Contrasting effects of plant inter- and intraspecific variation on community trait responses to nitrogen addition and drought in typical and meadow steppes

BMC Plant Biology

Qiang Yu¹  Peng Lv²  Aixia Guo³  Xiaoan Zuo³  Ya Hu³  Ping Yue³  Xiangyun Li³  Senxi Zhang³  Shenglong Zhao³ 

[1] National Hulunber Grassland Ecosystem Observation and Research Station, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences;University of Chinese Academy of Sciences;Urat Desert-Grassland Research Station, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences;

关键词: Community-weighted means;    Drought;    Inter- and intraspecific trait variation;    Nitrogen addition;    Plant functional traits;    Typical and meadow steppes;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12870-022-03486-z

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Abstract Background Inter- and intraspecific variation in plant traits play an important role in grassland community assembly under global change scenarios. However, explorations of how these variations contribute to the responses of community traits to nitrogen (N) addition and drought in different grassland types are lacking. We measured the plant height, leaf area (LA), specific leaf area (SLA), leaf dry matter content (LDMC), leaf N content (LNC) and the ratio of leaf carbon (C) to leaf N (C:N) in a typical and a meadow steppe after three years of N addition, drought and their interaction. We determined the community-weighted means (CWMs) of the six traits to quantify the relative contribution of inter- and intraspecific variation to the responses of community traits to N addition and drought in the two steppes. Results The communities in the two steppes responded to N addition and the interaction by increasing the CWM of LNC and decreasing C:N. The community in the meadow steppe responded to drought through increased CWM of LNC and reduced C:N. Significant differences were observed in SLA, LDMC, LNC and C:N between the two steppes under different treatments. The SLA and LNC of the community in the meadow steppe were greater than those of the typical steppe, and the LDMC and C:N exhibited the opposite results. Moreover, variation in community traits in the typical steppe in response to N addition and drought was caused by intraspecific variation. In contrast, the shifts in community traits in the meadow steppe in response to N addition and drought were influenced by both inter- and intraspecific variation. Conclusions The results demonstrate that intraspecific variation contributed more to community functional shifts in the typical steppe than in the meadow steppe. Intraspecific variation should be considered to understand better and predict the response of typical steppe communities to global changes. The minor effects of interspecific variation on meadow steppe communities in response to environmental changes also should not be neglected.

【 授权许可】

Unknown