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Seasonal shifting in the absorption pattern of alpine species for NO3− and NH4+ on the Tibetan Plateau

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Abstract

Using an 15N labelling method (15N-NH4+ and 15N-NO3−), we conducted a time series experiment of N absorption for two common plant species (Stipa purpurea and Artemisia nanschanica) in three seasons (summer, late autumn, and early spring) in a semi-arid alpine steppe ecosystem on the Tibetan Plateau. The soil NO3− content was significantly higher than the exchangeable NH4+ content in summer, whereas exchangeable NH4+ was the dominant inorganic form of N during the cold seasons (late autumn and early spring). Both S. purpurea and A. nanschanica showed a preference for NO3− in summer. The uptake rates of NO3− ranged from 1.09 to 3.94 μg 15N g−1 DW root h−1 for S. purpurea and from 2.85 to 7.82 μg 15N g−1 DW root h−1 for A. nanschanica. In contrast, both species showed a clear preference for NH4+ during the late autumn and early spring, which was strongly dependent on snowfall events. The uptake rate of NH4+ ranged from 0.33 to 4.25 μg 15N g−1 DW root h−1 for S. purpurea and from 0.67 to 9.05 μg 15N g−1 DW root h−1 for A. nanschanica. We also observed that 15N recovery was mainly retained in the roots with a smaller proportion of 15N stored in the shoots across all seasons. The seasonal shift in the pattern of N absorption may be influenced by changes in the ratios of soil exchangeable NH4+ to NO3− in the different seasons. This finding offers valuable insights into the nutrient acquisition strategies of alpine plants and provides an important mechanism for the temporal pattern of N utilisation by plants in alpine environments.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the anonymous reviewers for constructive comments on the manuscript.

Funding

This research was supported by Strategic Priority Research Program of Chinese Academic of Science (XDA20020401), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41701343), the STS of Chinese Academy of Sciences (KFJ-STS-QYZD-075), the State Key Research Development Program of China (2016YFC0502002), and the Chinese Academy of Sciences Light of West China program (2017–2019).

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  1. **aodan Wang

    Present address: Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 9, Block 4, Renminnanlu Road, Chengdu, 610041, China

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 9, Block 4, Renminnanlu Road, Chengdu, 610041, China

    Jiangtao Hong, **ao**g Qin & **n Xu

  2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Bei**g, 100049, China

    **ao**g Qin & **n Xu

  3. College of Urban and Environment Sciences, Shanxi Normal University, Linfen, 041000, China

    **ngxing Ma

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Hong, J., Qin, X., Ma, X. et al. Seasonal shifting in the absorption pattern of alpine species for NO3− and NH4+ on the Tibetan Plateau. Biol Fertil Soils 55, 801–811 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00374-019-01392-5

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