Back to Search Results

Effects of nitrogen and phosphorus supply on stoichiometry of six elements in leaves of Arabidopsis thaliana.

Department of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China. State Key Laboratory of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. Key Laboratory of Plant-Soil Interactions, Ministry of Education, College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China. State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.

Annals of botany. 2019;(3):441-450
Full text from:

Other resources

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Plant elemental composition is of fundamental importance for plant growth and metabolic functions. However, knowledge of how multi-elemental stoichiometry responds to varying nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) availabilities remains limited. METHODS We conducted experimental manipulations with nine repeat experiments to investigate the effects of N and P supply on the concentrations and variability of six elements, carbon (C), N, P, potassium (K), calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg), in leaves of Arabidopsis thaliana. KEY RESULTS N supply increased the concentrations of N, K and Mg, decreased the concentration of P, but exerted little influence on the concentrations of C and Ca in green leaves. P supply increased the concentrations of P and Ca, decreased the concentration of C, initially increased and then decreased the concentration of K, but showed little influence on the concentrations of N and Mg in green leaves. Multivariate patterns among the concentrations of these six elements in green leaves was influenced by the type of nutrient supply (i.e. N or P). Elemental variability decreased with increasing elemental concentrations in green leaves at the intraspecific level, supporting the Stability of Limiting Elements Hypothesis that was originally proposed from a meta-analysis of pooled data across species or communities. Compared with green leaves, the senesced leaves showed greater variability in C, N, P, K and Mg concentrations but lower variability in Ca concentration. CONCLUSIONS N and P supplies exerted differential influences on the concentrations of C, N, P, K, Ca and Mg in green leaves. The specific C content should be considered when assessing C cycling under global nutrient changes. Stage-dependent patterns of leaf stoichiometric homeostasis differed among elements with various chemical characteristics. These findings can help to improve our understanding of plant eco-physiological responses and acclimation under global nutrient changes from the stoichiometric perspective of multiple elements.