Silicon addition improves plant productivity and soil nutrient availability without changing the grass:legume ratio response to N fertilization.

ABSTRACT: Silicon (Si) plays an important role in plant nutrient capture and absorption, and also promotes plant mechanical strength and light interception in alpine meadows. In this study, we conducted a field experiment to examine the effect of nitrogen (N) application, with (N?+?Si) and without Si (N-only), on the potential for soil nutrient and the growth of grass and legume plant functional types (PFTs) in an alpine meadow. It was found that N?+?Si resulted in higher soil nutrient contents, leaf N and P concentrations, abundance and biomass of legume and grass PFTs than N-only. The aboveground biomass of grass (598 g m^-2) and legume (12.68 g m^-2) PFTs under 600 kg ha^-1 ammonium nitrate (NH₄NO₃) per year addition with Si was significantly higher than that under the same level of N addition without Si (515 and 8.68 g m^-2, respectively). The grass:legume biomass ratio did not differ significantly between the N?+?Si and N-only. This demonstrates that Si enhances N fertilization with apparently little effect on grass:legume ratio and increases plant-available nutrients, indicating that Si is essential for the plant community in alpine meadows.

SUBMITTER: Xu D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7314743 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature