Competition and Niche Differentiation of Water and Nutrients between Broussonetia papyrifera and Platycladus orientalis under Prolonged Drought Stress

Little is known about the competition between and niche differentiation of water and nutrients between angiosperm and gymnosperm tree species under prolonged drought stress, especially in fragile environments. We imposed 21 d drought and competition treatments on Broussonetia papyrifera and Platycladus orientalis and measured water, N, and P contents, the isotopic composition of N and C, the activity of P assimilation enzymes, and stomatal conductance under solo planting and mixed planting to characterize resource diversity and competition in response to treatments. The N content, delta C-13, delta N-15, phosphomonoesterase, phosphodiesterase, g(s), and foliage water content were significantly affected by the soil water content. The delta N-15 content in young leaves showed that N competition between these two plants could be alleviated through niche differentiation, but the changes in the PDE: PME ratio for these two plants indicated that they lost the niche differentiation of the P source under drought stress. Additionally, it was observed that foliage water content, WUE, N contents, and N and P sources were significantly affected by interspecific competition, and Broussonetia papyrifera benefited from water competition under moderate drought. Our results indicate that plants have different competition and niche differentiation modes to different nutrients under drought stress, and the effect of interspecific water competition should be seriously considered in mixed forests in semiarid areas.

Automated summary

Little is known about the competition and niche differentiation of water and nutrients between angiosperm and gymnosperm tree species under prolonged drought stress, especially in fragile environments. In this study, we found that soil water content significantly affected the N content, δ13C, δ15N, phosphomonoesterase, phosphodiesterase, g(s), and foliage water content. N competition between the two plants could be alleviated through niche differentiation, but the niche differentiation of the P source was lost under drought stress. Interspecific competition also affected foliage water content, WUE, N contents, and N and P sources. Our results suggest that the effect of interspecific water competition should be seriously considered in mixed forests in semiarid areas.