Abstract:

To understand the relationship between C, N, and P contents of the leaves of desert plants and soil environmental factors, 14 desert plant communities in high and low water or salt environments in Xinjiang Ebinur Lake Nature Reserve were used as research subjects. The C, N, and P contents of the leaves were determined, their stoichiometric ratio, homeostasis characteristics, and their relationship with soil environmental factors were discussed. The results showed that: (1) There were significant differences in soil organic carbon (SOC), total N (TN), C:N, C:P, N, and P contents of leaves under varying water-salt environments. (2) Pearson correlation analysis revealed that the leaf C:P demonstrated a significant negative correlation with soil conductivity (EC), SOC, C:N, and C:P (P<0.05). Leaf C was remarkably negatively correlated with soil C:N (P<0.05). Leaf P was positively correlated with soil SOC and C:N; leaf N was positively correlated with soil C:N; and leaf C:N was positively associated with soil TN (P<0.05). Leaf P was positively correlated with soil C:P and leaf C:N with soil N:P (P<0.05). The redundancy analysis revealed that soil C:P significantly affected the C, N, and P contents and stoichiometric characteristics of the leaves of plants in the Ebinur Lake Nature Reserve. (3) The changes in soil water and salt levels, the contents of N and P in the leaves, and the results of the endostatic model simulation of N:P were insignificant. The internal stability index H was > 4, which belonged to the absolute steady state, indicating that the plants in this study area demonstrated good adaptability to soil nutrients.

Key words: desert, plant leaves, soil, stoichiometric characteristics, endostasis, Ebinur