[1]JIN Xiaolian,ZHAO Wei,LI Mengdi,et al.Effects of Soil Moisture on the Stoichiometric Characteristics of Aboveground Plants Following Conversion of Farmland to Grassland on the Loess Plateau[J].Research of Soil and Water Conservation,2022,29(02):57-63.
Copy
Research of Soil and Water Conservation[ISSN 1005-3409/CN 61-1272/P] Volume:
29
Number of periods:
2022 02
Page number:
57-63
Column:
Public date:
2022-03-20
- Title:
-
Effects of Soil Moisture on the Stoichiometric Characteristics of Aboveground Plants Following Conversion of Farmland to Grassland on the Loess Plateau
- Author(s):
-
JIN Xiaolian1,2, ZHAO Wei1,2,3, LI Mengdi2, LIU Dongdong2, JU Wenliang3,4
-
(1.College of Grassland Agriculture, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China; 2.State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China; 3.Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Resources, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China; 4.University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China)
-
- Keywords:
-
returning farmland to grassland; plant nutrient; ecological stoichiometry; soil moisture; Loess Plateau
- CLC:
-
Q948.11
- DOI:
-
-
- Abstract:
-
It is important to reveal the influence of soil moisture content changes on plant nutrient uptake and to explain the response and adaptation of herbaceous vegetation to environmental changes, which can provid a theoretical basis for ecological management in the Loess Plateau. Herbs and soil samples in the depth of 0—50 cm in different grassland restoration ages(6 years, 15 years, 25 years, and 45 years)in Zhifanggou watershed in the hilly and gully region of the Loess Plateau were collected. The contents of C, N, P, K, Ca, and Mg in plants and the soil moisture contents were measured, and the correlation between plant nutrients and their ecological stoichiometry and soil moisture content was analyzed. The results showed that the soil moisture content increased firstly and then decreased following the conversion of farmland to grassland; the contents of C, N, K, Ca, and Mg in plants as a whole decreased firstly and then increased following the conversion of farmland to grassland; the P contents of plants decreased in the early stage of returning farmland to grassland and remained stable in the middle and late stages; the ecological stoichiometric ratios of plant C/N, C/P and N/P showed a trend of first increasing and then decreasing following the conversion of farmland to grassland, and the plants in the restored grassland were limited by N; Ca and Mg contents of plants were significantly negatively correlated with the soil moisture contents; additionally, farmland converted 45 years ago had the lowest soil moisture content, and the lowest ratios of C/Ca, C/Mg, N/Ca, N/Mg, P/K, P/Ca, P/Mg in plants. These results suggest that water stress induces plants to absorb K, Ca and Mg from soils to resist drought. This study found that soil water content decreases with the process of returning farmland to grassland, and the decrease of soil water promotes the adaptation of vegetation to the environment in arid and semi-areas. These research results can provide a scientific basis for improving the ecological stability of vegetation in arid and semi-arid areas.