Abstract
Effective utilization of water is the cornerstone of maintaining plant biomass. Water use efficiency (WUE), defined as plant carbon assimilated as biomass per unit of water input, is significantly affected by global change, particularly by nitrogen (N) deposition. Generally, N availability promotes WUE by stimulating photosynthetic. However, the degree to which increased N availability may influence leaf WUE and photosynthesis properties (A, leaf net CO2 assimilation rate; gs, stomatal conductance, and E, transpiration rate), especially in salinized-alkalized grasslands, is not studied well. We conducted a randomized block manipulative experiment to evaluate the multilevel N addition (0, 5, 10, 20, 40 g N m− 2 year−1) on leaf photosynthesis properties and leaf WUE of the dominant species (Leymus chinensis (Trin.) Tzvelev) in the Songnen meadow steppe from 2016 to 2018. We have three key findings: (1) N availability increased photosynthetic and WUE properties, instantaneous WUE (Wi = A/E), intrinsic WUE (Wg = A/gs) and long-term WUE (WL) inferred from 13C composition, were all showed a non-linear increasing pattern in response to N availability; (2) N application decreased leaf mass per area and increased leaf total N content via enhancing soil inorganic N content, thus increased photosynthetic characteristics (e.g., A, E and gs), ultimately, promoted Wi and Wg; (3) N application enhanced WL was attributed to the N-induced improvement in Wi and Wg. Results of the present work are critical to our prediction of how meadow steppe dominated by L. chinensis will respond to severe N deposition in the future.
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Data availability
The datasets analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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Acknowledgements
We thank Jing Gao, Xiaoli Ling, and Keying Wang for their help with field and laboratory work.
Funding
This study was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 31570470, 31870456) and the Program of Introducing Talents of Discipline to Universities (No. B16011). W.Z.S. acknowledges scholarship support from China Scholarship Council (CSC, No. 202106620024).
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WZS and WS designed the experiment; WZS, HYC, and MCF conducted the field and laboratory experiments; WZS analyzed the data and wrote the manuscript with great assistance from MEL and WS. All authors provided input to the drafting and final version of the manuscript.
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Song, W., Loik, M.E., Cui, H. et al. Effect of nitrogen addition on leaf photosynthesis and water use efficiency of the dominant species Leymus chinensis (Trin.) Tzvelev in a semi-arid meadow steppe. Plant Growth Regul 98, 91–102 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10725-022-00835-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10725-022-00835-8