Influence of Soil Drought Stress on C, N and P Stoichiometry of Tamarix Chinensis Lour. in Yellow River Delta, China

Authors

  • Qiangqiang Rong State Key Laboratory of Water Environment Simulation, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
  • Jingtao Liu Shandong Key Laboratory of Eco-Environmental Science for the Yellow River Delta, Binzhou University, Binzhou,256603, China
  • Yanpeng Cai Institute for Energy, Environment and Sustainable Communities, University of Regina, 120, 2 Research Drive, Regina, Saskatchewan S4S 7H9, Canada
  • Zhaohua Lu Shandong Key Laboratory of Eco-Environmental Science for the Yellow River Delta, Binzhou University, Binzhou,256603, China
  • Zhenzhen Zhao Shandong Key Laboratory of Eco-Environmental Science for the Yellow River Delta, Binzhou University, Binzhou,256603, China
  • Wencong Yue State Key Laboratory of Water Environment Simulation, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
  • Jiangbao Xia Shandong Key Laboratory of Eco-Environmental Science for the Yellow River Delta, Binzhou University, Binzhou,256603, China

Abstract

Taking the one-year-old T. chinensis (Tamarix chinensis Lour.) in Yellow River Delta as the study object, the variations of C, N and P stoichiometry in T. chinensis under drought stress was studied using pot experiments. The results showed that, carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and phosphorous (P) contents and their stoichiometric ratios in the root, stem and leaf of T. chinensis exhibited large variations. The variation of the root C content presented an increasing trend with the gradual intensification of the drought stress while that in leaf and stem revealed different degrees of decrease. Both N and P contents in leaf, stem and root reduced when T. chinensis was under slight drought stress and showed a trend of first increasing and later decreasing with the intensification of the stress. The values of C : N, C : P and N : P ratios represented the same variation trend when T. chinensis suffered drought stress. They increased slightly when the T. chinensis was under slight stress and showed a trend of first decreasing and later increasing with the intensification of the drought stress. Slight drought stress did not have significant influence on the growth of T. chinensis. T. chinensis took competitive and defensive life-history strategies when suffering moderate and severe drought stresses, respectively. Thus, from the standpoint of ecological stoichiometry, T. chinensis had strong drought tolerance. And a certain degree of drought stress could help for the growth of T. chinensis.

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Published

2014-08-04

Issue

Proceedings of the International Conference on Marine and Freshwater Environments (iMFE 2014) - Our Water, Our Future

Section

Watersheds, Wetlands and Estuaries Management (WWE)

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