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Ecological stoichiometric characteristics and element reserves of three stands in a closed forest on the Chinese loess plateau

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Abstract

Populus davidiana, Leuchtenbergia principis, and Pinus tabulaeformis are important greening tree species with a cosmopolitan distribution. However, the stoichiometric characteristics and element reserves of stands of these three species are not particularly clear. In this study, we conducted a plot-level investigation of forest stands of these species in the loess area; these have been closed forest stands more than 28 years. Trees were sampled from an area of 50 m × 20 m (in 6, 8, and 9 plots, respectively), which was sufficient for shrub (2 m × 2 m), herbal species, and litter (1 m × 1 m) investigations. The C, N, and P concentrations and the C:N:P stoichiometry in five different soil layers (0–10 cm, 10–20 cm, 20–30 cm, 30–50 cm, and 50–100 cm) and in the leaves, stems, branches, and roots of the plants were examined. The soil element concentrations and density were affected by soil depth. The element content had a significantly negative correlation with soil depth, and element density differed significantly among the soil layers. A particular element in a particular organ differed significantly between the forest stands, and the same element in different organs of the same stand was also significantly different. The C, N, and P element reserves in the soil were considerably higher than in the plants. Our results indicate that there are different stoichiometric characteristics and element reserves of the three stands in a closed forest on the Chinese loess plateau, which may provide a reference when we develop and optimize the structure of forest stands.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Dr. Ruijun Wang, Dr. Ning Wang, and Lu Chi for their help during field sampling and Prof. Zhi Li for her language instruction during the thesis writing. This research was supported by the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDAO5050203-04-01).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Soil and Water Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, People’s Republic of China

    Yuanbo Cao & Baitian Wang

  2. China National Gold Group Corporation, Beijing, 100011, People’s Republic of China

    Tingting Wei

  3. Guangxi Institute of Water Resources Research, Nanning, 530023, People’s Republic of China

    Hua Ma

Authors
  1. Yuanbo Cao
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  2. Baitian Wang
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  3. Tingting Wei
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  4. Hua Ma
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Baitian Wang.

Additional information

Y. B. Cao and B. T Wang conceived and designed the experiments. Y. B. Cao and T. T. Wei performed the experiments. Y. B. Cao and T. T. Wei analyzed the data. Y. B. Cao and H. Ma wrote the manuscript.

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Cao, Y., Wang, B., Wei, T. et al. Ecological stoichiometric characteristics and element reserves of three stands in a closed forest on the Chinese loess plateau. Environ Monit Assess 188, 80 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-015-5057-6

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