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Short-term effects of nutrient additions and snow increase in winter on nitrogen utilization rate of Kobresia humilis meadow.

WEI Qing1,2, ZHOU Hua-kun1**, YAO Bu-qing1, WANG Wen-ying2, LIU Ze-hua2, ZHAO Xin-quan1   

  1. (1Northwest Plateau Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining 81000, China;  2Qinghai Normal University, Xining 810008, China)
  • Online:2015-02-07 Published:2015-02-07

Abstract: The effects of nutrient and water additions on nitrogen utilization rate of alpine plants were investigated using the 15N labeling technique in a Kobresia humilis meadow over a short term period. Four treatments were set up as follows: increased snow in winter (W), N fertilization (N), P fertilization (P), and control (CK). About one month after the labeling, the 15N absolute abundance of belowground of plants was the highest. More added N was recovered in the soil. This indicates that N was not fully used by plants in the short term, and less N was transferred into litter. The N utilization rates for plants under different treatments were in order of P treatments > N treatments > W treatments > CK. This reflects that nutrient and moisture modify N utilization rate of alpine plants in K. humilis meadows, and the nutrient is more important.

Key words: ecological source, geological disaster sensitivity, ecological importance, ecological corridor, ecological security pattern