Open AccessCarbon and nitrogen allocation shifts in plants and soils along aridity and fertility gradients in grasslands of China
Author(s) -
Luo Wentao,
Li MaiHe,
Sardans Jordi,
Lü XiaoTao,
Wang Chao,
Peñuelas Josep,
Wang Zhengwen,
Han XingGuo,
Jiang Yong
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
ecology and evolution
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.17
H-Index - 63
ISSN - 2045-7758
DOI - 10.1002/ece3.3245
Subject(s) - arid , soil water , shoot , ecosystem , soil fertility , nutrient , nitrogen , biomass (ecology) , agronomy , ecological stoichiometry , soil carbon , botany , environmental science , ecology , biology , chemistry , organic chemistry
Plant carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) stoichiometry play an important role in the maintenance of ecosystem structure and function. To decipher the influence of changing environment on plant C and N stoichiometry at the subcontinental scale, we studied the shoot and root C and N stoichiometry in two widely distributed and dominant genera along a 2,200‐km climatic gradient in China's grasslands. Relationships between C and N concentrations and soil climatic variables factors were studied. In contrast to previous theory, plant C concentration and C:N ratios in both shoots and roots increased with increasing soil fertility and decreased with increasing aridity. Relative N allocation shifted from soils to plants and from roots to shoots with increasing aridity. Changes in the C:N ratio were associated with changes in N concentration. Dynamics of plant C concentration and C:N ratios were mainly caused by biomass reallocation and a nutrient dilution effect in the plant‐soil system. Our results suggest that the shifted allocation of C and N to different ecosystem compartments under a changing environment may change the overall use of these elements by the plant‐soil system.