CollectHomepage AdvertisementContact usMessage

Arid Land Geography ›› 2022, Vol. 45 ›› Issue (1): 176-184.doi: 10.12118/j.issn.1000–6060.2021.141

• Biology and Pedology • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Relationship between soil factors and leaf functional traits of Nitraria tangutorum shrub at different succession stages

WANG Fei1,2(),GUO Shujiang1,3(),JI Yongfu1,3,ZHANG Yinghua1,HAN Fugui1,2,ZHANG Yunian1,2,ZHANG Weixing1,SONG Dacheng1   

  1. 1. Gansu Desert Control Resesrch Institiute, Lanzhou 730070, Gansu, China
    2. State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Desertification and Aeolian Sand Disaster Combating, Wuwei 733000, Gansu, China
    3. Gansu Minqin National Studies Station for Desert Steppe Ecosystem, Minqin 733300, Gansu, China
  • Received:2021-03-26 Revised:2021-10-18 Online:2022-01-25 Published:2022-01-21
  • Contact: Shujiang GUO E-mail:zmffei@126.com;shujguo@126.com

Abstract:

The relationship between plant functional traits and the environment was the focus of functional traits research. Environmental factors drive the changes in plant functional traits, which in turn promote community succession. This study took Nitraria tangutorum shrubs at different succession stages (development stage, stable stage, decline stage, and severe recession phase) in Minqin County, Wuwei City, Gansu Province of China as the research objects and analyzed the differences in leaf functional traits and their relationships with soil factors, aiming to reveal the adaptation strategy of N. tangutorum to the arid desert soil environment. The results showed that: (1) There were significant differences in leaf thickness, leaf dry material content, and total phosphorus content among different succession stages (P<0.05), but no significant differences in other leaf functional traits (P>0.05). The variation range of leaf functional traits of N. tangutorum was 0.39%-11.99%, all showing weak variation, among which specific leaf area was the largest (11.99%) and total carbon content was the smallest (0.39%). (2) There was a certain correlation between the leaf functional traits of N. tangutorum. Leaf thickness, leaf dry material content, and leaf total nitrogen content, which could be used as the main index of leaf functional traits of N. tangutorum. (3) Except for pH, the soil factors of the N. tangutorum shrub increased first and then decreased as the degradation degree increased, and the minimum value appeared in the development stage while the maximum value appeared in the decline stage. The main soil factors affecting the leaf functional traits of N. tangutorum were soil available phosphorus and total nitrogen. The studies deepen our understanding of the succession of N. tangutorum shrubs and provide an important reference for restoring and protecting the desert ecosystem.

Key words: Nitraria tangutorum, leaf functional traits, soil factors, succession stages, Minqin County