Arid Zone Research ›› 2021, Vol. 38 ›› Issue (2): 487-493.doi: 10.13866/j.azr.2021.02.20

• Plant and Plant Physiology • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Effects of water and nutrient addition on the growth and physiology of Stipa glareosa in a desert steppe in Inner Mongolia

HU Ya1,2(),GUO Xinxin1,2,YUE Ping1,LI Xiangyun1,2,ZHAO Shenglong1,2,GUO Aixia1,2,ZUO Xiao’an1,3()   

  1. 1. Urat Desert-grassland Research Station, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Science, Lanzhou 730000, Gansu, China
    2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
    3. Naiman Desertification Research Station, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Science, Lanzhou 730000 Gansu, China
  • Received:2020-06-08 Revised:2020-08-20 Online:2021-03-15 Published:2021-04-25
  • Contact: Xiao’an ZUO E-mail:huya@lzb.ac.cn;zuoxa@lzb.ac.cn

Abstract:

To explore the adaptive responses of dominant species in a desert steppe to environmental changes,we tested the effects of six treatments with two water levels (natural precipitation andartificial irrigation) and three nutrient levels (no nutrient addition, N addition and NPK addition) on the growth and physiology of Stipa glareosain Inner Mongolia. The results of two-wayANOVAshowed that the main factors(water andnutrients) and water × nutrientinteraction had significant effects on some of the growth and physiological parametersof S. glareosa (P<0.05). Water supplementation significantly increased the leaf fresh weight, leaf dry weight, plant height and relative electrical conductivity but decreased superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity. Both N and NPK addition increased leaf area. N addition increased malondialdehyde content, whereasNPK addition decreased chlorophyll a/b and SOD activity. The water × nutrient interaction factor had significant effects on leaf area, leaf thickness, chlorophyll a, proline and protein contents and SOD activity. Moreover, the leaf area and chlorophyll a content of S. glareosawere more sensitive to water and NPK addition, whereas thechlorophyll a/bwas more sensitive to water addition treatments. In conclusion, our results suggest that S. glareosacould adapt to fluctuations in water and nutrient availability by changing specific growth and physiological characteristics, which is important for revealingthe response mechanism of plantsin a desert steppe to climate changes.

Key words: nutrient addition, water addition, nitrogen, sensitivity, desert steppe