TY  - EJOU
AU  - G, Yang 
AU  - Zhang, Z 
AU  - Zhang, G 
AU  - Zhang, H 
AU  - Han, X 
AU  - Busso, CA 

TI  - Nitrogen deposition influences the response of <i>Potentilla tanacetifolia</i> to phosphorus addition
T2  - Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany

PY  - 2016
VL  - 85
IS  - all
SN  - 1851-5657

AB  - Phosphorus is an essential macronutrient for all living plants and plant production. Simultaneously, atmospheric nitrogen deposition also affects plant productivity at a global scale. However, few studies have investigated how plants respond to P addition while simultaneously considering N deposition. We investigated plant biomass, nutrient status and stoichiometric ratios on <i>Potentilla tanacetifolia</i> in response to P fertilization under contrasting N addition rates in a typical meadow steppe in Inner Mongolia, China. Aboveground biomass of <i>P. tanacetifolia</i> increased under increasing levels of P fertilization under conditions of N addition. However, there was no significant change in biomass when only phosphorus was added. Plant leaf and stem P concentrations increased linearly with P addition when there was no N addition. Our results suggest that increased plant P nutrition under P addition will not turn into plant growth enhancement unless N demands are also satisfied. Nitrogen addition significantly increased leaf N concentrations, and leaf and seed N:P ratios, when there was no P fertilization. Nevertheless, the effects of N addition were weakened, and eventually disappeared when P fertilization rates increased. This indicates that N-induced alterations of the plant nutrition status and stoichiometric ratios were P availability- dependent. Overall, our results suggest that multiple-nutrient constraints and their interactions must be considered when assessing plant nutrient and growth responses to nutrient enrichment.
KW  - Nitrogen
KW  -  Phosphorus
KW  -  N: P ratio
KW  -  Plant organs

DO  - 10.32604/phyton.2016.85.100