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N–P stoichiometry in soil and leaves of Pinus massoniana forest at different stand ages in the subtropical soil erosion area of China

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Abstract

Plant nitrogen (N)–phosphorus (P) stoichiometry is associated with important ecological processes. However, N–P stoichiometry in soil and plants and adaptive mechanisms of plants to infertile soils in the soil erosion areas remain unclear. We selected 15 plots with Masson pine forest of varying stand ages in typical subtropical soil erosion areas of Southern China. The total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) concentrations in green leaves of Masson pine forest (9.2 and 0.61 g/kg) were significantly lower than the national averages in China (18.6 and 1.21 g/kg). The N:P ratio (TN:TP) of green leaves (15.1:1) was higher than the national (14.4:1) and the global levels (11.8:1 or 11.0:1). Forest soil TN, TP concentrations (0.41 and 0.14 g/kg) were lower than the national averages. The high N:P ratio of green leaves and low soil TP, AP concentrations indicated that P was important in limiting Masson pine forest growth, especially for forests with stand age less than 10 years. Leaf TN, TP resorption efficiencies of Masson pine forests were 26.5 and 64.9 %, and TP in senesced leaves of Masson pine with different stand ages was completely resorbed, suggesting that Masson pine was effective at adapting to nutrient-poor soils. Differences in leaf N–P stoichiometry among different stand ages indicated that nutrient demand varied with Masson pine forest growth stages. Changes in forest soil N–P stoichiometry suggested that Masson pine forest afforestation could greatly improve the soil quality in the eroded lands. However, the significant improvement would take at least a 30-year-long period.

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Acknowledgments

The National Natural Science Foundation of China (41071281) and 135 Development Plan of YIC-CAS, and Shuangchuang Talent Plan of Jiangsu Province supported this work. We are grateful to all of the staff of Fujian Changting Monitoring Station of Soil and Water Conservation for providing the experimental sites, and in helping the field sample collections.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Eco-Environmental Science for Yellow River Delta, Binzhou University, Binzhou, 256603, China

    Jingtao Liu

  2. Xiaozhuang University, Nanjing, 211171, China

    Zhujun Gu & Feng Zhou

  3. Key Laboratory of Coastal Biology and Bioresources Utilization, Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research (YIC), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Yantai, 264003, China

    Hongbo Shao

  4. Institute of Agro-biotechnology, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanjing, 210014, China

    Hongbo Shao

  5. Fujian Changting Monitoring Station of Soil and Water Conservation, Changting, 366300, China

    Shaoyun Peng

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  1. Jingtao Liu
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Correspondence to Jingtao Liu or Hongbo Shao.

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Liu, J., Gu, Z., Shao, H. et al. N–P stoichiometry in soil and leaves of Pinus massoniana forest at different stand ages in the subtropical soil erosion area of China. Environ Earth Sci 75, 1091 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-016-5888-7

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