Stable Nitrogen Isotopes as an Effective Tool for Estimating the Nitrogen Demand of Broussonetia papyrifera (L.) Vent Seedlings under Variable Nitrate Concentrations

Poor growth is often observed in artificial young forests due to insufficient inorganic nitrogen in karst soils. However, little is known about the assimilatory demand of the whole plant for nitrate and the partitioning of nitrate assimilation in roots and leaves in woody plants grown in karst habitats. In this study, Broussonetia papyrifera (L.) Vent (B. papyrifera) seedlings were grown under nearly hydroponic conditions. The isotope mass balance approach was employed to quantify the & delta;N-15 values of the N assimilates in plant organs and in whole plants for B. papyrifera seedlings grown at different nitrate concentrations. The & delta;N-15 values of the N assimilates in the whole B. papyrifera seedlings showed a rising trend with increasing nitrate concentration. Increasing the supply of nitrate decreased the leaf-root difference in the & delta;N-15 values of the N assimilates for B. papyrifera seedlings. Quantifying the & delta;N-15 values of N assimilates in the whole B. papyrifera seedlings grown under different nitrate concentrations contributes to estimating the assimilatory demand of the B. papyrifera seedlings for nitrate. The leaf-root difference in the & delta;N-15 values of the N assimilates can be used to estimate the partitioning of nitrate assimilation in the roots and leaves.

Automated summary

Insufficient inorganic nitrogen in karst soils often leads to poor growth in artificial young forests. However, little is known about the assimilatory demand of nitrate for the whole plant and the partitioning of nitrate assimilation in roots and leaves of woody plants in karst habitats. This study used the isotope mass balance approach to quantify the δ^15N values of N assimilates in different plant organs and in whole plants of Broussonetia papyrifera seedlings grown under different nitrate concentrations. The δ^15N values of N assimilates in the whole seedlings showed an increasing trend with higher nitrate concentration. Increasing the nitrate supply decreased the leaf-root difference in δ^15N values of N assimilates. Quantifying the δ^15N values of N assimilates in B. papyrifera seedlings grown under different nitrate concentrations contributes to estimating their assimilatory demand for nitrate, while the leaf-root difference in δ^15N values can be used to estimate the partitioning of nitrate assimilation between roots and leaves.