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Effect of Environmental Stress on the Nutrient Stoichiometry of the Clonal Plant Phragmites australis in Inland Riparian Wetlands of Northwest China.

ABSTRACT: Clonal plants play an important role in determining ecosystem properties such as community stability, species diversity and nutrient cycling. However, relatively little information is available about the stoichiometric characteristics of clonal plants and their drivers in inland riparian wetlands under strong environmental stress. In this manuscript, we studied the clonal plant Phragmites australis in an inland riparian wetland of Northwest China and compared its nutrient distribution and stoichiometry trade-offs as well as its responses to soil environmental factors in three different environments, namely, a wetland, a salt marsh, and a desert. We found that (1) P. australis could adapt to heterogeneous environments by changing its nutrient allocation strategies, as evidenced by the significant decrease in N and P concentrations, and significant increase in whole-plant C:P and N:P ratios from the wetland to the desert habitats. (2) P. australis adapted to stressful environments by changing its nutrient allocation patterns among different modules, showing a greater tendency to invest N and P in underground modules (rhizomes and roots) and an increase in the utilization efficiency of N and P in the leaves, and stems as environmental stress increased. (3) The C-N, C-P, and N:P-C in the whole plant and in each module showed significant anisotropic growth relationships in the three habitats (P < 0.05). (4) Soil water, pH and salt were the main factors limiting nutrient stoichiometry. The results of this study clarified the ecological adaptation mechanism of the clonal plant P. australis to heterogeneous environments and provided targeted protection strategies for inland riparian wetlands in Northwest China.

SUBMITTER: Zhou Y

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8416684 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:Soil pathogens are believed to be major contributors to negative plant-soil feedbacks that regulate plant community dynamics and plant invasions. While the theoretical basis for pathogen regulation of plant communities is well established within the plant-soil feedback framework, direct experimental evidence for pathogen community responses to plants has been limited, often relying largely on indirect evidence based on above-ground plant responses. As a result, specific soil pathogen responses accompanying above-ground plant community dynamics are largely unknown. Here, we examine the oomycete pathogens in soils conditioned by established populations of native noninvasive and non-native invasive haplotypes of Phragmites australis (European common reed). Our aim was to assess whether populations of invasive plants harbor unique communities of pathogens that differ from those associated with noninvasive populations and whether the distribution of taxa within these communities may help to explain invasive success. We compared the composition and abundance of pathogenic and saprobic oomycete species over a 2-year period. Despite a diversity of oomycete taxa detected in soils from both native and non-native populations, pathogen communities from both invaded and noninvaded soils were dominated by species of Pythium. Pathogen species that contributed the most to the differences observed between invaded and noninvaded soils were distributed between invaded and noninvaded soils. However, the specific taxa in invaded soils responsible for community differences were distinct from those in noninvaded soils that contributed to community differences. Our results indicate that, despite the phylogenetic relatedness of native and non-native P. australis haplotypes, pathogen communities associated with the dominant non-native haplotype are distinct from those of the rare native haplotype. Pathogen taxa that dominate either noninvaded or invaded soils suggest different potential mechanisms of invasion facilitation. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that non-native plant species that dominate landscapes may "cultivate" a different soil pathogen community to their rhizosphere than those of rarer native species.

Project description:Nutrient enrichment, particularly nitrogen, is an important determinant of plant community productivity, diversity and invasibility in a wetland ecosystem. It may contribute to increasing colonization and dominance of invasive species, such as Phragmites australis, especially during wetland restoration. Providing native species a competitive advantage over invasive species, manipulating soil nutrients (nitrogen) may be an effective strategy to control the invasive species and that management tool is essential to restore the degraded ecosystems. Therefore, we examined competition between Phragmites australis and Melaleuca ericifolia in a greenhouse setting with activated carbon (AC) treatments, followed by cutting of Phragmites shoots in nutrient-rich soils. Additionally, we evaluated the effect of AC on plant-free microcosms in the laboratory, to differentiate direct effects of AC on soil microbial functions from indirect effects. Overall, the objective was to test whether lowering nitrogen might be an effective approach for reducing Phragmites invasion in the wetland. The AC reduced Phragmites total biomass more significantly in repeated cut regime (57%) of Phragmites shoots compared to uncut regime (39%). Conversely, it increased Melaleuca total biomass by 41% and 68% in uncut and repeated cut regimes, respectively. Additionally, AC decreased more total nitrogen in above-ground biomass (41 to 55%) and non-structural carbohydrate in rhizome (21 to 65%) of Phragmites, and less total nitrogen reduction in above-ground biomass (25 to 24%) of Melaleuca in repeated cut compared to uncut regime. The significant negative correlation between Phragmites and Melaleuca total biomass was observed, and noticed that Phragmites acquired less biomass comparatively than Melaleuca in AC-untreated versus AC-treated pots across the cutting frequency. AC also caused significant changes to microbial community functions across Phragmites populations, namely nitrogen mineralization, nitrification, nitrogen microbial biomass and dehydrogenase activity (P???0.05) that may potentially explain changes in plant growth competition between Phragmites and Melaleuca. The overall effects on plant growth, however, may be partially microbially mediated, which was demonstrated through soil microbial functions. Results support the idea that reducing community vulnerability to invasion through nutrient (nitrogen) manipulations by AC with reducing biomass of invasive species may provide an effective strategy for invasive species management and ecosystem restoration.

Dataset Information

Effect of Environmental Stress on the Nutrient Stoichiometry of the Clonal Plant Phragmites australis in Inland Riparian Wetlands of Northwest China.

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