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Stoichiometric variation of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus in soils and its implication for nutrient limitation in alpine ecosystem of Eastern Tibetan Plateau

  • Soils, Sec 2 • Global Change, Environ Risk Assess, Sustainable Land Use • Research Article
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Abstract

Purpose

The main objectives of this research are to decipher the stoichiometric characteristics of carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) in soils from the alpine ecosystem and to obtain information about nutrient limitation on plants and microbes.

Materials and methods

The soils were sampled along an altitudinal gradient (2000 to 4300 m above sea level) from the eastern slope of Gongga Mountain in eastern Tibetan Plateau. In total of 102 soil samples in profiles and 27 soil microbial biomass (SMB) samples from five vegetation zones were collected to analyze the concentrations of C, N, and P as well as their ratios. The concentrations of C and N were measured using an automated C/N analyzer, total P was detected by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometer, and the concentrations of microbial biomass C, N, and P were measured by the chloroform fumigation-extraction method. Soil P fractions were extracted by modified Hedley sequential extraction method.

Results and discussion

The concentrations of C, N, and P in the soils and SMB varied spatially, whereas the variation of their ratios was constrained. The C:N:P ratios were 556:22:1 for the O horizon, 343:16:1 for the A horizon, 154:7:1 for the B horizon, and 63:3:1 for the C horizon, indicating a significant decrease with depth. The mean ratio in the SMB was 51:6.6:1. Microbial biomass C, N, and P were important components of soil nutrients, especially the microbial biomass P which accounted for 40.8 % of soil available P. The C:P and N:P were higher in the soils of broadleaf-coniferous and coniferous forests, whereas the ratios in the SMB were higher in the broadleaf forest. The ratios of C and N to available P in the soils decreased significantly with altitude.

Conclusions

The local climate, vegetation succession, and soil development in the high mountain resulted in the soil nutrient cycling different from that in other terrestrial ecosystems. Among the different vegetation zones, the P-limitation of plants and microbial communities might be possible in the soils of lower land forests in the long term.

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Notes

  1. Zhou J (2014) Weathering, pedogenesis and changes of soil phosphorus speciation of Hailuogou Glacier foreland chronosequence. (unpublished dissertation)

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Acknowledgments

This work is supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (41402313 and 41272200) and Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS “Light of West China” Program and SDS-135-1201-04).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Alpine Ecosystem Observation and Experiment Station of Gongga Mountain, Key Laboratory of Mountain Surface Processes and Ecological Regulation, Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, 610041, China

    Haijian Bing, Yanhong Wu, Jun Zhou, Hongyang Sun, Ji Luo, Jipeng Wang & Dong Yu

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  1. Haijian Bing
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  2. Yanhong Wu
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Correspondence to Yanhong Wu.

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Bing, H., Wu, Y., Zhou, J. et al. Stoichiometric variation of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus in soils and its implication for nutrient limitation in alpine ecosystem of Eastern Tibetan Plateau. J Soils Sediments 16, 405–416 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-015-1200-9

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