Nutrient characteristics and adaptability of plant leaves in Tiankeng Complex of Dashiwei,Guangxi,China
Aims The ecological stoichiometric characteristics and variation of plant leaves can reflect the response of plants to their environment,serving as a key to understanding the interaction between plants and the environment.The unique Tiankeng environment creates favorable conditions for plant growth.By exploring the nutrient utilization characteristics and environmental adaptability differences of Tiankeng plants,this study aims to reveal the adaptive mechanism of Tiankeng forest plants,and basic data can be provided for nutrient cycling and community construction in Tiankeng forest.Methods Our study compared the chemical stoichiometry of carbon(C),nitrogen(N),phosphorus(P),potassium(K),calcium(Ca),and magnesium(Mg)nutrients in the leaves of plants inside and outside the Tiankeng Complex in Dashiwei,Guangxi.Statistical methods such as correlation analysis and redundancy analysis were used to explore the intrinsic relationship between chemical stoichiometry and the influence of environment on these characteristics.Important findings(1)The leaves of 64 plant species from 36 families and 55 genera in the study area have lower C content,higher N,P,K,Ca,Mg contents,and lower C:N,C:P compared to plants in other karst and terrestrial plants in China.This indicates that the plants in Tiankeng Complex are characterized by low C sequestration,high nutrient accumulation,high growth rate,and low nutrient utilization efficiency.(2)The N:P mean value of the plant leaves in the Dashiwei Tiankeng Complex was 16.65,the N:K mean value was 1.50,and the K:P mean value was 10.10,indicating that the Tiankeng plants generally have an abundance of K content but are limited by N and P contents.(3)There were significant differences in the nutrient content and stoichiometric ratios of plants in different locations and functional groups.Different environments and plant types adopt distinct nutrient absorption strategies.(4)Correlation analysis showed that there were significant correlations between most of the nutrient contents and stoichiometric ratios of plant leaves,indicating that the nutrient uptake by plant leaves had a certain proportional composition and coordinated relationship.(5)Redundancy analysis showed that soil is a key environmental factor influencing leaf nutrients.The results of our study revealed the characteristics of plant nutrient utilization,habitat nutrient differences,and plant adaptability to the environment in the Dashiwei Tiankeng Complex,providing basic data for exploring the nutrient cycling and community construction mechanism of Tiankeng forest ecosystems.
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