Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Alter Plant and Soil C:N:P Stoichiometries Under Warming and Nitrogen Input in a Semiarid Meadow of China

Linlin Mei, Xue Yang, Hongbing Cao, Tao Zhang and Jixun Guo
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Linlin Mei: Institute of Grassland Science, Northeast Normal University, Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology, Ministry of Education, Changchun 130024, China
Xue Yang: Institute of Grassland Science, Northeast Normal University, Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology, Ministry of Education, Changchun 130024, China
Hongbing Cao: Institute of Grassland Science, Northeast Normal University, Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology, Ministry of Education, Changchun 130024, China
Tao Zhang: Institute of Grassland Science, Northeast Normal University, Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology, Ministry of Education, Changchun 130024, China
Jixun Guo: Institute of Grassland Science, Northeast Normal University, Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology, Ministry of Education, Changchun 130024, China

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 3, 1-12

Abstract: Ecological stoichiometry has been widely used to determine how plant-soil systems respond to global change and to reveal which factors limit plant growth. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) can increase plants’ uptake of nutrients such as nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P), thereby altering plant and soil stoichiometries. To understand the regulatory effect of AMF feedback on plants and soil stoichiometry under global change, a microcosm experiment was conducted with warming and N input. The C 4 grass Setaria viridis , C 3 grass Leymus chinensis , and Chenopodiaceae species Suaeda corniculata were studied. The results showed that the mycorrhizal benefits for the C 4 grass S. viridis were greater than those for the C 3 grass L. chinensis , whereas for the Chenopodiaceae species S. corniculata , AMF symbiosis was antagonistic. Under N input and a combination of warming and N input, AMF significantly decreased the N:P ratios of all three species. Under N input, the soil N content and the N:P ratio were decreased significantly in the presence of AMF, whereas the soil C:N ratio was increased. These results showed that AMF can reduce the P limitation caused by N input and improve the efficiency of nutrient utilization, slow the negative influence of global change on plant growth, and promote grassland sustainability.

Keywords: arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi; global change; grassland ecosystem; stoichiometry; phosphorus limitation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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