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. 2022 Dec 2;17(12):e0278656.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0278656. eCollection 2022.

Effects of nutrient supply on leaf stoichiometry and relative growth rate of three stoloniferous alien plants

Dong-Wei Yu  1 , Su-Juan Duan  1 , Xiao-Chao Zhang  2 , Da-Qiu Yin  3 , Shi-Jun Wang  3 , Jin-Song Chen  1 , Ning-Fei Lei  2
Affiliations

Effects of nutrient supply on leaf stoichiometry and relative growth rate of three stoloniferous alien plants

Dong-Wei Yu et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Different nutrient supply brings about changes in leaf stoichiometry, which may affect growth rate and primary production of plants. Invasion of alien plants is a severe threat to biodiversity and ecosystem worldwide. A pot experiment was conducted by using three stoloniferous alien plants Wedelia trilobata, Alternanther philoxeroides and Hydrocotyle vulgaris to investigate effects of nutrient supply on their leaf stoichiometry and relative growth rate. Different nitrogen or phosphorus supply was applied in the experiment (N1:1 mmol L-1, N2:4 mmol L-1, and N3:8 mmol L-1, P1:0.15 mmol L-1, P2:0.6 mmol L-1 and P3:1.2 mmol L-1). Nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations in leaves of the three alien plants significantly increased with increase of nitrogen supply. With increase of phosphorus supply, nitrogen or phosphorus concentration of leaf was complex among the three alien plants. N:P ratio in leaf of the three alien plants subjected to different levels of nutrient supply was various. A positive correlation between relative growth rate and N:P ratio of the leaf is observed in W. trilobata and A. philoxeroides suffering from N-limitation. A similar pattern was not observed in Hydrocotyle vulgaris. We tentatively concluded that correlations between relative growth rate and N: P ratio of the leaf could be affected by species as well as nutrient supply. It is suggested that human activities, invasive history, local abundance of species et al maybe play an important role in the invasion of alien plants as well as relative growth rate.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Nitrogen concentration in leaf of the three alien plants was subjected to different nutrient supplies.
N1: Low nitrogen supply (1 mmol L-1); N2: Intermediate nitrogen supply (4 mmol L-1); N3: High nitrogen supply (8 mmol L-1); P1: Low phosphorus supply (0.15 mmol L-1); P2: Intermediate phosphorus supply (0.6 mmol L-1); P3: High phosphorus supply (1.2 mmol L-1). Values are means ± SE. Bars with different lowercase letters denote significant differences (P < 0.05).
Fig 2
Fig 2. Phosphorus concentration in leaf of the three alien plants was subjected to different nutrient supplies.
N1: Low nitrogen supply (1 mmol L-1); N2: Intermediate nitrogen supply (4 mmol L-1); N3: High nitrogen supply (8 mmol L-1); P1: Low phosphorus supply (0.15 mmol L-1); P2: Intermediate phosphorus supply (0.6 mmol L-1); P3: High phosphorus supply (1.2 mmol L-1). Values are means ± SE. Bars with different lowercase letters denote significant differences< 0.05).
Fig 3
Fig 3. P ratio in leaf of the three alien plants subjected to different nutrient supplies.
N: N1: Low nitrogen supply (1 mmol L-1); N2: Intermediate nitrogen supply (4 mmol L-1); N3: High nitrogen supply (8 mmol L-1); P1: Low phosphorus supply (0.15 mmol L-1); P2: Intermediate phosphorus supply (0.6 mmol L-1); P3: High phosphorus supply (1.2 mmol L-1). Values are means ± SE. Bars with different lowercase letters denote significant differences (P < 0.05).
Fig 4
Fig 4. Relationship between the relative growth rate of the three alien plants and N:P ratios of their leaf.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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