Variation and potential influence factors of foliar pH in land-water ecozones of three small plateau lakes

doi:10.1093/jpe/rtab003

J Plant Ecol ›› 2021, Vol. 14 ›› Issue (3): 504-514 .DOI: 10.1093/jpe/rtab003

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Variation and potential influence factors of foliar pH in land-water ecozones of three small plateau lakes

Sining Liu^1,2, Shenqun An², Zhengbing Yan^3,4, Junpeng Ren², Xiaoqian Lu², Feiyang Ge² and Wenxuan Han^2,
*

¹ Forestry Ecological Engineering in the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Institute of Ecology & Forestry, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, China, ² Department of Ecology and Ecological Engineering, College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, China, ³ Department of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China, ⁴ School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China

^*Corresponding author. E-mail: hanwenxuan@cau.edu.cn

Received:2020-07-07 Revised:2020-10-18 Accepted:2020-12-12 Online:2021-01-15 Published:2021-06-01

Abstract

Abstract:

Aims

Foliar pH of terrestrial plants, a trait tightly associated with plant physiology and nutrient utilization, varies with plant functional types (PFTs) and environmental changes. However, it is yet unclear about the variation in foliar pH of aquatic plants, and the difference between aquatic and terrestrial plants.

Methods

Foliar pH, leaf carbon, nitrogen content of plants along the lakeshore zones and the environmental conditions (water or soil pH, water status) of the corresponding vegetation of three small plateau lakes were investigated, to determine the variation and potential influence factors of foliar pH at both PFT and community levels.

Important Findings

Foliar pH varied largely among aquatic plants, and across aquatic, helophytic and terrestrial plants. Floating-leaved macrophytes had more acidic foliage (pH = 4.21 ± 0.05) than emergent (5.71 ± 0.07) and submerged macrophytes (5.82 ± 0.06). Foliar pH of aquatic herbs (5.43 ± 0.10) was lower than that of helophytic (6.12 ± 0.07) and terrestrial herbs (5.74 ± 0.05). Terrestrial herbs had significantly higher foliar pH than woody plants. The variation in foliar pH across PFTs may be mainly ascribed to leaf structure, light utilization and nutrient characteristics. Consistent with the pattern on PFT level, aquatic communities had more acidic foliage than terrestrial communities, which was mainly shaped by species composition, water status and environmental pH. This study documented the first-time foliar pH of aquatic plants, and comparison of foliar pH among various plant types at a landscape scale. Our results provide bases for further exploration of the underlying mechanism and its ecological significance for wetland ecosystems.

Key words: aquatic macrophyte, foliar acidity, functional trait, helophyte, waterfront plant community, water gradient

摘要：
3个小型高原湖泊水陆交错带中植物叶片pH值变异及其潜在影响因素
陆生植物叶片pH值是与植物生理功能和养分利用状况息息相关的重要植物属性，并随植物功能型和环境的变化而变化。然而，水生植物叶片pH值的变异特征及其与陆生植物间的差异性仍不清楚。在3个自然形成的小型高原湖泊的湖滨植物群落中，我们采集植物、土壤和湖水样品，检测了植物叶片pH值与碳、氮含量以及环境条件(水或土壤pH值、土壤水位状况)。从植物功能型和群落两个水平分析了湖滨植物叶pH值沿水分梯度的变化及其潜在影响因素。研究结果表明，不同类型的水生植物，以及水生、沼生和陆生环境中生长的植物的叶pH存在较大差异；浮叶植物叶片pH值(4.21 ± 0.05)显著低于挺水植物(5.71 ± 0.07)和沉水植物(5.82 ± 0.06)；水生草本植物叶片pH值(5.43 ± 0.10)显著低于沼生草本植物(6.12 ± 0.07)和陆生草本植物(5.74 ± 0.05)；陆生草本植物叶片pH值显著高于木本植物。植物功能群间叶片pH值的变异可能与叶片的结构、光利用特性和养分特性有关。群落水平的结果与植物功能型水平相一致：水生群落叶片pH值显著低于陆生群落。群落水平叶片pH值可能主要受物种组成、水分条件和环境pH值的影响。本研究首次探索了水生植物的pH值，并且在景观尺度上对比了不同功能型植物的叶片pH值，为深入探索植物pH值变异机制以及其在水生和湿地生态系统中的生态意义提供参考。

关键词: 大型水生植物, 叶片酸度, 功能属性, 沼生植物, 滨水植物群落, 水分梯度

Sining Liu, Shenqun An, Zhengbing Yan, Junpeng Ren, Xiaoqian Lu, Feiyang Ge and Wenxuan Han. Variation and potential influence factors of foliar pH in land-water ecozones of three small plateau lakes[J]. J Plant Ecol, 2021, 14(3): 504-514.

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Variation and potential influence factors of foliar pH in land-water ecozones of three small plateau lakes

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