Journal
ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH
Volume 18, Issue 3, Pages 279-286Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1046/j.1440-1703.2003.00554.x
Keywords
litter removal; nitrogen fixation; nitrogen limitation; nitrogen source; stable isotope
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
We compared the foliar delta(15)N and delta(13)C values of Pinus massoniana growing on soils with and without microbiotic crust to examine the influence of the microbiotic crust on N and water use in plants in deteriorated watersheds in southern China. At our study site, litterfall and undergrowth had been intensively removed for fuel and soil N concentration was extremely low. Microbiotic crust covered the lower slope within the watersheds and pine trees were taller here than on the middle and upper slopes, although the crust reduced the amount of rainfall that could penetrate the soil. The foliar delta(15)N values were greater (closer to zero) in pine trees growing on soil covered with microbiotic crust on the lower slope than on the middle and upper slopes, which lacked the microbiotic crust. These data suggest that P. massoniana may depend on N fixed by the microbiotic crust on the lower slope, and on N carried by precipitation on the middle and upper slopes. The microbiotic crust did not influence foliar delta(13)C, an index for water use efficiency, in P. massoniana . The fact that P. massoniana biomass was greater on the lower slope, which is less permeable to rainfall, suggests that P. massoniana growth may be limited by the amount of available N rather than by water. The microbiotic crust may improve plant productivity by increasing N availability, despite its negative effect on water availability.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available