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Effect of phosphorus efficiency on elemental stoichiometry of two shrubs
Author(s) -
Hu X.,
Zhang L.,
Zhang D.,
Niu D.,
Fu H.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
plant biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.871
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 1438-8677
pISSN - 1435-8603
DOI - 10.1111/plb.13111
Subject(s) - biology , phosphorus , stoichiometry , ecological stoichiometry , nutrient , ecology , materials science , chemistry , metallurgy , organic chemistry
Phosphorus (P) is an important nutrient that can restrict plant growth. However, the influence of P deficiency on elemental homeostasis and application of the growth rate hypothesis in higher plants remain to be assessed. Two shrubs, Zygophyllum xanthoxylum and Nitraria tangutorum , were used as experiment material and subjected to five P addition treatments: 0, 17.5, 35.0, 52.5 and 70.0 mg P·kg −1 soil. The biomass and relative growth rate of Z. xanthoxylum did not change with altered P supply. There was no significant difference in P concentration among the treatments for Z. xanthoxylum , but N. tangutorum showed an upward trend. The P stoichiometric homeostasis of Z. xanthoxylum was higher than that of N. tangutorum . For Z. xanthoxylum , available P in the rhizosphere improved significantly under extreme P deficiency conditions, and P concentrations in all treatments were lower than in N. tangutorum , showing that Z. xanthoxylum had stronger P absorption and P utilization capacity. No relationships between growth rate and C:N:P ratios were found in Z. xanthoxylum . The strong P efficiency, and high and stable dry matter accumulation, are likely contributors in maintaining stoichiometric homeostasis. In addition, the relatively high biomass accumulation and high P utilization efficiency for Z. xanthoxylum does not support the growth rate hypothesis for this species.

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