts in tree community composition if different plant functional groups respond differently to increased nutrient availability. However, the extent to which tree functional types characteristic of savannas differ in their responses to increased N and P availability remains unclear. We quantified differences in above‐ and belowground biomass, and root carbohydrate contents in seedlings of multiple N‐fixing and non‐N‐fixing tree species characteristic of Indian savanna and dry forest ecosystems in response to experimental N and P additions. These parameters are known to influence the ability of plants to compete, as well as survive and recover from fires. N‐fixers in our study were co‐limited by N and P availability, while non‐N‐fixers were N limited. Although both functional groups increased biomass production following fertilization, non‐N‐fixers were more responsive and showed greater relative increases in biomass with fertilization than N‐fixers. N‐fixers had greater baseline investment in belowground resources and root carbohydrate stocks, and while fertilization reduced root:shoot ratios in both functional groups, root carbohydrate content only reduced with fertilization in non‐N‐fixers. Our results indicate that, even within a given system, plants belonging to different functional groups can be limited by, and respond differentially to, different nutrients, suggesting that long‐term consequences of nutrient deposition are likely to vary across savannas contingent on the relative amounts of N and P being deposited in sites.     

The importance of belowground mineral element stores in cattails (Typha latifolia L.)

We measured the amount of N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Fe, B, Mn, Na, Sr, Cu and Zn in above- and belowground parts of cattails (Typha latifolia L.) every 2 weeks during the growing season (April–October) in plants growing in a marsh on the shore of Lake Mendota, Wisconsin. Elements differed considerably in their distribution between above- and belowground parts and the amount of apparent exchange between parts. The ratio of the amount of an element in aboveground plant parts to that belowground (A:B) was between 1:1 and 2:1 for most elements, as compared with the 2.2:1 ratio of biomass. The maximum amounts of Fe and Zn belowground exceeded their aboveground maxima, while K, Ca and Mn had A:B ratios greater than 2:1. N, P and K in belowground plant parts decreased considerably during the spring, and belowground decreases were large enough to be potentially important sources of these elements for shoot growth. Belowground stores of Ca, Mg, Mn, Na and Sr decreased little in the spring and do not function as reserves.     

Time‐dependent effects of fertilization on plant biomass in floating fens

Abstract. A cross‐over fertilization experiment was carried out in Dutch floating fens to investigate effects on biomass production in the same and the following years. In total 16 fertilizer treatments were applied, combining four treatments in 1999 with four treatments in 2000 (addition of 20 g.m^?2 N, 5 g.m^?2 P, both elements and unfertilized control). The above‐ground biomass production of vascular plants was co‐limited by N and P in both years. However, in plots that were only fertilized in 1999 the effects of individual nutrients differed between the two years: N‐fertilization slightly increased the amount of biomass produced in the same year (1999), whereas P‐fertilization did so in the following year (2000). Fertilizer applied in 1999 also influenced the effects of fertilizer applied in 2000. One year after N‐fertilization vascular plant growth was still co‐limited by N and P, but one year after P‐fertilization, vascular plant growth was only limited by N. Bryophyte biomass responded weakly to fertilization. Nutrient concentrations in plant biomass, nutrient standing crops and measurements of N and P availability in the soil indicated that one year after fertilization, the N‐fertilizer had mostly ‘disappeared’ from N‐fertilized plots, whereas the availability of P remained markedly enhanced in P‐fertilized plots. In addition, P‐fertilization enhanced the uptake of N by plants the following year. The time‐dependence of fertilizer effects was probably caused by (1) higher addition of P than of N relative to the requirements of plants; (2) longer retention of P than of N in the system; (3) positive effect of P‐fertilization on the availability of N; (4) contrasting effects of N‐ and P‐fertilization on nutrient losses by plants and/or on their responses to subsequent nutrient addition; (5) changing interactions between vascular plants and mosses (mainly Sphagnum spp.); (6) nutrient export through the repeated harvest of above‐ground biomass. To determine which nutrient limits plant growth fertilization experiments should be short, avoiding that indirect effects of a non‐limiting nutrient influence results. To indicate how changed nutrient supply will affect an ecosystem longer‐term experiments are needed, so that indirect effects have time to develop and be detected.     

Belowground interactions shift the relative importance of direct and indirect genetic effects

Intraspecific genetic variation can affect decomposition, nutrient cycling, and interactions between plants and their associated belowground communities. However, the effects of genetic variation on ecosystems can also be indirect, meaning that genes in a focal plant may affect ecosystems by altering the phenotype of interacting (i.e., neighboring) individuals. We manipulated genotype identity, species identity, and the possibility of belowground interactions between neighboring Solidago plants. We hypothesized that, because our plants were nitrogen (N) limited, the most important interactions between focal and neighbor plants would occur belowground. More specifically, we hypothesized that the genotypic identity of a plant's neighbor would have a larger effect on belowground biomass than on aboveground biomass, but only when neighboring plants were allowed to interact belowground. We detected species‐ and genotype‐level variation for aboveground biomass and ramet production. We also found that belowground biomass and ramet production depended on the interaction of neighbor genotype identity and the presence or absence of belowground interactions. Additionally, we found that interspecific indirect genetic effects (IIGEs; changes in focal plant traits due to the genotype identity of a heterospecific neighbor) had a greater effect size on belowground biomass than did focal genotype; however, this effect only held in pots that allowed belowground interactions. These results expand the types of natural processes that can be attributed to genotypes by showing that, under certain conditions, a plant's phenotype can be strongly determined by the expression of genes in its neighbor. By showing that IIGEs are dependent upon plants being able to interact belowground, our results also provide a first step for thinking about how genotype‐based, belowground interactions influence the evolutionary outcomes of plant‐neighbor interactions.     

大兴安岭典型森林沼泽植物叶片和细根碳氮磷化学计量特征

探究大兴安岭典型森林沼泽不同植物叶片和细根生态化学计量特征,能够为进一步认识高纬度气候敏感生态系统养分利用策略和物质循环过程提供依据。对大兴安岭地区兴安落叶松-苔草、兴安落叶松-笃斯越桔-藓类和兴安落叶松-杜香-泥炭藓3种典型森林沼泽19种优势和亚优势维管植物叶片和细根碳氮磷计量特征(C∶N∶P)进行比较,分析不同森林沼泽类型、植物生长型和菌根类型叶片和细根C∶N∶P差异,通过标准化主轴回归分析叶片与细根C∶N∶P的关系。结果表明: 叶片C∶N∶P在种间水平具有最大的变异(42.5%～84.6%),且叶片和细根种间变异大小均为N∶P>C∶N>C∶P。土壤养分和水分含量较高的兴安落叶松-苔草沼泽叶片与细根C∶N和C∶P值较低,且3种森林沼泽植物叶片和细根N∶P均小于10,受N限制。草本植物叶片C∶P和细根C∶N、C∶P显著低于木本植物。外生菌根和杜鹃花类菌根植物叶片和细根C∶N和C∶P高于丛枝菌根和无菌根植物,且杜鹃花类菌根植物叶片和细根C∶P显著高于外生菌根植物。不同森林沼泽、生长型、菌根类型植物叶片和细根C∶N和C∶P差异明显,而N∶P相对稳定。森林沼泽植物叶片与细根C∶N、C∶P和N∶P呈线性正相关,植物地上与地下部分在生态化学计量特征上存在协同。     

Are vascular epiphytes nitrogen or phosphorus limited? A study of plant (15) N fractionation and foliar N : P stoichiometry with the tank bromeliad Vriesea sanguinolenta

Although there is unambiguous evidence for vascular epiphytic plants to be limited by insufficient water and nutrient supply under natural conditions, it is an open debate whether they are primarily phosphorus (P) or nitrogen (N) limited. Plant (15) N fractionation and foliar N : P stoichiometry of a tank epiphyte (Vriesea sanguinolenta), and its response to combined N-P fertilization, were studied under semi-natural conditions over 334 d to clarify the type of nutrient limitation. Plants collected in the field and experimental plants with limited nutrient supply showed significant plant (15) N fractionation (mean 5‰) and plant N : P ratios of c. 13.5. Higher relative growth rates and declines in plant (15) N fractionation (0.5‰) and in foliar N : P ratios to 8.5 in the high N-P treatment indicated that these epiphytes were P limited in situ. The critical foliar N : P ratio was 10.4, as derived from the breakpoint in the relationship between plant (15) N fractionation and foliar N : P. We interpret the widespread (15) N depletion of vascular epiphytes relative to their host trees as deriving from (15) N fractionation of epiphytes as a result of P limitation. High foliar N : P ratios (> 12) corroborate widespread P limitation (or co-limitation by N and P) of epiphytic bromeliads and, possibly, other epiphyte species.     

氮磷施肥对拟南芥叶片碳氮磷化学计量特征的影响

研究植物碳(C)氮(N)磷(P)化学计量特征, 有助于了解C、N、P元素的分配规律和确定限制植物生长的元素类型, 理解生长速率调控的内在机制。该研究基于盆栽施肥试验, 测定不同N、P供应水平下拟南芥(Arabidopsis thaliana)叶片的生物量和C、N、P含量, 分析拟南芥的限制元素类型、验证生长速率假说、探讨N、P的内稳性差异和C、N、P元素间的异速生长关系。主要结果如下: 盆栽试验基质中限制元素是P, 施N过多可能引起毒害作用; 拟南芥的生长符合生长速率假说, 即随着叶片N:P和C:P的增加, 比生长速率显著减小; 叶片P含量存在显著的调整系数(3.5), 但叶片N含量与基质N含量之间无显著相关; 叶片N和P含量具有显著的异速生长关系, 但不符合N-P^3/4关系, 施P肥导致表征N、P异速生长关系的幂指数(0.209)显著低于施N肥处理(0.466)。该研究首次基于温室培养实验分析了拟南芥C、N、P的化学计量特征及其对N、P添加的响应, 研究结果将为野外研究不同物种、群落或生态系统的化学计量特征提供参考。     

Are patterns in nutrient limitation belowground consistent with those aboveground: results from a 4 million year chronosequence

Accurately predicting the effects of global change on net carbon (C) exchange between terrestrial ecosystems and the atmosphere requires a more complete understanding of how nutrient availability regulates both plant growth and heterotrophic soil respiration. Models of soil development suggest that the nature of nutrient limitation changes over the course of ecosystem development, transitioning from nitrogen (N) limitation in ‘young’ sites to phosphorus (P) limitation in ‘old’ sites. However, previous research has focused primarily on plant responses to added nutrients, and the applicability of nutrient limitation-soil development models to belowground processes has not been thoroughly investigated. Here, we assessed the effects of nutrients on soil C cycling in three different forests that occupy a 4 million year substrate age chronosequence where tree growth is N limited at the youngest site, co-limited by N and P at the intermediate-aged site, and P limited at the oldest site. Our goal was to use short-term laboratory soil C manipulations (using ¹⁴C-labeled substrates) and longer-term intact soil core incubations to compare belowground responses to fertilization with aboveground patterns. When nutrients were applied with labile C (sucrose), patterns of microbial nutrient limitation were similar to plant patterns: microbial activity was limited more by N than by P in the young site, and P was more limiting than N in the old site. However, in the absence of C additions, increased respiration of native soil organic matter only occurred with simultaneous additions of N and P. Taken together, these data suggest that altered nutrient inputs into ecosystems could have dissimilar effects on C cycling above- and belowground, that nutrients may differentially affect of the fate of different soil C pools, and that future changes to the net C balance of terrestrial ecosystems will be partially regulated by soil nutrient status.     

Grazers and soil moisture determine the fate of added 15NH4 + in Yellowstone grasslands

The influence of ungulate grazers on nutrient cycling and ecosystem productivity in grasslands has been shown to differ with moisture, nutrient availability, and feedbacks between above- and belowground activities. We examined the movement of nitrogen (N), applied as (¹⁵NH₄)₂SO₄, through both dry and mesic sites in the northern range of Yellowstone National Park to test the hypothesis that plants were more able to acquire added N in grazed relative to ungrazed sites. Previous studies showed enhanced N mineralization in grazed areas, and detritus removal by grazers was predicted to enhance early-season plant growth. Thirteen months after tracer addition, there were no differences in plant ¹⁵N as a function of grazing, but historically ungrazed sites retained more ¹⁵N in accumulated litter than at grazed sites. This result demonstrated the importance of detritus in regulating redistribution of incoming N and the role of grazers in this process. Site moisture status influenced ¹⁵N recovery in all pools—soils, microbial biomass, and plants—and greater plant ¹⁵N acquisition occurred in roots at dry relative to mesic sites. Understanding how grazers influence nutrient cycling at the landscape scale requires further investigation of interactions among soil moisture, plant production, litter accumulation, grazing intensity, and belowground processes.     

Plant nutrient dynamics and stoichiometric homeostasis of invasive species Spartina alterniflora and native Cyperus malaccensis var. brevifolius in the Minjiang River estuarine wetlands

Aims Stoichiometric homeostasis is an important mechanism in maintaining ecosystem structure, function, and stability. The invasion of exotic species, Spartina alterniflora, has largely threatened the structure and function of native ecosystems in the Minjiang River estuarine wetland. However, how S. alterniflora invasion affect plant stoichiometric homeostasis is largely unknown. This could enhance our understanding on wetland ecosystem stability and expand the applications of ecological stoichiometry theory.
Methods Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) contents of plant organs and soils in the S. alterniflora, Cyperus malaccensis var. brevifolius, and S. alterniflora-C. malaccensis var. brevifolius mixture were measured, and the homeostatic index (H) was calculated according to the stoichiometric homeostasis theory.
Important findings Our results showed that the invasion of S. alterniflora significantly increased soil N:P ratio (p < 0.05), but did not affect soil N or P contents. The N and P contents of leaf and stem were the highest for S. alterniflora, and those of the stem were the highest for C. malaccensis var. brevifolius. At the ecosystem level, the average of homeostatic index (H) of N (H_N, 25.31) was larger than those of P (H_P, 10.33) and N:P (H_N:P, 2.50). At the organ level, root H_N was significantly larger than stem H_N (p < 0.05) and sheath H_N:P was greater than root H_N:P (p < 0.05), while there was no significant difference for H_P among root, stem, leaf, and sheath (p > 0.05). As for species, root H_N of S. alterniflora was significantly larger than that of C. malaccensis var. brevifolius in the mixture community (p < 0.05). In the monoculture, stem H_N:P of S. alterniflora was significantly higher than that of C. malaccensis var. brevifolius (p < 0.05). Furthermore, root H_N, leaf H_N and sheath H_N of S. alterniflora in the mixed community was significantly larger than that of S. alterniflora in the monoculture (p < 0.05), suggesting that S. alterniflora invasions increased their stoichiometric homeostasis. Meanwhile, the stoichiometric homeostasis of invasive and native plants were influenced by multiple factors, such as nutrients, organs, vegetation, and invasion. However, larger homeostasis was found in S. alterniflora than in C. malaccensis var. brevifolius in some particular organs either in mixture or monoculture communities. Therefore, the successful invasion of S. alterniflora may result from higher homeostatic index than the native species, C. malaccensis var. brevifolius.     

云南西双版纳常见寄生植物生态化学计量特征及其与寄主的关系

对云南西双版纳地区常见的半寄生植物澜沧江寄生(Scurrula chingii var. yunnanensis)、五蕊寄生(Dendrophthoe pentandra)和全寄生植物优势种金灯藤(Cuscuta japonica)的生态化学计量特征及其与寄主关系进行研究。结果表明,相较于普通高等陆生植物,两种半寄生植物叶片的C、N含量及N:P较低,P含量较高,全寄生植物金灯藤的N、P含量较高,N:P较低;两种半寄生植物C:N、C:P均显著高于全寄生植物金灯藤。两类寄生植物C、N、P生态化学计量特征季节差异不显著。相较于全寄生植物,半寄生植物与寄主间具有更强的相关性。全寄生植物金灯藤的化学计量内稳性指数显著高于两种半寄生植物,全寄生植物内稳性雨季显著高于旱季。     

塔克拉玛干沙漠腹地人工植被及土壤CNP的化学计量特征

生态化学计量学是研究生态过程和生态作用中化学元素平衡的科学。极端环境中进行植物叶片与土壤中营养元素含量及变化研究,对于揭示植物对营养元素的需要和当地土壤的养分供给能力,以及植物对环境的适应与反馈能力具有十分重要的意义。以塔克拉玛干沙漠腹地塔中植物园生长良好的25种人工植被及其生境为研究对象,运用方差分析、相关分析综合研究植物叶片及土壤的化学计量特征及其相互关系。结果显示:塔克拉玛干沙漠腹地25种人工植被叶片C、N、P的平均含量分别为(386.7±46.6)、(24.7±8.1)和(1.8±0.78) mg/g;叶片C:N、C:P及 N:P分别为(17.5±6.7)、(249.2±102.8)、(15.0±5.6)。其中豆科植物N含量极显著高于非豆科植物(P<0.001)。不同生活型植物的C、N、P含量均存在显著差异,C、N、P含量在3种生活型的大小顺序为草本>灌木>乔木。C:N和N:P在不同生活型植物间不存在显著差异(P>0.05),而乔木和灌木的C:P显著高于草本植物(P< 0.05)。相关分析表明植物的叶片C:N、C:P都与相应的N、P含量呈现极显著负相关性(P<0.001),而叶片N含量与P含量的变化并不相关(P> 0.05)。土壤C、N、P养分元素含量远低于全国的平均水平,尤其是N含量(<0.2 mg/g);土壤C与N存在着极显著的正相关关系(P<0.01),而C与P、N与P间的相关性并不显著(P>0.05)。以上研究结果表明,受极端环境的限制,塔克拉玛干沙漠人工植被植物对养分元素的利用效率显著低于全国陆地植物的平均水平,不同科和不同生活型功能群植物对环境的适应能力显著不同,表现出显著的养分适应策略差异性。     

Tissue nutrient concentrations in freshwater aquatic macrophytes: high inter-taxon differences and low phenotypic response to nutrient supply

1. The elemental composition and stoichiometry of aquatic plants has often been suggested to reflect the nutrient enrichment of aquatic habitats. However, the relationship is often weak. Moreover, uncertainties remain in the relevance of laboratory derived critical plant tissue nutrient concentrations to maximum yield or growth rates in the field.
2. Aquatic vascular plants and bryophytes, overlying water and sediment samples were collected to test whether freshwater aquatic macrophytes: (i) show tissue nutrient deficiencies when growing in oligotrophic freshwater habitats, and (ii) have strict homeostatic stoichiometry.
3. Plant nutrient concentrations were significantly related to total inorganic nitrogen (or nitrate), total dissolved phosphorus and sediment total phosphorus. However, these relationships were weak. Virtually all the variance in plant tissue nutrient concentrations, however, could be explained by species (taxon) identity.
4. Critical tissue nutrient concentrations for 95% maximum yield or 95% maximum growth rate in aquatic angiosperms, determined from laboratory bioassays, suggested that nutrients should not limit yield in wild aquatic macrophytes. However, there were a substantial number of samples where potential growth rate limitation was possible, particularly due to phosphorus.
5. Strict C : N : P stoichiometric ratios were found for both vascular plants and bryophytes, suggesting little scope for plants as indicators of nutrient enrichment, but provide robust stoichiometric data for studies on ecosystem metabolism and nutrient cycling.     

To be or not to be what you eat: regulation of stoichiometric homeostasis among autotrophs and heterotrophs

Homeostasis of element composition is one of the central concepts of ecological stoichiometry. In this context, homeostasis is the resistance to change of consumer body composition in response to the chemical composition of consumer's food. To simplify theoretical analysis, it has generally been assumed that autotrophs exhibit flexibility in their composition, while heterotrophs are confined to a constant (strictly homeostatic) body composition. Yet, recent studies suggest that heterotrophs are not universally strictly homeostatic. We examined the degree to which autotrophs and heterotrophs regulate stoichiometric homeostasis (P:C, N:C, N:P, or %P and %N). We conducted a quantitative review and meta‐analysis using 132 datasets extracted from 57 literature sources which examined the dependence of organismal stoichiometry on resource stoichiometry. Among individual datasets, there was a wide range of responses from strictly homeostatic to non‐homeostatic. Even within heterotrophic organisms, varying levels of homeostasis were observed. Comparing the degree of homeostasis between organisms based on large‐scale habitat types using meta‐analysis indicated some significant differences between groups. For example, aquatic macroinvertebrates were significantly more homeostatic in terms of P:C than terrestrial invertebrates. Our meta‐analysis also confirmed that, with regard to N:P, heterotrophs are significantly more homeostatic than autotrophs. Furthermore, our analysis indicated that the homeostasis parameter 1/H, despite being a potentially useful predictive metric, has to be utilized with caution since it oversimplifies some important aspects of the responses of organisms to elemental imbalances. This critical evaluation of stoichiometric homeostasis contributes to a better understanding of many food‐web interactions, which are commonly driven by elemental imbalances between consumers and their resources.