Arid Zone Research ›› 2021, Vol. 38 ›› Issue (5): 1429-1435.doi: 10.13866/j.azr.2021.05.25

• Plant and Plant Physiology • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Nutrient content of five natural poplar forests in the Irtysh River Basin in Xinjiang

SONG Jingwei1(),XU Ziran1,CHEN Jiaxin1,XU Qinghua1,2()   

  1. 1. Planning and Design Institute of Forest Products Industry of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Beijing 100010, China
    2. Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Environment, National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Beijing 100091, China
  • Received:2021-01-14 Revised:2021-04-12 Online:2021-09-15 Published:2021-09-24
  • Contact: Qinghua XU E-mail:385093670@qq.com;415830017@qq.com

Abstract:

Our analysis of the biomass and organ nutrient content of five main Populus natural forests in the Irtysh River Basin in Xinjiang reveals that the average N content of the leaves in the five poplar species is 19.36 g·kg-1 and the average P content is 2.89 g·kg-1. The N content of the leaves is close to the levels found in land plants both globally and domestically, whereas the P content of the leaves is higher than the average levels found in global and domestic land plants. The average leaf N/P ratio is 6.83, which is relatively lower than the average levels seen in both global and domestic land plants; the ratio of leaf N/P is higher than that of the stem; and the ratio of stem N/P stem is higher than that of the root. The leaf K content of P. jrtyschensis is the highest, the stem K content of P. laurifolia is the highest, and the K content in the root system of P. alba is the highest. The biomass distribution ratio of the five natural forests—P. laurifolia, P. jrtyschensis, P. canescens, P. nigra, and P. alba—1:1.03:1.15:1.23:1.37. The P. alba forest has the highest biomass distribution, and the P. laurifolia forest has the lowest biomass distribution.

Key words: Irtysh River Basin, natural forest of Populus, biomass, nutrient content, Xinjiang