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Nitrogen uptake and allocation in Populus simonii in different seasons supplied with isotopically labeled ammonium or nitrate

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The total uptake of 15 NO 3 -N was twofold higher than that of 15 NH 4 -N when supplied with ammonium and/or nitrate in different seasons; the seedlings fertilized with NO 3 -N had good growth with high photosynthetic rate and total biomass.

Abstract

Appropriate fertilization is crucial for maximum plant growth and improving nitrogen use efficiency. Poplar is an important fast-growing tree species for biomass production, however, little is known about fertilizer management of poplar plantations growing on barren soil in different seasons. To understand nitrogen uptake and allocation of Populus simonii supplied with different forms of nitrogen in different seasons, we determined nitrogen uptake and allocation of P. simonii potted seedlings after a 4-day supply of 15NH4-N, 15NO3-N, 15NH4NO3, and NH 154 NO3 in May, July, and September. The total 15N uptake was twofold higher when supplied with sole 15NO3-N compared to sole 15NH4-N in all the investigated seasons. In the presence of ammonium nitrate (15NH4NO3 and NH 154 NO3), the total 15N uptake was two times higher when supplied with NH 154 NO3 compared to 15NH4NO3. Per unit biomass, the 15N-uptake ability of fine roots was higher in May and July compared to that in September. 15N was present mainly in leaves in May and July, and was mainly stored in roots and stems in autumn. The effect of nitrogen on the growth of P. simonii seedlings was studied by fertilizing with NH4-N, NO3-N, and NH4NO3 for 8 weeks. The seedlings fertilized with NO3-N had good growth with high photosynthetic rate and total biomass indicating that NO3-N is crucial for P. simonii growth. These data contribute to understand the nitrogen uptake in different seasons in trees supplied with different forms of nitrogen. This provides important theoretical bases for fertilizer management of poplar plantations.

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Acknowledgments

This research was sponsored by the State Key Basic Research Development Program (973 Program, Grant No. 2012CB416902), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 31500543), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities of China (Grant No. Z109021564).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Forestry, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, China

    Chunxia Zhang, Sen Meng, Yiming Li, Li Su & Zhong Zhao

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

    Chunxia Zhang

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  1. Chunxia Zhang
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  2. Sen Meng
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  3. Yiming Li
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  4. Li Su
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  5. Zhong Zhao
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Correspondence to Chunxia Zhang or Zhong Zhao.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Communicated by H. Rennenberg.

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Zhang, C., Meng, S., Li, Y. et al. Nitrogen uptake and allocation in Populus simonii in different seasons supplied with isotopically labeled ammonium or nitrate. Trees 30, 2011–2018 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-016-1428-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-016-1428-z

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