Nitrogen addition regulates the effects of variation in precipitation patterns on plant biomass formation and allocation in a Leymus chinensis grassland of northeast China

Jianli Ren; Chengliang Wang; Qiaoxin Wang; Wenzheng Song; Wei Sun

doi:10.3389/fpls.2023.1323766

Nitrogen addition regulates the effects of variation in precipitation patterns on plant biomass formation and allocation in a Leymus chinensis grassland of northeast China

Front Plant Sci. 2024 Jan 12:14:1323766. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1323766. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Jianli Ren^{1

2

3}, Chengliang Wang¹, Qiaoxin Wang¹, Wenzheng Song^{1

4}, Wei Sun^{1

5}

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Grassland Science, Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology of the Ministry of Education, Jilin Songnen Grassland Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, Jilin, China.
² Institute of Resources and Ecology, Yili Normal University, Yining, Xinjiang, China.
³ School of Resources and Environment, Yili Normal University, Yining, Xinjiang, China.
⁴ College of Tourism, Resources and Environment, Zaozhuang University, Zaozhuang, China.
⁵ State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Vegetation Restoration, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, Jilin, China.

Abstract

Global warming is predicted to change precipitation amount and reduce precipitation frequency, which may alter grassland primary productivity and biomass allocation, especially when interact with other global change factors, such as nitrogen deposition. The interactive effects of changes in precipitation amount and nitrogen addition on productivity and biomass allocation are extensively studied; however, how these effects may be regulated by the predicted reduction in precipitation frequency remain largely unknown. Using a mesocosm experiment, we investigated responses of primary productivity and biomass allocation to the manipulated changes in precipitation amount (PA: 150 mm, 300 mm, 450 mm), precipitation frequency (PF: medium and low), and nitrogen addition (NA: 0 and 10 g N m^-2 yr^-1) in a Leymus chinensis grassland. We detected significant effects of the PA, PF and NA treatments on both aboveground biomass (AGB) and belowground biomass (BGB); but the interactive effects were only significant between the PA and NA on AGB. Both AGB and BGB increased with an increment in precipitation amount and nitrogen addition; the reduction in PF decreased AGB, but increased BGB. The reduced PF treatment induced an enhancement in the variation of soil moisture, which subsequently affected photosynthesis and biomass formation. Overall, there were mismatches in the above- and belowground biomass responses to changes in precipitation regime. Our results suggest the predicted changes in precipitation regime, including precipitation amount and frequency, is likely to alter primary productivity and biomass allocation, especially when interact with nitrogen deposition. Therefore, predicting the influence of global changes on grassland structure and functions requires the consideration of interactions among multiple global change factors.

Keywords: Leymus chinensis; biomass allocation; meadow steppe; nitrogen addition; plant biomass; precipitation amount; precipitation frequency.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This work was supported by the Key Projects of Jilin Province Science and Technology Development Plan (20230303008SF), National Natural Science Foundation of China (31870456), the Program of Introducing Talents of Discipline to Universities (B16011).