Effects of nitrogen addition and mowing on nitrogen- and water-use efficiency of Artemisia frigida in a grassland restored from an abandoned cropland

doi:10.1093/jpe/rtab006

J Plant Ecol ›› 2021, Vol. 14 ›› Issue (3): 515-526 .DOI: 10.1093/jpe/rtab006

• Research Articles • Previous Articles Next Articles

Effects of nitrogen addition and mowing on nitrogen- and water-use efficiency of Artemisia frigida in a grassland restored from an abandoned cropland

Huajie Diao^1,2,3,†, Paul Kardol^4,†, Kuanhu Dong^1,3,* and Changhui Wang^1,2,3,
*

¹ College of Grassland Science, Shanxi Agricultural University, Taigu 030801, China, ² State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China,³ Youyu Loess Plateau Grassland Ecosystem Research Station, Shanxi Agricultural University, Taigu 030801, China, ⁴ Department of Forest Ecology and Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 901-83 Umeå, Sweden

^*Corresponding author. E-mail: dongkuanhu@126.com (K.D.); wangch@ibcas.ac.cn (C.W.)
^†These authors contributed equally to this work.

Received:2020-07-15 Revised:2020-09-14 Accepted:2021-01-07 Online:2021-01-17 Published:2021-06-01

Abstract

Abstract:

Aims

Competition among plants in a community usually depends on their nitrogen (N)-use efficiency (NUE) and water-use efficiency (WUE) in arid and semi-arid regions. Artemisia frigida is an indicator species in heavily degraded grassland, however, how its NUE and WUE respond to N addition in different successional stages is still unclear, especially with mowing, a common management practice in semi-arid grasslands.

Methods

Based on a long-term controlled experiment with N addition and mowing in an abandoned cropland from 2006 to 2013, we investigated the NUE and WUE of A. frigida in two patches (i.e. grass and herb patches) in 2013 which represented two potential successional stages from herb to grass communities. The coverage of A. frigida was higher (about 50%) in the herb patch than in the grass patch (about 10%). Stable isotopic C (δ 13C) and N (δ 15N) as well as C and N pools were measured in plants and soils. NUE was calculated as leaf C/N, and leaf δ 13C values were used as a proxy for WUE.

Important Findings

N addition did not affect WUE of A. frigida, but significantly decreased NUE by 42.9% and 26.6% in grass and herb patches, respectively. The response of NUE to N addition was related to altering utilization of different N sources (NH₄+vs. NO₃−) by A. frigida according to the changed relationship between leaf δ 15N/soil δ 15N and NUE. Mowing had no effect on NUE regardless of N addition, but significantly increased WUE by 2.3% for A. frigida without N addition in the grass patch. The addition of N reduced the positive effect of mowing on its WUE in grass patch. Our results suggested that decreased NUE and/or WUE of A. frigida under mowing and N addition could reduce its competition, and further accelerate restoration succession from the abandoned cropland to natural grassland in the semi-arid region.

Key words: mowing, nitrogen addition, nitrogen-use efficiency, semi-arid grassland, water-use efficiency

摘要：
氮添加和刈割对内蒙古弃耕草地冷蒿氮和水分利用效率的影响
在氮和水分限制的区域，植物氮利用效率(NUE)和水分利用效率(WUE)决定了它们在群落中的竞争优势。冷蒿(Artemisia frigida)是半干旱草地重度退化的先锋物种，在不同退化程度的草地中具有不同的优势度，经常被认为是退化草地群落演替的指示物种。退化草地恢复过程中，氮添加和割草如何影响冷蒿的NUE和WUE尚不清晰。以内蒙古多伦县弃耕草地为研究对象，选取两个不同群落斑块(禾草和冷蒿为优势物种的斑块)，经过长期(2006–2013)氮添加和刈割(对照、氮添加、刈割、氮添加+刈割)处理后，研究冷蒿的NUE (叶片碳氮比)和WUE (叶片碳同位素，δ¹³C)对氮添加、刈割及其交互作用的响应；结合植物和土壤的碳、氮同位素(δ¹³C和δ¹⁵N)及碳、氮库探究退化草地恢复过程中植物的资源利用策略及其机制。研究结果表明：(1)氮添加对冷蒿的WUE没有显著影响(P > 0.05)，但NUE 在禾草和冷蒿斑块中分别显著降低了42.9%和26.6% (P < 0.05)；(2)植物对不同氮源(NH₄₊或NO_3-)的利用会引起植物和土壤δ¹⁵N的分馏，研究表明叶片和土壤的δ¹⁵N与NUE呈现相反的变化趋势，因此冷蒿的NUE对氮添加的响应与不同氮源的利用有关；(3)刈割不影响冷蒿的NUE (P > 0.05)，但在禾草斑块，冷蒿的WUE在刈割处理下显著提高了2.3% (P < 0.05)；(4)在禾草斑块，氮添加减缓了割草对冷蒿WUE的促进作用；(5)结构方程模型显示，土壤含水量直接或间接的调控着冷蒿的WUE和NUE。综上所述，在禾草斑块，氮添加+刈割处理维持较低的NUE和WUE，不利于冷蒿对资源的竞争，进一步降低其优势度，这也预示着氮添加+ 刈割处理会促进退化草地的恢复。

关键词: 氮添加, 刈割, 氮利用效率, 半干旱草地, 水分利用效率

Huajie Diao, Paul Kardol, Kuanhu Dong and Changhui Wang. Effects of nitrogen addition and mowing on nitrogen- and water-use efficiency of Artemisia frigida in a grassland restored from an abandoned cropland[J]. J Plant Ecol, 2021, 14(3): 515-526.

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Effects of nitrogen addition and mowing on nitrogen- and water-use efficiency of Artemisia frigida in a grassland restored from an abandoned cropland

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