C:N:P Stoichiometry and Leaf Traits of Halophytes in an Arid Saline Environment, Northwest China

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 10; no. 3; p. e0119935
• Main Authors: Wang, Lilong, Zhao, Guanxiang, Li, Meng, Zhang, Mingting, Zhang, Lifang, Zhang, Xinfang, An, Lizhe, Xu, Shijian
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 23.03.2015; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Analysis; Aridity; Biodiversity; Carbon - analysis; Chemical elements; Desert environments; Deserts; Distribution patterns; Dry matter; Ecology; Ecosystem; Ecosystems; Environment; Functional groups; Halophytes; Information management; Laboratories; Leaf area; Leaves; Life sciences; Nitrogen; Nitrogen - analysis; Nutrient availability; Nutrients; Nutrients in soil; Phosphorus; Phosphorus - analysis; Physiology; Plant growth; Plant Leaves - chemistry; Poaceae - chemistry; Poaceae - growth & development; Precipitation; Restoration; Saline environments; Salinity; Salinization; Salt-Tolerant Plants - physiology; Soil - chemistry; Soil nutrients; Soil properties; Soil salinity; Stoichiometry; Studies; Vegetation; Woody plants; China
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0119935

Salinization is an important and increasingly prevalent issue which has broad and profound effects on plant survival and distribution pattern. To understand the patterns and potential drivers of leaf traits in saline environments, we determined the soil properties, leaf morphological traits (specific leaf area, SLA, and leaf dry matter content, LDMC), leaf chemical traits (leaf carbon, C, nitrogen, N, and phosphorus, P, stoichiometry) based on 142 observations collected from 23 sites in an arid saline environment, which is a vulnerable ecosystem in northwest China. We also explored the relationships among leaf traits, the responses of leaf traits, and plant functional groups (herb, woody, and succulent woody) to various saline environments. The arid desert halophytes were characterized by lower leaf C and SLA levels, higher N, but stable P and N:P. The leaf morphological traits were correlated significantly with the C, N, and P contents across all observations, but they differed within each functional group. Succulent woody plants had the lowest leaf C and highest leaf N levels among the three functional groups. The growth of halophytes might be more limited by N rather than P in the study area. GLM analysis demonstrated that the soil available nutrients and plant functional groups, but not salinity, were potential drivers of leaf C:N:P stoichiometry in halophytes, whereas species differences accounted for the largest contributions to leaf morphological variations. Our study provides baseline information to facilitate the management and restoration of arid saline desert ecosystem.