Wenting Xu

Poplar plantation has the potential to alter the water balance in semiarid inner Mongolia

Poplar plantation is the most dominant broadleaf forest type in northern China. Since the mid-1990s plantation was intensified to combat desertification along Chinas northwestern border, i.e., within Inner Mongolia (IM). This evoked much concern regarding the ecological and environmental effects on areas that naturally grow grass or shrub vegetation. To highlight potential consequences of large-scale poplar plantations on the water budget within semiarid IM, we compared the growing season water balance (evapotranspiration (ET) and precipitation (PPT)) of a 3-yr old poplar plantation (Kp(3)) and a natural shrubland (Ks) in the Kubuqi Desert in western IM, and a 6-yr old poplar plantation (Bp(6)) growing under sub-humid climate near Beijing. The results showed that, despite 33% lower PPT at Kp(3), ET was 2% higher at Kp(3) (228 mm) as compared with Ks (223 mm) in May-September 2006. The difference derived mainly from higher ET at the plantation during drier periods of the growing season, which also indicated that the poplars must have partly transpired groundwater. Estimated growing season ET at Bp(6) was about 550 mm and more than 100% higher than at Kp(3). It is estimated that increases in leaf area index and net radiation at Kp(3) provide future potential for the poplars in Kubuqi to exceed the present ET and ET of the natural shrubland by 100-200%. These increases in ET are only possible through the permanent use of groundwater either directly by the trees or through increased irrigation. This may significantly change the water balance in the area (e.g., high ET at the cost of a reduction in the water table), which renders large-scale plantations a questionable tool in sustainable arid-land management.

An experimental study on the dependence of the strength of adhesively bonded joints with thickness and mechanical properties of the adhesives

Adhesive bonding joints are widely applied in many engineering fields. Their overall strength is much dependent on the thickness of adhesive layers. Many previous experimental studies have found that the ultimate failure strength of the bonding structure increases with the decrease of the adhesive thickness. However, few of them consider the effect of adhesive intrinsic material parameters on the relation between the overall strength and adhesive thickness. In the present investigation, the effect of the adhesive thickness on the overall strength of the lightweight metallic adhesive bonding joints was experimentally studied, considering the effect of the adhesive toughness. The results show that the variations of overall strength resulting from the adhesive thicknesses have remarkable discrepancy due to the toughness of the adhesive, which is in agreement with the previous model prediction.

Plant diversity enhances productivity and soil carbon storage

Significance Soil carbon sequestration plays an important role in mitigating anthropogenic increases in atmospheric CO2 concentrations. Recent studies have shown that biodiversity increases soil organic carbon (SOC) storage in experimental grasslands. However, the effects of species diversity on SOC storage in natural ecosystems have rarely been studied, and the potential mechanisms are yet to be understood. The results presented here show that favorable climate conditions, particularly high precipitation, tend to increase both species richness and belowground biomass, which had a consistent positive effect on SOC storage in forests, shrublands, and grasslands. Nitrogen deposition and soil pH generally have a direct negative effect on SOC storage. Ecosystem management that maintains high levels of plant diversity can enhance SOC storage and other ecosystem services that depend on plant diversity. Despite evidence from experimental grasslands that plant diversity increases biomass production and soil organic carbon (SOC) storage, it remains unclear whether this is true in natural ecosystems, especially under climatic variations and human disturbances. Based on field observations from 6,098 forest, shrubland, and grassland sites across China and predictions from an integrative model combining multiple theories, we systematically examined the direct effects of climate, soils, and human impacts on SOC storage versus the indirect effects mediated by species richness (SR), aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP), and belowground biomass (BB). We found that favorable climates (high temperature and precipitation) had a consistent negative effect on SOC storage in forests and shrublands, but not in grasslands. Climate favorability, particularly high precipitation, was associated with both higher SR and higher BB, which had consistent positive effects on SOC storage, thus offsetting the direct negative effect of favorable climate on SOC. The indirect effects of climate on SOC storage depended on the relationships of SR with ANPP and BB, which were consistently positive in all biome types. In addition, human disturbance and soil pH had both direct and indirect effects on SOC storage, with the indirect effects mediated by changes in SR, ANPP, and BB. High soil pH had a consistently negative effect on SOC storage. Our findings have important implications for improving global carbon cycling models and ecosystem management: Maintaining high levels of diversity can enhance soil carbon sequestration and help sustain the benefits of plant diversity and productivity.

Patterns of plant carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus concentration in relation to productivity in China’s terrestrial ecosystems

Significance Estimates of nutrient allocation in different plant tissues and the relationships between the nutrient contents and photosynthetic capacity are critical to predicting ecosystem carbon sequestration under global change. Here, we provide an assessment of large-scale patterns of community-level nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations in different plant tissues and then examine how nutrient allocations are coupled with plant productivity. The results show that nutrient concentrations in leaves are less responsive to abiotic environments than those in woody stems and roots (stable leaf nutrient concentration hypothesis); the relationships between vegetation primary productivity and leaf nutrient contents are stronger when less nutrients are allocated to the woody tissues (productivity–nutrient allocation hypothesis) and are stronger in deciduous than in evergreen vegetation (productivity–leaf lifespan hypothesis). Plant nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) content regulate productivity and carbon (C) sequestration in terrestrial ecosystems. Estimates of the allocation of N and P content in plant tissues and the relationship between nutrient content and photosynthetic capacity are critical to predicting future ecosystem C sequestration under global change. In this study, by investigating the nutrient concentrations of plant leaves, stems, and roots across China’s terrestrial biomes, we document large-scale patterns of community-level concentrations of C, N, and P. We also examine the possible correlation between nutrient content and plant production as indicated by vegetation gross primary productivity (GPP). The nationally averaged community concentrations of C, N, and P were 436.8, 14.14, and 1.11 mg·g−1 for leaves; 448.3, 3.04 and 0.31 mg·g−1 for stems; and 418.2, 4.85, and 0.47 mg·g−1 for roots, respectively. The nationally averaged leaf N and P productivity was 249.5 g C GPP·g-1 N·y−1 and 3,157.9 g C GPP·g–1 P·y−1, respectively. The N and P concentrations in stems and roots were generally more sensitive to the abiotic environment than those in leaves. There were strong power-law relationships between N (or P) content in different tissues for all biomes, which were closely coupled with vegetation GPP. These findings not only provide key parameters to develop empirical models to scale the responses of plants to global change from a single tissue to the whole community but also offer large-scale evidence of biome-dependent regulation of C sequestration by nutrients.

Nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations and allocation strategies among shrub organs: the effects of plant growth forms and nitrogen-fixation types

AimsWe aimed to explore the influences of plant functional groups on nutrient concentrations and allocation strategies among shrub organs, as well as to examine the effects of climate, soil and species on nutrient concentrations in shrubs of different plant functional groups.MethodsWe investigated the nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) concentrations in roots, stems and leaves and their influencing factors of 187 shrub species in the shrublands across southern China, and we also examined the relationships between N and P among various organs using scaling analysis.ResultsThe scaling relationships of N and P tended to be allometric between leaf and non-leaf organs, while they tended to be isometric among non-leaf organs. Plant functional groups affected nutrient allocation among shrub organs, where a higher proportion of nutrients were present in the stems and roots of evergreen shrubs and non-legume shrubs when compared to deciduous shrubs and legume shrubs as nutrients within a plant increased. Among organs, N and P concentrations were higher in leaves than in stems and roots. Among functional groups, evergreen shrubs and legume shrubs were more P-limited than deciduous shrubs and non-legume shrubs, respectively. The N and P concentrations in evergreen shrubs were lower and more sensitive to environmental change than in deciduous shrubs. Both N and P contents in legume shrubs were higher and more homeostatic than those of non-legume shrubs.ConclusionsPlant growth forms and N-fixation types exerted strong effects on nutrient concentrations and allocations among shrub organs. The influences of climate and soil on shrub N and P concentrations differed by plant functional groups.

C: N: P stoichiometry of Ericaceae species in shrubland biomes across Southern China: influences of climate, soil and species identity

Aims Carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) stoichiometry strongly affect functions and nutrient cycling within ecosystems. However, the related researches in shrubs were very limited. In this study, we aimed to investigate leaf stoichiometry and its driving factors in shrubs, and whether stoichiometry significantly differs among closely related species. Methods We analyzed leaf C, N and P concentrations and their ratios in 32 species of Ericaceae from 161 sites across southern China. We examined the relationships of leaf stoichiometry with environmental variables using linear regressions, and quantified the interactive and independent effects of climate, soil and species on foliar stoichiometry using general linear models (GLM). Important Findings The foliar C, N and P contents of Ericaceae were 484.66, 14.44 and 1.06 mg g(-1), respectively. Leaf C, N and P concentrations and their ratios in Ericaceae were significantly related with latitude and altitude, except the N:P insignificantly correlated with latitude. Climate (mean annual temperature and precipitation) and soil properties (soil C, N and P and bulk density) were significantly influenced element stoichiometry. The GLM analysis showed that soil exerted a greater direct effect on leaf stoichiometry than climate did, and climate affected leaf traits mainly via indirect ways. Further, soil properties had stronger influences on leaf P than on leaf C and N. Among all independent factors examined, we found species accounted for the largest proportion of the variation in foliar stoichiometry. These results suggest that species can largely influence foliar stoichiometry, even at a lower taxonomic level.