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Bulletin of Botanical Research ›› 2022, Vol. 42 ›› Issue (1): 138-150.doi: 10.7525/j.issn.1673-5102.2022.01.015

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The Stoichiometric Characteristics of Desert Ephemeral Plants in Different Growth Periods and Its Association with Soil Factors

Mingming Wang, Weiwei Zhuang()   

  1. Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Special Species Conservation and Regulatory Biology,International Research Center for the Collaborative Containment of Cross Border Pests in Central Asia,Key Laboratory of Plant Stress Biology in Arid Land,College of Life Science Xinjiang Normal University,Urumqi 830054
  • Received:2020-12-27 Online:2022-01-20 Published:2021-12-30
  • Contact: Weiwei Zhuang E-mail:zww8611@sina.com
  • About author:Wang Mingming(1997—),male,master’s degree candidate,research direction is plant ecology.
  • Supported by:
    National Natural Science Foundation of China(42007092);Scientific Research Program of Universities of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region(XJEDU2018Y034)

Abstract:

To explore the stoichiometric characteristics of desert ephemeral plants, and to better understand the relationship between habitat soil factors and plant survival strategies, 4 widely distributed plant species (Erodium oxyrrhynchum, Nonea caspica, Hyalea pulchella, Lactuca undulata) were collected, and soil physical and chemical properties were measured at different depths (0-5, 5-10, 10-15 cm), and the dynamic change and coupling relationship between stoichiometric characteristics of 4 plants and soil factors were compared and analyzed through in-situ multi-period sampling in the field. The results showed that: ①The carbon(C), nitrogen(N), and phosphorus(P) contents of the 4 ephemeral plants were generally low, and there were differences in stoichiometric characteristics among species, but the changes were roughly similar in different growth periods. The content of N and P gradually decreased from the seedling stage to the fruit setting stage, while the C content tended to be stable for a long time. During the whole growth period, the variation range of P and C∶P were larger, the variation range of C and N∶P were smaller. The differences in the stoichiometric characteristics of the 4 plants in different growth periods were significantly related to the growth period and plant species. ②The content of soil organic carbon(SOC), total nitrogen(TN) and total phosphorus (TP) in the 0-5 cm soil layer were the highest respectively, and gradually decreased with the depth of the soil layer. With the growth of plants, the content of SOC and TN in the 0-5 cm soil showed an obvious increasing trend, while the content of TP showed a parabolic change trend. During different growth periods of plants, the stability of soil TP content was the strongest, and the variability of SOC and TN was strong respectively. The lower N content and TN∶TP ratio showed that the soil in the area belonged to the type of N deficiency. The differences in the stoichiometric characteristics of the 3 soil layers in different growth periods were significantly affected by the soil layers and growth periods. ③There was no consistent law in the correlation of stoichiometric characteristics between plants and soils at each level. Plant stoichiometric indicators were only strongly correlated with SOC and SOC∶TP in the 0-10 cm soil, and most of the stoichiometric characteristics did not show correlation, indicating that the stoichiometric characteristics of plants were not directly determined by the characteristics of soil nutrient content. These results indicated that the stoichiometric characteristics of plants were not directly determined by soil nutrient characteristics, and the obvious interspecific differences indicated the importance of plant genetic characteristics in the coupling relationship of soil-plant stoichiometric characteristics.

Key words: eco-stoichiometry, ephemeral plants, desert soil, correlation, gurbantunggut desert

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