Effects of 12-Year Nitrogen Addition and Mowing on Plant-Soil Micronutrients in a Typical Steppe
Changes in soil micronutrient availability may have adverse consequences on grassland productivity, yet it’s still largely unclear how concurrent human practices, such as fertilization and mowing, affect micronutrient cycling in the plant-soil systems. Here, we measured six essential micronutrient (...
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MDPI AG
2022-11-01
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| author | Guoxiang Niu Yinliu Wang Guangyi Dai Siwei Xie Yiqian Jin Junjie Yang Jianhui Huang |
| author_facet | Guoxiang Niu Yinliu Wang Guangyi Dai Siwei Xie Yiqian Jin Junjie Yang Jianhui Huang |
| author_sort | Guoxiang Niu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Changes in soil micronutrient availability may have adverse consequences on grassland productivity, yet it’s still largely unclear how concurrent human practices, such as fertilization and mowing, affect micronutrient cycling in the plant-soil systems. Here, we measured six essential micronutrient (Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn, Co and Mo) contents in both plant pool (separated as aboveground plant parts, litter, and belowground roots) at the community level and soil pool (0–10 cm depth) after 12-year consecutive nitrogen (N) addition (0, 2, 10, and 50 g N m<sup>−2</sup> year<sup>−1</sup>) and mowing in a typical steppe of the Mongolian Plateau. The results show that (i) medium-N (10 g m<sup>−2</sup> year<sup>−1</sup>) and high-N (50 g m<sup>−2</sup> year<sup>−1</sup>) addition rates significantly increased contents of soil-available Fe (+310.0%, averaging across the two N addition rates), Mn (+149.2%), Co (+123.6%) and Mo (+73.9%) irrespective of mowing treatment, whereas these addition treatments usually decreased contents of soil total Fe (−8.9%), Mn (−21.6%), Cu (−15.9%), Zn (−19.5%), Co (−16.4%) and Mo (−34.7%). (ii) Contents of Fe in aboveground plant parts, litter, and roots significantly decreased, whereas plant Mn increased with N addition. Contents of above ground plant Cu, Zn, Co, and Mo significantly decreased at high-N addition rate, whereas contents of micronutrients in roots and litters, except for Fe, generally increased with N addition. Moreover, the total amount of micronutrients in the plant pool (contents × biomass) significantly increased at the medium-N addition rate but decreased at the high-N addition rate. All N addition rates significantly enlarged the pool of litter micronutrients, and roots could hold more micronutrients under N addition, especially combined with mowing treatment. Importantly, although mowing could regulate the effects of N addition on variables (i) and (ii), the effects were weaker overall than those of N addition. (iii) Changes in root micronutrients, except for Mn, could explain corresponding changes in plant micronutrients (R<sup>2</sup>: 0.19–0.56, all <i>p</i> < 0.01), and significant linear correlations were also observed between soil-available Fe and Fe in plant and roots. Aboveground plant Mn was significantly correlated with soil-available Mn, while Co and Mo in roots were also significantly correlated with soil-available Co and Mo. These results indicate that soil micronutrient supply capacity may decrease due to a decrease in total micronutrient contents after long-term N addition and mowing. They also suggest that different magnitude responses of soil micronutrients in plants (i.e., litters, roots) and soil should be considered when comprehensively examining nutrient cycling in grassland ecosystems. |
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| spelling | doaj.art-4bfcfa08cfd24b4ca96ff1578ac723962023-11-24T09:38:42ZengMDPI AGPlants2223-77472022-11-011122304210.3390/plants11223042Effects of 12-Year Nitrogen Addition and Mowing on Plant-Soil Micronutrients in a Typical SteppeGuoxiang Niu0Yinliu Wang1Guangyi Dai2Siwei Xie3Yiqian Jin4Junjie Yang5Jianhui Huang6Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiangshan, Beijing 100093, ChinaSouth China National Botanical Garden, Guangzhou 510650, ChinaCollege of Sciences, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow G4 0LZ, UKInternational department, High School Affiliated to South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510650, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiangshan, Beijing 100093, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiangshan, Beijing 100093, ChinaChanges in soil micronutrient availability may have adverse consequences on grassland productivity, yet it’s still largely unclear how concurrent human practices, such as fertilization and mowing, affect micronutrient cycling in the plant-soil systems. Here, we measured six essential micronutrient (Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn, Co and Mo) contents in both plant pool (separated as aboveground plant parts, litter, and belowground roots) at the community level and soil pool (0–10 cm depth) after 12-year consecutive nitrogen (N) addition (0, 2, 10, and 50 g N m<sup>−2</sup> year<sup>−1</sup>) and mowing in a typical steppe of the Mongolian Plateau. The results show that (i) medium-N (10 g m<sup>−2</sup> year<sup>−1</sup>) and high-N (50 g m<sup>−2</sup> year<sup>−1</sup>) addition rates significantly increased contents of soil-available Fe (+310.0%, averaging across the two N addition rates), Mn (+149.2%), Co (+123.6%) and Mo (+73.9%) irrespective of mowing treatment, whereas these addition treatments usually decreased contents of soil total Fe (−8.9%), Mn (−21.6%), Cu (−15.9%), Zn (−19.5%), Co (−16.4%) and Mo (−34.7%). (ii) Contents of Fe in aboveground plant parts, litter, and roots significantly decreased, whereas plant Mn increased with N addition. Contents of above ground plant Cu, Zn, Co, and Mo significantly decreased at high-N addition rate, whereas contents of micronutrients in roots and litters, except for Fe, generally increased with N addition. Moreover, the total amount of micronutrients in the plant pool (contents × biomass) significantly increased at the medium-N addition rate but decreased at the high-N addition rate. All N addition rates significantly enlarged the pool of litter micronutrients, and roots could hold more micronutrients under N addition, especially combined with mowing treatment. Importantly, although mowing could regulate the effects of N addition on variables (i) and (ii), the effects were weaker overall than those of N addition. (iii) Changes in root micronutrients, except for Mn, could explain corresponding changes in plant micronutrients (R<sup>2</sup>: 0.19–0.56, all <i>p</i> < 0.01), and significant linear correlations were also observed between soil-available Fe and Fe in plant and roots. Aboveground plant Mn was significantly correlated with soil-available Mn, while Co and Mo in roots were also significantly correlated with soil-available Co and Mo. These results indicate that soil micronutrient supply capacity may decrease due to a decrease in total micronutrient contents after long-term N addition and mowing. They also suggest that different magnitude responses of soil micronutrients in plants (i.e., litters, roots) and soil should be considered when comprehensively examining nutrient cycling in grassland ecosystems.https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/11/22/3042nitrogen depositionmowingmicronutrient cyclingplant nutritionMongolian Plateau |
| spellingShingle | Guoxiang Niu Yinliu Wang Guangyi Dai Siwei Xie Yiqian Jin Junjie Yang Jianhui Huang Effects of 12-Year Nitrogen Addition and Mowing on Plant-Soil Micronutrients in a Typical Steppe Plants nitrogen deposition mowing micronutrient cycling plant nutrition Mongolian Plateau |
| title | Effects of 12-Year Nitrogen Addition and Mowing on Plant-Soil Micronutrients in a Typical Steppe |
| title_full | Effects of 12-Year Nitrogen Addition and Mowing on Plant-Soil Micronutrients in a Typical Steppe |
| title_fullStr | Effects of 12-Year Nitrogen Addition and Mowing on Plant-Soil Micronutrients in a Typical Steppe |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effects of 12-Year Nitrogen Addition and Mowing on Plant-Soil Micronutrients in a Typical Steppe |
| title_short | Effects of 12-Year Nitrogen Addition and Mowing on Plant-Soil Micronutrients in a Typical Steppe |
| title_sort | effects of 12 year nitrogen addition and mowing on plant soil micronutrients in a typical steppe |
| topic | nitrogen deposition mowing micronutrient cycling plant nutrition Mongolian Plateau |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/11/22/3042 |
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