Abstract
Background and aims: There is ample experimental evidence for shifts in plant community composition under climate warming. To date, however, the underlying mechanisms driving these compositional shifts remain poorly understood. Methods: The amount and form of nitrogen (N) available to plants are among the primary factors limiting productivity and plant coexistence in terrestrial ecosystems. We conducted a short-term 15N tracer experiment in a ten-year warming and grazing experiment in an alpine grassland to investigate the effects of warming and grazing on plant uptake of NO3 −-N, NH4 +-N, and glycine-N. Four dominant plant species (Kobresia humilis, Potentilla anseria, Elymus nutans, Poa annua) were selected. Results We found that 10-years of warming decreased plant uptake of inorganic N by up to 80% in all species. In contrast, warming increased the uptake of organic N in K. humilis, P. anseria, and E. nutans but not in P. annua. Results showed that plant relative biomass increased hyperbolically with the ratio of the plant species total uptake of available N and plant community uptake of available N. And a significant positive correlation between plant species uptake of soil glycine-N and the uptake of total available N. Conclusions: The stable relative biomass of plant species is largely dependent on organic N uptake by plants. We conclude that plant organic N uptake maintains species dominance under long-term warming.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 243-255 |
| Number of pages | 13 |
| Journal | Plant and Soil |
| Volume | 433 |
| Issue number | 1-2 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Dec 2018 |
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Plant organic N uptake maintains species dominance under long-term warming. / Jiang, Lili; Wang, Shiping; Zhe, Pang; Xu, Xingliang; Kardol, Paul; Li, Yaoming; Zhang, Lirong; Wang, Yanfen; Lei, Zhong; Lan, Zhichun; Hill, Paul W.; Zhang, Zhenhua; Luo, Caiyun; Rui, Yichao; Ning, Dong; Jones, Davey L.
In: Plant and Soil, Vol. 433, No. 1-2, 01.12.2018, p. 243-255.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
TY - JOUR
T1 - Plant organic N uptake maintains species dominance under long-term warming
AU - Jiang, Lili
AU - Wang, Shiping
AU - Zhe, Pang
AU - Xu, Xingliang
AU - Kardol, Paul
AU - Li, Yaoming
AU - Zhang, Lirong
AU - Wang, Yanfen
AU - Lei, Zhong
AU - Lan, Zhichun
AU - Hill, Paul W.
AU - Zhang, Zhenhua
AU - Luo, Caiyun
AU - Rui, Yichao
AU - Ning, Dong
AU - Jones, Davey L.
PY - 2018/12/1
Y1 - 2018/12/1
N2 - Background and aims: There is ample experimental evidence for shifts in plant community composition under climate warming. To date, however, the underlying mechanisms driving these compositional shifts remain poorly understood. Methods: The amount and form of nitrogen (N) available to plants are among the primary factors limiting productivity and plant coexistence in terrestrial ecosystems. We conducted a short-term 15N tracer experiment in a ten-year warming and grazing experiment in an alpine grassland to investigate the effects of warming and grazing on plant uptake of NO3 −-N, NH4 +-N, and glycine-N. Four dominant plant species (Kobresia humilis, Potentilla anseria, Elymus nutans, Poa annua) were selected. Results We found that 10-years of warming decreased plant uptake of inorganic N by up to 80% in all species. In contrast, warming increased the uptake of organic N in K. humilis, P. anseria, and E. nutans but not in P. annua. Results showed that plant relative biomass increased hyperbolically with the ratio of the plant species total uptake of available N and plant community uptake of available N. And a significant positive correlation between plant species uptake of soil glycine-N and the uptake of total available N. Conclusions: The stable relative biomass of plant species is largely dependent on organic N uptake by plants. We conclude that plant organic N uptake maintains species dominance under long-term warming.
AB - Background and aims: There is ample experimental evidence for shifts in plant community composition under climate warming. To date, however, the underlying mechanisms driving these compositional shifts remain poorly understood. Methods: The amount and form of nitrogen (N) available to plants are among the primary factors limiting productivity and plant coexistence in terrestrial ecosystems. We conducted a short-term 15N tracer experiment in a ten-year warming and grazing experiment in an alpine grassland to investigate the effects of warming and grazing on plant uptake of NO3 −-N, NH4 +-N, and glycine-N. Four dominant plant species (Kobresia humilis, Potentilla anseria, Elymus nutans, Poa annua) were selected. Results We found that 10-years of warming decreased plant uptake of inorganic N by up to 80% in all species. In contrast, warming increased the uptake of organic N in K. humilis, P. anseria, and E. nutans but not in P. annua. Results showed that plant relative biomass increased hyperbolically with the ratio of the plant species total uptake of available N and plant community uptake of available N. And a significant positive correlation between plant species uptake of soil glycine-N and the uptake of total available N. Conclusions: The stable relative biomass of plant species is largely dependent on organic N uptake by plants. We conclude that plant organic N uptake maintains species dominance under long-term warming.
KW - Alpine grassland
KW - Plant N uptake
KW - Plant species coexistence
KW - The Tibet plateau
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85055749188&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s11104-018-3836-x
DO - 10.1007/s11104-018-3836-x
M3 - Article
VL - 433
SP - 243
EP - 255
JO - Plant and Soil: An International Journal on Plant-Soil Relationships
JF - Plant and Soil: An International Journal on Plant-Soil Relationships
SN - 0032-079X
IS - 1-2
ER -