Nitrogen deposition and climate warming-drying are the main environmental changes in Northeast China. How they affect forest ecosystems has always been studied in ecological research. In this study, we explored the effects of water stress and nitrogen (N) addition on the short-term (in 55 weeks) growth of seedlings of Pinus koraiensis and Fraxinus mandshurica, two key species in broad-leaved and P. koraiensis mixed forests in temperate zone of Northeast China. Results showed that the responses of seedling growth of P. koraiensis and F. mandshurica to nitrogen addition and water stress were significantly different. P. koraiensis was more sensitive to water stress. In the early stage (in 10 weeks) of water stress, leaf biomass of P. koraiensis significantly decreased while the root biomass increased. Nitrogen addition significantly reduced the root and total biomass of P. koraiensis under water stress. F. mandshurica was more sensitive to N addition. Nitrogen addition rapidly increased the stem, root and total biomass of F. mandshurica. Only sustained water stress could significantly affect the stem, root and total biomass of F. mandshurica. Under continuous water stress and N addition, the biomass contribution of leaves and roots to whole seedling, and the ratio of aboveground to underground biomass of both species tended to be constant, indicating strong self-regulation ability of both species. The results suggested that when drought occurred in the future, P. koraiensis would adopt a "positive" adjustment strategy, while F. mandshurica would adopt a "passive" response. The survival rate and adaptability of P. koraiensis would be higher than F. mandshurica. F. mandshurica would benefit more from N deposition than P. koraiensis. Our results are helpful for predicting the changes of community structure in temperate forest in Northeast China.
氮沉降和暖干化是我国东北地区面临的主要生态问题,它将对森林生态系统产生怎样的影响一直是生态学研究的热点.本研究以东北温带阔叶红松林中2个关键树种——红松和水曲柳为研究对象,探讨水分胁迫和氮(N)添加对其幼苗短期(55周)生长的影响.结果表明: 红松与水曲柳幼苗生长对N添加和水分胁迫的响应有明显差异.红松对水分胁迫更加敏感,在处理早期(10周)水分胁迫降低了红松幼苗叶生物量,提高了根生物量;N添加只在水分胁迫发生时显著减少了红松根和植株总生物量.水曲柳对N添加的反应更加敏感,氮添加迅速增加了水曲柳茎、根和总生物量;而只有持续的水分胁迫才对水曲柳的茎、根和总生物量有显著影响.红松和水曲柳在持续水分胁迫和N添加处理下,叶、根生物量占比和地上、地下生物量之比都趋于维持一个稳定值,说明两个树种都有很强的自我调节能力.以上结果说明,在未来干旱条件下,红松采取的是“积极”的调整策略,而水曲柳则是“被动”的适应策略,因而相比较而言,红松存活和适应能力可能更强;而在N沉降增加的环境下,水曲柳受益会更大.这些结果可为预测未来东北温带森林群落演替动态提供参考.
Keywords: Fraxinus mandshurica; Pinus koraiensis; biomass allocation; nitrogen addition; water stress.