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Journal of Soils and Sediments

, Volume 19, Issue 2, pp 511–521 | Cite as

Available soil nutrients and water content affect leaf nutrient concentrations and stoichiometry at different ages of Leucaena leucocephala forests in dry-hot valley

  • Yongming Lin
  • Aimin Chen
  • Siwei Yan
  • Loretta Rafay
  • Kun Du
  • Daojie Wang
  • Yonggang GeEmail author
  • Jian Li
Soils, Sec 1 • Soil Organic Matter Dynamics and Nutrient Cycling • Research Article
First Online:
  • 125 Downloads

Abstract

Purpose

The carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) concentrations of leaves can reflect soil nutrient supply conditions and changes in soil. An understanding of species adaptability and nutrient use efficiency in extreme ecosystems can help land managers choose effective methods to improve management and community structure of introduced plants which may induce biological invasion and limit the regeneration of native species.

Materials and methods

We selected the Leucaena leucocephala forests in three ages (9, 15, and 26 years old) in the Jiangjiagou Gully to study the relationships between (i) soil factors and forest age and (ii) leaf nutrient concentrations. Soil factors and leaf nutrients were measured in nine sampling quadrats of 10 × 10 m of each plot. We used ANOVA to examine differences in leaf variables and soil factors at different ages of L. leucocephala forest. Pearson’s correlation analysis and linear regression analysis were conducted to identify the relationships between soil factors and leaf variables. Then, we used analysis of covariance to examine combined effects of forest ages and soil factors on leaf variables.

Results and discussion

Leaf N was significantly correlated with available P, while leaf P was significantly correlated with both available P and available N. Leaf N and P had no significant relationship with soil total N and P. Leaf C:N:P stoichiometries had a higher significant correlation with total N, available N, and soil water content.

Conclusions

Our findings illustrate that available N and available P are the main limitations for L. leucocephala, though available P imposed a stronger limitation than available N. Moreover, soil water content played an indispensable role on nutrient accumulation and the soil ecological environment. Our results provide useful information to improve L. leucocephala community structure and reduce soil degradation in a dry-hot valley.

Keywords

Forest age Leaf nutrients Leucaena leucocephala Soil factors Stoichiometry 
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Notes

Acknowledgements

The authors thank H. J. Deng, G. S. Zhang, and the staff of Dongchuan debris flow observation research station for the help in collecting and analyzing the data.

Funding information

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41790434 and 41471010), the Outstanding Young Scientific Research Project of Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University (xjq201716), and the Scientific and Technological Innovation Foundation of Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University (CXZX2016058, CXZX2017111, and CXZX2017283).

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Copyright information

© Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2018

Authors and Affiliations

  • Yongming Lin
    • 1
    • 2
  • Aimin Chen
    • 3
  • Siwei Yan
    • 1
  • Loretta Rafay
    • 4
  • Kun Du
    • 5
  • Daojie Wang
    • 6
    • 7
  • Yonggang Ge
    • 6
    • 7
    Email author
  • Jian Li
    • 1
    • 2
  1. 1.College of ForestryFujian Agriculture and Forestry UniversityFuzhouChina
  2. 2.Key Laboratory for Forest Ecosystem Process and Management of Fujian ProvinceFuzhouChina
  3. 3.School of Geography and PlanningSun Yat-Sen UniversityGuangzhouChina
  4. 4.School of Environmental and Forest SciencesUniversity of WashingtonSeattleUSA
  5. 5.Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources ResearchChinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
  6. 6.Key Laboratory of Mountain Hazards and Earth Surface ProcessChinese Academy of SciencesChengduChina
  7. 7.Institute of Mountain Hazards and EnvironmentChinese Academy of SciencesChengduChina

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