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Effects of Drought and Warming on Biomass, Nutrient Allocation, and Oxidative Stress in Abies fabri in Eastern Tibetan Plateau

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Abstract

Abies fabri (Mast.) Craib is an endemic and dominant species in typical subalpine dark coniferous forests distributed in the eastern Tibetan Plateau. To assess how A. fabri may respond and adapt to future climate changes, we investigated the effects of drought and warming on the growth, resource allocation in biomass, membrane stability, and oxidative stress of the seedlings over two growing seasons. Drought (11.4 % average reduction in soil moisture) was created by excluding natural precipitation with a plastic roof and warming was performed by an infrared heater above the plots. Drought increased root length, the root-to-shoot ratio, N concentration, and N/P ratio in all organs, and decreased seedling height and C/N ratio in all organs. Moreover, warming (2 °C) decreased seedling height, root length, total biomass, and N concentration in stems but increased the C/N ratio. Furthermore, the combination of drought and warming decreased seedling height and biomass in all organs, which further increased the N concentration and N/P ratio in all organs. A significant decrease in the membrane stability index and an increase in malondialdehyde, superoxide radical (O2 −), and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) were exactly matched with a dramatic decrease of total biomass under the combination of drought and warming treatment. Together these results implied that drought alone and warming alone were unfavorable for the early growth of A. fabri, and drought plus warming will intensify the opposite effect of drought alone or warming alone. Moreover, N will be a limited nutrient under extant and future climate changes.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the Knowledge Innovation Project (KZCX2-EW-309-2, KZCX2-YW-331-2) and the “West Light” Talent Plan Project (Y0R2100100) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. We thank Quan Lan for providing valuable field help. We are also grateful for all workers in the Alpine Ecosystem Observation and Experiment Station.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, People’s Republic of China

    Yan Yang

  2. Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, The Alpine Ecosystem Observation and Experiment Station of the Gongga Mountain, Chinese Academy of Sciences, #9, Block 4, Renminnanlu Road, Chengdu, 610041, People’s Republic of China

    Yan Yang, Genxu Wang, Liudong Yang & Jianying Guo

  3. Graduate College of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100039, People’s Republic of China

    Liudong Yang

  4. School of Tourism and Economy Management, Leshan Teachers College, Leshan, 614000, People’s Republic of China

    Jianying Guo

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Correspondence to Genxu Wang.

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Yang, Y., Wang, G., Yang, L. et al. Effects of Drought and Warming on Biomass, Nutrient Allocation, and Oxidative Stress in Abies fabri in Eastern Tibetan Plateau. J Plant Growth Regul 32, 298–306 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00344-012-9298-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00344-012-9298-0

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