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JOURNAL OF DESERT RESEARCH  2013, Vol. 33 Issue (3): 688-695    DOI: 10.7522/j.issn.1000-694X.2013.00099
Biology and Soil     
Divergence of Nitrogen Resorption Efficiency of Dominant Perennial Plants in Horqin Sandy Grassland
LI Yu-lin, CUI Duo, CHEN Jing, MAO Wei, ZHAO Xue-yong
Naiman Desertification Research Station, Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China
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Abstract  

Foliar nitrogen resorption is an important strategy which allows leaf nutrients to be reused rather than lost with leaf fall, particularly in nutrient-poor ecosystems where even small nutrient losses can have significantly negative impacts on plant survival, competitive ability, and fitness. However, plants vary greatly in nitrogen resorption among plant species during leaf senescence, which may be vital to understand the role of plant species in ecosystem functioning. Green and senesced leaf N concentrations of 39 plant species in Horqin sandy grassland were analyzed to detect variations of nutrient resorption efficiency (NRE) among plant growth forms. The results showed that green leaf N concentration ranged from 12.2 mg\5g-1 to 33.4 mg\5g-1, with an average of 23.3±5.4 mg\5g-1. Compared with those on national or global scales, Green leaf N concentrations were higher, suggesting that green leaf N is relatively higher in arid environments. Correspondingly, senesced leaf N concentration, significantly lower than green leaf N concentration, varied between 6.2 mg·g-1 and 18.8 mg·g-1. Nitrogen resorption efficiency ranged from 29% to 74%, with an average  of 50.3%±11.0%, suggesting that nitrogen resorption is a vital nutrient conservation strategy in this ecosystem. In addition, NRE differed significantly among the dominant plant growth forms in this sandy grassland. NRE for N-fixing species and graminoids were significantly lower relative to NRE for shrubs and forbs. These data give indirect evidence that the differentiation of N conservation serve as an important mechanism permitting the co-existence of growth forms in arid systems.

Key words:  nitrogen resorption efficiency      desert grassland      taxonomic groups      land desertification     
Received:  08 October 2012      Published:  27 October 2012
ZTFLH:  Q945.79  

Cite this article: 

LI Yu-lin, CUI Duo, CHEN Jing, MAO Wei, ZHAO Xue-yong. Divergence of Nitrogen Resorption Efficiency of Dominant Perennial Plants in Horqin Sandy Grassland. JOURNAL OF DESERT RESEARCH, 2013, 33(3): 688-695.

URL: 

http://www.desert.ac.cn/EN/10.7522/j.issn.1000-694X.2013.00099     OR     http://www.desert.ac.cn/EN/Y2013/V33/I3/688

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