Peatland plants growth are limited by nitrogen. With the advent of global warming, the changes of nitrogen nutrient environment may affect the plant community structure and nutrient status in peatland.
Recently, Prof. SONG Yanyu et al. from the Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences investigated the impact of long-term nitrogen addition on the plant community structure and nutrient dynamics in permafrost peatland, based on a 9 years in situ nitrogen addition experiment.
This work was published in Science of the total Environment on July 5.
Researchers found long-term nitrogen addition significantly increased the height of Betula fruticosa P., but reduced the abundance and coverage of Chamaedaphne calyculata L., and Ledum palustre L. Long-term nitrogen addition affected the plant community structure in peatland by affecting the plant growth characteristics. The diversity and richness of plant species in the peatland decreased as the concentration of added nitrogen increased.
The long-term N addition increased the total N content but decreased the total P content of aging plant leaves in peatland. Moreover, the long-term addition of N reduced the plant C/N ratio, increased the C/P and N/P ratios. N addition alleviated the plant N limitation to some extent. However, it could further aggravate the limitation of P, resulting in the joint limitation of N and P or the complete limitation by P.
The nitrogen resorption efficiency decreased with the increase of N addition level. The phosphorus resorption efficiency of different plants had varied responses to the changes in the nitrogen nutrient environment.
These findings emphasized the mechanism of long-term N addition on plant community structure and nutrient dynamics in permafrost peatlands and provided an important theoretical basis to accurately evaluate the nutrient balance in permafrost peatland under climate change.
The effect of long-term nitrogen addition on plant community structure and nutrient resorption efficiency in peatland
Contact:
SONG Yanyu
Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology
E-mail: songyanyu@iga.ac.cn
