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Effects of different nitrogen forms and concentrations on seedling growth traits and physiological characteristics of Populus simonii × P. nigra

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Abstract

Numerous growth and physiological variables of 3-week-old Populus simonii × P. nigra seedlings were assessed after treatment with either nitrate nitrogen (NO3−–N) (0.1, 0.5, 1, 5, or 10 mmol·L−1) or ammonium nitrogen (NH4+–N) (0.1, 0.5, 1, 5, or 10 mmol·L−1) to determine the best nitrogen form and concentration to optimize growth, biomass allocation, pigment content, and photosynthetic capacity. The results of combining membership function and an evaluation index suggested that, 5 mmol·L−1 nitrogen, regardless of the form, yielded the highest comprehensive evaluation index and good growth. In addition, a Pearson correlation analysis and network visualization revealed that the total mass, shoot mass, root mass, leaf dry mass, plant height, leaf area, chlorophyll a and total chlorophyll had a physiological index connectivity degree ≥ 15 for both nitrogen forms. Net photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, transpiration rate, maximum photochemical efficiency of PSII, total nitrogen content, ground diameter, chlorophyll b, and carotenoid were unique indices for evaluating NH4+–N-based nutrition, which could provide a theoretical basis for evaluating the effects of nitrogen fertilizer on seedlings, cultivation periods, and stress tolerance in P. simonii × P. nigra.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Tree Genetics and Breeding, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, 150040, People’s Republic of China

    Zhongye Liu, Wei Li, Heng Zhang, Chuanping Yang & Guanjun Liu

  2. College of Life Science, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, 150040, People’s Republic of China

    Zhiru Xu, Huihui Zhang & Guangyu Sun

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  1. Zhongye Liu
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  2. Wei Li
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  3. Zhiru Xu
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  6. Heng Zhang
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Correspondence to Guanjun Liu.

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Project funding: This work was supported by the Science Fund Project of Heilongjiang Province of China (ZD2020C004), the Special Fund for Basic Scientific research operation Fee of Central University (2572019CT02), the Innovation Project of State Key Laboratory of Tree Genetics and Breeding (Northeast Forestry University) (2019A03), and Heilongjiang Touyan Innovation Team Program (Tree Genetics and Breeding Innovation Team).

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Corresponding editor: Yu Lei.

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Liu, Z., Li, W., Xu, Z. et al. Effects of different nitrogen forms and concentrations on seedling growth traits and physiological characteristics of Populus simonii × P. nigra. J. For. Res. 33, 1593–1606 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11676-021-01447-0

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