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. 2017 Jan 11;12(1):e0168890.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0168890. eCollection 2017.

Soil, Leaf and Root Ecological Stoichiometry of Caragana korshinskii on the Loess Plateau of China in Relation to Plantation Age

Quanchao Zeng  1 , Rattan Lal  2 , Yanan Chen  1 , Shaoshan An  1   3
Affiliations

Soil, Leaf and Root Ecological Stoichiometry of Caragana korshinskii on the Loess Plateau of China in Relation to Plantation Age

Quanchao Zeng et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Caragana korshinskii, a leguminous shrub, a common specie, is widely planted to prevent soil erosion on the Loess Plateau. The objective of this study was to determine how the plantation ages affected soil, leaf and root nutrients and ecological stoichiometry. The chronosequence ages of C. korshinskii plantations selected for this study were 10, 20 and 30 years. Soil organic carbon (SOC) and soil total nitrogen (STN) of C. korshinskii plantations significantly increased with increase in the chronosequence age. However, soil total phosphorous (STP) was not affected by the chronosequence age. The soil C: N ratio decreased and the soil C: P and N: P ratios increased with increasing plantation age. The leaf and root concentrations of C, N, and P increased and the ratios C: N, C: P, and N: P decreased with age increase. Leaf N: P ratios were >20, indicating that P was the main factor limiting the growth of C. korshinskii. This study also demonstrated that the regeneration of natural grassland (NG) effectively preserved and enhanced soil nutrient contents. Compared with NG, shrub lands (C. korshinskii) had much lower soil nutrient concentrations, especially for long (>20 years) chronosequence age. Thus, the regeneration of natural grassland is an ecologically beneficial practice for the recovery of degraded soils in this area.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Stoichiometric characteristics of soil C, N and P as affected by soil depth and plantation age.
Values are the means ± SE of three plots. Values designated by different lowercase letters were significantly different among different duration ages, and different capital letters indicated significant difference soil layers, respectively (P < 0.05).
Fig 2
Fig 2. Stoichiometric characteristics of leaf and root C, N and P as affected by plantation age.
Values are the means ± SE of three plots. For each plant issue, means with different letters are significantly different based on ANOVA and Scheffe’s test (P<0.05). Note: Values designated by different lowercase letters were significantly different among different duration ages, and different capital letters indicated significant difference between leaf and root, respectively (P < 0.05).
Fig 3
Fig 3. Relationships between soil, leaf and root stoichiometric characteristics of C.korshinskii.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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