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Effects of water and nitrogen on growth and relative competitive ability of introduced versus native C4 grass species in the semi-arid Loess Plateau of China

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Abstract

Switchgrass is an introduced C4 grass in the semi-arid Loess Plateau of China, but there is a lack of information to assess its ecological invasive risk. In this study, Old World bluestems (native C4 grass) and switchgrass were sowed at five mixture ratios (8:0, 6:2, 4:4, 2:6 and 0:8) under two soil water levels (80% field capacity (FC) and 40% FC) and two nitrogen (N) treatments (0 and 100 mg N/kg dry soil, termed N0-unfertilized and N1-fertilized treatments, respectively) in a pot experiment in 2012. Biomass, root morphological traits and relative competitive abilities of these two species were analyzed. Results showed that biomass of both species was significantly greater under 80% FC or N fertilization, and switchgrass had a relatively larger root:shoot ratio (RSR). Total root length (TRL) and root surface area (RSA) of switchgrass were significantly higher under 80% FC irrespective of N treatment, while those of Old World bluestems were only significantly higher under N fertilization. N had no significant effect on TRL and RSA of switchgrass, while RSA of Old World bluestems significantly increased under 80% FC and N fertilization. Under 40% FC and N0-unfertilized treatment, the aggressivity of Old World bluestems was larger than zero at 2:6 and 4:4 mixture ratios of two species, whereas it was close to zero at 6:2 mixture ratio. Root competitive ability of switchgrass significantly increased under 80% FC or N fertilization. The aggressivity of Old World bluestems was negative at 6:2 mixture ratio under 80% FC and N fertilization, while it was positive at 2:6 mixture ratio. Switchgrass may become more aggressive when N deposition or rainfall increases, while a proper mixture ratio with appropriate water and N management could help with grassland management in the semi-arid Loess Plateau.

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Acknowledgements

The study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41371509; 41771553) and the Intergovernmental International Cooperation on Science and Technology Innovation under the Ministry of Science and Technology of People’s Republic of China (2018YFE0112400). We thank Dr. PANG Jiayin, Dr. Patrick HAYES, two anonymous reviewers and editors for their valuable comments on this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Xianyang, 712100, China

    Wenli Ding, Zhijuan Gao & Bingcheng Xu

  2. College of Life Science, Yulin University, Yulin, 719000, China

    Weizhou Xu

  3. Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Resources, Beijing, Yangling, 712100, China

    Bingcheng Xu

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  1. Wenli Ding
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Correspondence to Bingcheng Xu.

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Ding, W., Xu, W., Gao, Z. et al. Effects of water and nitrogen on growth and relative competitive ability of introduced versus native C4 grass species in the semi-arid Loess Plateau of China. J. Arid Land 13, 730–743 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40333-021-0010-8

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