Spatial Distribution Patterns and Driving Factors of Plant Biomass and Leaf N, P Stoichiometry on the Loess Plateau of China

Understanding the geographic patterns and potential drivers of leaf stoichiometry and plant biomass is critical for modeling the biogeochemical cycling of ecosystems and to forecast the responses of ecosystems to global changes. Therefore, we studied the spatial patterns and potential drivers of lea...

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Autores principales:	Zhao Fang, Xiaoyu Han, Mingyang Xie, Feng Jiao
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	MDPI AG 2021
Materias:	leaf nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) contents N:P ratio biomass herb community driving factor Loess Plateau Botany QK1-989
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/1d4b78d0a0954482b2f55d67c9073332
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id	oai:doaj.org-article:1d4b78d0a0954482b2f55d67c9073332
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:1d4b78d0a0954482b2f55d67c90733322021-11-25T18:46:27ZSpatial Distribution Patterns and Driving Factors of Plant Biomass and Leaf N, P Stoichiometry on the Loess Plateau of China10.3390/plants101124202223-7747https://doaj.org/article/1d4b78d0a0954482b2f55d67c90733322021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/10/11/2420https://doaj.org/toc/2223-7747Understanding the geographic patterns and potential drivers of leaf stoichiometry and plant biomass is critical for modeling the biogeochemical cycling of ecosystems and to forecast the responses of ecosystems to global changes. Therefore, we studied the spatial patterns and potential drivers of leaf stoichiometry and herb biomass from 15 sites spanning from south to north along a 500 km latitudinal gradient of the Loess Plateau. We found that leaf N and P stoichiometry and the biomass of herb plants varied greatly on the Loess Plateau, showing spatial patterns, and there were significant differences among the four vegetation zones. With increasing latitude (decreasing mean annual temperature and decreasing mean precipitation), aboveground and belowground biomass displayed an opening downward parabolic trend, while the root–shoot ratio gradually decreased. Furthermore, there were significant linear relationships between the leaf nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) contents and latitude and climate (mean annual rainfall and mean annual temperature). However, the leaf N/P ratio showed no significant latitudinal or climatic trends. Redundancy analysis and stepwise regression analysis revealed herb biomass and leaf N and P contents were strongly related to environmental driving factors (slope, soil P content and latitude, altitude, mean annual rainfall and mean annual temperature). Compared with global scale results, herb plants on the Loess Plateau are characterized by relatively lower biomass, higher N content, lower P content and a higher N/P ratio, and vegetative growth may be more susceptible to P limitation. These findings indicated that the remarkable spatial distribution patterns of leaf N and P stoichiometry and herb biomass were jointly regulated by the climate, soil properties and topographic properties, providing new insights into potential vegetation restoration strategies.Zhao FangXiaoyu HanMingyang XieFeng JiaoMDPI AGarticleleaf nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) contentsN:P ratiobiomassherb communitydriving factorLoess PlateauBotanyQK1-989ENPlants, Vol 10, Iss 2420, p 2420 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	leaf nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) contents N:P ratio biomass herb community driving factor Loess Plateau Botany QK1-989
spellingShingle	leaf nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) contents N:P ratio biomass herb community driving factor Loess Plateau Botany QK1-989 Zhao Fang Xiaoyu Han Mingyang Xie Feng Jiao Spatial Distribution Patterns and Driving Factors of Plant Biomass and Leaf N, P Stoichiometry on the Loess Plateau of China
description	Understanding the geographic patterns and potential drivers of leaf stoichiometry and plant biomass is critical for modeling the biogeochemical cycling of ecosystems and to forecast the responses of ecosystems to global changes. Therefore, we studied the spatial patterns and potential drivers of leaf stoichiometry and herb biomass from 15 sites spanning from south to north along a 500 km latitudinal gradient of the Loess Plateau. We found that leaf N and P stoichiometry and the biomass of herb plants varied greatly on the Loess Plateau, showing spatial patterns, and there were significant differences among the four vegetation zones. With increasing latitude (decreasing mean annual temperature and decreasing mean precipitation), aboveground and belowground biomass displayed an opening downward parabolic trend, while the root–shoot ratio gradually decreased. Furthermore, there were significant linear relationships between the leaf nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) contents and latitude and climate (mean annual rainfall and mean annual temperature). However, the leaf N/P ratio showed no significant latitudinal or climatic trends. Redundancy analysis and stepwise regression analysis revealed herb biomass and leaf N and P contents were strongly related to environmental driving factors (slope, soil P content and latitude, altitude, mean annual rainfall and mean annual temperature). Compared with global scale results, herb plants on the Loess Plateau are characterized by relatively lower biomass, higher N content, lower P content and a higher N/P ratio, and vegetative growth may be more susceptible to P limitation. These findings indicated that the remarkable spatial distribution patterns of leaf N and P stoichiometry and herb biomass were jointly regulated by the climate, soil properties and topographic properties, providing new insights into potential vegetation restoration strategies.
format	article
author	Zhao Fang Xiaoyu Han Mingyang Xie Feng Jiao
author_facet	Zhao Fang Xiaoyu Han Mingyang Xie Feng Jiao
author_sort	Zhao Fang
title	Spatial Distribution Patterns and Driving Factors of Plant Biomass and Leaf N, P Stoichiometry on the Loess Plateau of China
title_short	Spatial Distribution Patterns and Driving Factors of Plant Biomass and Leaf N, P Stoichiometry on the Loess Plateau of China
title_full	Spatial Distribution Patterns and Driving Factors of Plant Biomass and Leaf N, P Stoichiometry on the Loess Plateau of China
title_fullStr	Spatial Distribution Patterns and Driving Factors of Plant Biomass and Leaf N, P Stoichiometry on the Loess Plateau of China
title_full_unstemmed	Spatial Distribution Patterns and Driving Factors of Plant Biomass and Leaf N, P Stoichiometry on the Loess Plateau of China
title_sort	spatial distribution patterns and driving factors of plant biomass and leaf n, p stoichiometry on the loess plateau of china
publisher	MDPI AG
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/1d4b78d0a0954482b2f55d67c9073332
work_keys_str_mv	AT zhaofang spatialdistributionpatternsanddrivingfactorsofplantbiomassandleafnpstoichiometryontheloessplateauofchina AT xiaoyuhan spatialdistributionpatternsanddrivingfactorsofplantbiomassandleafnpstoichiometryontheloessplateauofchina AT mingyangxie spatialdistributionpatternsanddrivingfactorsofplantbiomassandleafnpstoichiometryontheloessplateauofchina AT fengjiao spatialdistributionpatternsanddrivingfactorsofplantbiomassandleafnpstoichiometryontheloessplateauofchina
_version_	1718410697727016960

Spatial Distribution Patterns and Driving Factors of Plant Biomass and Leaf N, P Stoichiometry on the Loess Plateau of China

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