Biomass fraction of graminoids and forbs in N-limited Alpine grasslands: N:P stoichiometry

• Autorzy: Zhang R. , Gou X. , Bai Y. , Zhao J. , Chen L. , Song X. , Wang G.
• Języki publikacji: EN

Abstrakty

EN

It is known that the dominance of graminoid species is promoted by N addition; however, there has been relatively little effort to examine the pattern induced by natural N fertility. Since nutrie nt use e fficiency (NUE) is an important trait determining plant competitive ability, we expected that the species guild with higher NUE (lower nutrient content) may be more competitive on infertile soils. We explo red t he relationships between relative forbs biomass share , soil N and productivity by the linear regressi on analysis on a natural alpine meadow in northeast of Qinghai- Tibetan Plateau (3600 m a.s.l.). To test the variety of leaf N:P stoichiometry, paired t test and general linear model multivariate (GLM) analysis were also used. We f ound that the leaf N:P ratios of the whole community were below 13 in studied sites, which may be consistent with the N limitation on the veget ation. Graminoids re tained lower concentrations of leaf N and P than forbs in community on the Nlimited grassland. Consistent with our prediction, we found that the biomass fraction of graminoids declined with soil N content and aboveground production on the grassland. Different from the pattern along fertility gradients induced by N fertilization, our results showed that gr aminoids with lower internal nutrient content w ere able to resist low levels of nutrient availability on the natural alpine grassland when compared to forbs.

Słowa kluczowe

EN

graminoid; biomass; stoichiometry; Alpine meadow; Alpine grassland; terrestrial plant; lower nutrient content; green leaf; leaf; plant survival; perennial herb; temperature; Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

• Wydawca: -
• Czasopismo: Polish Journal of Ecology
• Rocznik: 2011
• Tom: 59
• Numer: 1
• Opis fizyczny: p.105-114,fig.,ref.

Twórcy

autor

Zhang R.

• Key Laboratory of Arid and Grassland Agroecology at Lanzhou University, Ministry of Education, Lanzhou, 730000, P. R. China

autor

Gou X.

autor

Bai Y.

autor

Zhao J.

autor

Chen L.

autor

Song X.

autor

Wang G.

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