Response and plasticity of functional traits in Lycium ruthenicum to N and P addition.

doi:10.13287/j.1001-9332.202104.025

Abstract

Abstract: Analyzing the effects of nutrient addition on the functional traits of desert plants is important for revealing the responses of desert plant species to environmental changes. In this study, we examined the responses of whole plant, root, stem, leaf and fruit traits of Lycium ruthenicum to the addition of N and P, with an experiment with three (low, medium and high) N and P addition levels and three N/P ratios (5:1, 15:1 and 45:1). The results showed that functional traits of L. ruthenicum had divergent responses to NP addition level and N/P ratio. With the increases of NP addition level, the biomass and specific leaf area were increased, while the root-shoot ratio, leaf dry matter content, root tissue density and specific root length were decreased. Belowground biomass, specific root length and net photosynthetic rate increased with the increases of N/P ratio. The coefficient of variation of 17 functional traits was 7.3%-69.1%. The biomass, root-shoot ratio and speci-fic root length were sensitive traits to NP [plastic index (PI)>0.5], with greater variability (49.4%-69.1%), whereas the leaf length-width ratio, leaf thickness, leaf tissue density, and leaf stem dry matter content were conservative traits (PI<0.20). The results of principal component analysis (PCA) showed that the position of L. ruthenicum in the multivariate feature space exhibited lateral migration with the changes of NP addition levels, with a tendency of higher aboveground and belowground biomass and a lower root-shoot ratio. Leaf tissue density was negatively related to leaf thickness and specific leaf area. Leaf dry matter content was negatively correlated with leaf thickness and specific leaf area but positively associated with leaf tissue density. Biomass had a positive correlation with specific leaf area and a negative relation to specific root length. The results of stepwise regression analysis showed that specific root length, specific leaf area and leaf net photosynthetic rate were major functional traits affecting the biomass of L. ruthenicum. L. ruthenicum adapted to the fluctuations of soil nutrient environment through changing resource utilization strategy, altering root carbon allocation, and also the trade-off and covariance among traits and inconsistent response.

Key words: functional trait, Lycium ruthenicum, N and P supply level, N:P supply ratio, phenotypic plasticity

LI Jin-xia, SUN Xiao-mei, LIU Na, LI Liang, CHEN Nian-lai. Response and plasticity of functional traits in Lycium ruthenicum to N and P addition.[J]. Chinese Journal of Applied Ecology, 2021, 32(4): 1279-1288.

References

[1] Geber MA, Griffen LR. Inheritance and natural selection on functional traits. International Journal of Plant Sciences, 2003, 164: 21-42
[2] Engelbrecht BM, Comita LS, Condit R, et al. Drought sensitivity shapes species distribution patterns in tropical forests. Nature, 2007, 447: 80-82
[3] Osborne CP, Charles-Dominique T, Stevens N, et al. Human impacts in African savannas are mediated by plant functional traits. New Phytologist, 2018, 220: 10-24
[4] Balachowski JA, Volaire FA. Implications of plant functional traits and drought survival strategies for ecological restoration. Journal of Applied Ecology, 2018, 55: 631-640
[5] Lavorel S, Grigulis K, Lamarque P. Using plant functional traits to understand the landscape distribution of multiple ecosystem services. Journal of Ecology, 2011, 99: 135-147
[6] Violle C, Navas ML, Vile D, et al. Let the concept of trait be functional! Oikos, 2007, 116: 882-892
[7] Peng SS, Piao SL, Ciais P, et al. Asymmetric effects of daytime and night-time warming on Northern Hemisphere vegetation. Nature, 2013, 501: 88-92
[8] Ackerly DD, Dudley SA, Sultan SE, et al. The evolution of plant ecophysiological traits: Recent advances and future directions. Bioscience, 2000, 50: 979-995
[9] Fajardo A, Siefert A. Intraspecific trait variation and the leaf economics spectrum across resource gradients and levels of organization. Ecology, 2018, 99: 1024-1030
[10] Reich PB. The world-wide ‘fast-slow’ plant economics spectrum: A traits manifesto. Journal of Ecology, 2014, 102: 275-301
[11] Gratani L. Plant phenotypic plasticity in response to environmental factors. Advances in Botany, 2014, 4: 1-17
[12] Clemmensen K, Bahr A, Ovaskainen O, et al. Roots and associated fungi drive long-term carbon sequestration in boreal forest. Science, 2013, 339: 1615-1618
[13] 余华, 潘宗涛, 陈志强, 等. 氮添加对侵蚀退化红壤化学性质及芒萁叶功能性状的影响. 应用与环境生物学报, 2020, 26(4): 1-11 [Yu H, Pan Z-T, Chen Z-Q, et al. Effects of nitrogen addition on soil chemical properties and leaf functional traits of Dicranopteris dichotoma in the red soil erosion area of southern China. Chinese Journal of Applied and Environmental Biology, 2020, 26(4): 1-11]
[14] 周志强, 彭英丽, 孙铭隆, 等. 不同氮素水平对濒危植物黄檗幼苗光合荧光特性的影响. 北京林业大学学报, 2015, 37(12): 17-23 [Zhou Z-Q, Peng Y-L, Sun M-L, et al. Effects of nitrogen levels on photosynthetic and fluorescence characteristics in seedlings of endangered plant Phellodendron amurense. Journal of Beijing Forestry University, 2015, 37(12): 17-23]
[15] Bobbink R, Hicks K, Galloway J, et al. Global assessment of nitrogen deposition effects on terrestrial plant diversity: A synthesis. Ecological Applications, 2010, 20: 30-59
[16] Sterner RW, Elser JJ. Ecological Stoichiometry: The Biology of Elements from Molecules to the Biosphere. Princeton, NJ, USA: Princeton University Press, 2002
[17] Lu XT, Reed SC, Yu Q, et al. Convergent responses of nitrogen and phosphorus resorption to nitrogen inputs in a semiarid grassland. Global Change Biology, 2013, 19: 2775-2784
[18] Díaz S, Kattge J, Cornelissen JHC, et al. The global spectrum of plant form and function. Nature, 2016, 529: 167-171
[19] 李红梅. 模拟氮沉降对墨西哥柏幼苗的影响. 博士论文. 南京: 南京林业大学, 2013 [Li H-M. Effect of Simulated Nitrogen Deposition on Cupressus lusitanica Seedlings. PhD Thesis. Nanjing: Nanjing Forestry University, 2013]
[20] 白雪, 程军回, 郑淑霞, 等. 典型草原建群种羊草对氮磷添加的生理生态响应. 植物生态学报, 2014, 38(2): 103-115 [Bai X, Cheng J-H, Zheng S-X, et al. Ecophysiological responses of Leymus chinensis to nitrogen and phosphorus additions in a typical steppe. Chinese Journal of Plant Ecology, 2014, 38(2): 103-115]
[21] Marklein AR, Houlton BZ. Nitrogen inputs accelerate phosphorus cycling rates across a wide variety of terrestrial ecosystems. New Phytologist, 2012, 193: 696-704
[22] Bardgett RD, Mommer L, De Vries FT. Going underground: Root traits as drivers of ecosystem processes. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 2014, 29: 692-699
[23] Güsewell S. High nitrogen:phosphorus ratios reduce nutrient retention and second-year growth of wetland sedges. New Phytologist, 2005, 166: 537-550
[24] Valladares F, Wright SJ, Lasso E, et al. Plastic phenotypic response to light of 16 congeneric shrubs from Apanamanian rainforest. Ecology, 2000, 81: 1925-1936
[25] Faucon MP, Houben D, Lambers H. Plant functional traits: Soil and ecosystem services. Trends in Plant Science, 2017, 20: 385-394
[26] Suding KN, Collins SL, Gough L, et al. Functional- and abundance-based mechanisms explain diversity loss due to N fertilization. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2005, 102: 4387-4392
[27] Wright IJ, Reich PB, Westoby M, et al. The worldwide leaf economics spectrum. Nature, 2004, 428: 821-827
[28] Zhu FF, Lu XK, Mo JM, et al. Phosphorus limitation on photosynthesis of two dominant understory species in a lowland tropical forest. Journal of Plant Ecology, 2014, 7: 526-534
[29] Ryser P, Lambers H. Root and leaf attributes accounting for the performance of fast- and slow-growing grasses at different nutrient supply. Plant and Soil, 1995, 170: 251-265
[30] Levang-Brilz N, Biondini ME. Growth rate, root deve-lopment and nutrient uptake of 55 plant species from the Great Plains Grasslands, USA. Plant Ecology, 2002, 165: 117-144
[31] Niinemets U, Portsmuth A, Tobias M. Leaf size modifies support biomass distribution among stems, petioles and mid-ribs in temperate plants. New Phytologist, 2006, 171: 91-104
[32] Sun SC, Jin DM, Shi PL. The leaf size-twig size spectrum of temperate woody species along an altitudinal gradient: An invariant allometric scaling relationship. Annals of Botany, 2006, 97: 97-107
[33] Persson J, Fink P, Goto A, et al. To be or not to be what you eat: Regulation of stoichiometric homeostasis among autotrophs and heterotrophs. Oikos, 2010, 119: 741-751
[34] 王姝, 周道玮. 植物表型可塑性研究进展. 生态学报, 2017, 37(24): 8161-8169 [Wang S, Zhou D-W. Research on phenotypic plasticity in plants: An overview of history, current status, and development trends. Acta Ecologica Sinica, 2017, 37(24): 8161-8169]
[35] Ryser P, Eek L. Consequences of phenotypic plasticity vs. interspecific differences in leaf and root traits for acquisition of aboveground and belowground resources. American Journal of Botany, 2000, 87: 402-411
[36] 王炜, 梁存柱, 刘钟龄, 等. 草原群落退化与恢复演替中的植物个体行为分析. 植物生态学报, 2000, 24(3): 268-274 [Wang W, Liang C-Z, Liu Z-L, et al. Analysis of the plant individual behaviour during the degradation and restoring succession in steppe community. Acta Phytoecologica Sinica, 2000, 24(3): 268-274]
[37] Poorter L, Bongers F. Leaf traits are good predictors of plant performance across 53 rain forest species. Ecology, 2006, 87: 1733-1743
[38] Carlson JE, Adams CA, Holsinger KE. Intraspecific variation in stomatal traits, leaf traits and physiology reflects adaptation along aridity gradients in a South African shrub. Annals of Botany, 2016, 117: 195-207
[39] Van Bodegom PM, Douma JC, Verheijen LM. A fully traits-based approach to modeling global vegetation distribution. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2014, 111: 13733-13738
[40] 段媛媛, 宋丽娟, 牛素旗, 等. 不同林龄刺槐叶功能性状差异及其与土壤养分的关系. 应用生态学报, 2017, 28(1): 28-36 [Duan Y-Y, Song L-J, Niu S-Q, et al. Variation in leaf functional traits of different-aged Robinia pseudoacacia communities and relationships with soil nutrients. Chinese Journal of Applied Ecology, 2017, 28(1): 28-36]
[41] 道日娜, 宋彦涛, 乌云娜, 等. 克氏针茅草原植物叶片性状对放牧强度的响应. 应用生态学报, 2016, 27(7): 2231-2238 [Dao R-N, Song Y-T, Wu Y-N, et al. Response of plant leaf traits to grazing intensity in Stipa krylovii steppe. Chinese Journal of Applied Ecology, 2016, 27(7): 2231-2238]
[42] 施宇, 温仲明, 龚时慧. 黄土丘陵区植物叶片与细根功能性状关系及其变化. 生态学报, 2011, 31(22): 6805-6814 [Shi Y, Wen Z-M, Gong S-H. Comparisons of relationships between leaf and fine root traits in hilly area of the Loess Plateau, Yanhe River basin, Shanxi Province, China. Acta Ecologica Sinica, 2011, 31(22): 6805-6814]
[43] Fortunel C, Fine PV, Baraloto C. Leaf, stem and root tissue strategies across 758 neotropical tree species. Functional Ecology, 2012, 26: 1153-1161
[44] Chapin FS. The mineral nutrition of wild plants. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics, 1980, 11: 233-260
[45] Ackerly DD, Dudley SA, Sultan SE, et al. The evolution of plant ecophysiological traits: Recent advances and future directions. BioScience, 2000, 50: 979-995
[46] 耿燕, 周鹏, 贺金生, 等. 温带草地主要优势植物不同器官间功能性状的关联. 植物生态学报, 2010, 34(1): 7-16 [Geng Y, Zhou P, He J-S, et al. Linkages of functional traits among plant organs in the dominant species of the Inner Mongolia grassland, China. Chinese Journal of Plant Ecology, 2010, 34 (1): 7-16]
[47] Tjoelker MG, Craine JM, Wedin D, et al. Linking leaf and root trait syndromes among 39 grassland and savannah species. New Phytologist, 2005, 167: 493-508
[48] Geng Y, Wang L, Jin D, et al. Alpine climate alters the relationships between leaf and root morphological traits but not chemical traits. Oecologia, 2014, 175: 445-455
[49] Kembel SW, Cahill Jr JF. Independent evolution of leaf and root traits within and among temperate grassland plant communities. PLoS One, 2011, 6: 1-10
[50] 雷羚洁, 孔德良, 李晓明, 等. 植物功能性状, 功能多样性与生态系统功能: 进展与展望. 生物多样性, 2016, 24(8): 922-931 [Lei L-J, Kong D-L, Li X-M, et al. Plant functional traits, functional diversity, and ecosystem functioning: Current knowledge and perspectives. Biodiversity Science, 2016, 24(8): 922-931]