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Changes of plant community composition instead of soil nutrient status drive the legacy effects of historical nitrogen deposition on plant community N:P stoichiometry

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Abstract

Aims

Uncovering the importance of soil and plant characteristics in driving the legacy effects of nitrogen (N) deposition on plant community nutrient stoichiometry would improve our understanding of plant-soil interaction during restoration of historically N-enriched ecosystems.

Methods

Based on a field experiment with the cessation of six-year N addition in a temperate steppe of northern China, we measured concentrations and stoichiometry of N and phosphorus (P) in soils and different plant functional groups, under both mown and unmown conditions.

Results

Historical N addition did not affect soil total and available N and P concentrations and stoichiometry, but significantly altered plant community composition. Plant nutrient concentrations and N:P ratios significantly differed among four plant functional groups. The concentrations and stoichiometric ratios of N and P between soils and plants were generally not correlated. The positive legacy effects of N addition on community N:P stoichiometry were caused by the biomass enhancement of tall bunchgrass, the functional group with the highest N:P ratios.

Conclusions

Changes in plant community composition instead of soil nutrient status were the main driver for the positive legacy effects of N enrichment on plant community stoichiometry. Given that the recovery of community composition after the cessation of N deposition is generally slow, our findings indicate that the legacy effects of N deposition on soil nutrient cycling would persist in long-term due to the importance of plant-mediated pathway.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the Inner Mongolia Grassland Ecosystem Research Station for logistical support. Comments and suggestions from three anonymous reviewers help improve the quality of this manuscript. This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (31770503 and 31822006), Liaoning Revitalizing Talents Program (XLYC1807061), Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology, Ministry of Education, K.C.Wong Education Foundation (GJTD-2019-10), National Key Research and Development Program of China (2016YFC0500601), Youth Innovation Promotion Association CAS (2014174), and Key Research Program from CAS (QYZDB-SSW-DQC006). Authors declare no conflict of interests.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Erguna Forest-Steppe Ecotone Research Station, CAS Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Management, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, 110016, China

    Yan-Yu Hu, Hai-Wei Wei, Zhi-Wei Zhang, Shuang-Li Hou & Xiao-Tao Lü

  2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Yan-Yu Hu, Hai-Wei Wei & Zhi-Wei Zhang

  3. State Key Laboratory of Vegetation of Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100093, China

    Jun-Jie Yang

  4. Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology, Ministry of Education, Institute of Grassland Science, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, 130024, China

    Jun-Feng Wang

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  1. Yan-Yu Hu
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Correspondence to Xiao-Tao Lü.

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Hu, YY., Wei, HW., Zhang, ZW. et al. Changes of plant community composition instead of soil nutrient status drive the legacy effects of historical nitrogen deposition on plant community N:P stoichiometry. Plant Soil 453, 503–513 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-020-04631-z

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