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Nitrogen biological cycle characteristics of seepweed (Suaeda salsa) wetland in intertidal zone of Huanghe (Yellow) River estuary

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Abstract

From April 2008 to November 2009, the nitrogen (N) cycle of plant-soil system in seepweed (Suaeda salsa) wetland in the intertidal zone of the Huanghe (Yellow) River estuary was studied. Results showed that soil N had significant seasonal fluctuations and vertical distribution, and the net N mineralization rates in topsoil were significantly different in growing season (p < 0.01). The N/P ratio (9.87 ± 1.23) of S. salsa was less than 14, indicating that plant growth was limited by N. The N accumulated in S. salsa litter at all times during decomposition, which was ascribed to the N immobilization by microbes from the environment. Soil organic N was the main N stock of plant-soil system, accounting for 97.35% of the total N stock. The N absorption and utilization coefficients of S. salsa were very low (0.0145 and 0.3844, respectively), while the N cycle coefficient was high (0.7108). The results of the N turnovers among compartments of S. salsa wetland showed that the N uptake amount of aboveground part and root were 7.764 g/m2and 4.332 g/m2, respectively. The N translocation amounts from aboveground part to root and from root to soil were 3.881 g/m2 and 0.626 g/m2, respectively. The N translocation amount from aboveground living body to litter was 3.883 g/m2, the annual N return amount from litter to soil was more than 0.125(−) g/m2 (minus represented immobilization), and the net N mineralization amount in topsoil (0–15 cm) in growing season was 1.190 g/m2. The assessment of N biological cycle status of S. salsa wetland indicated that N was a very important limiting factor and the ecosystem was situated in unstable and vulnerable status. The S. salsa was seemingly well adapted to the low-nutrient status and vulnerable habitat, and the N quantitative relationships determined in the compartment model might provide scientific base for us to reveal the special adaptive strategy of S. salsa to the vulnerable habitat in the following studies.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Shandong Key Laboratory for Eco-Environmental Science of Yellow River Delta, Coastal Wetland Ecological Research Base of Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Binzhou, 256603, China

    Zhigao Sun, Jingkuan Sun & Xiang Yu

  2. Key Laboratory of Coastal Environment Processes of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Coastal Zone Environmental Processes, Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yantai, 264003, China

    Zhigao Sun, Xiaojie Mou, Hongli Song, Lingling Wang, Huanhuan Jiang, Wanlong Sun & Wenguang Sun

  3. Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Environment, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, 130012, China

    Xiaojie Mou

  4. Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Xiaojie Mou, Hongli Song, Lingling Wang, Huanhuan Jiang, Wanlong Sun & Wenguang Sun

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  1. Zhigao Sun
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Correspondence to Zhigao Sun.

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Foundation item: Under the auspices of Open Research Fund Program of Shandong Key Laboratory for Yellow River Delta Eco-Environmental Science, Binzhou, China (No. 2007KFJJ01), Knowledge Innovation Programs of Chinese Academy of Sciences (No. KZCX2-YW-223), National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 40803023, 41171424), Key Program of Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province (No. ZR2010DZ001)

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Sun, Z., Mou, X., Sun, J. et al. Nitrogen biological cycle characteristics of seepweed (Suaeda salsa) wetland in intertidal zone of Huanghe (Yellow) River estuary. Chin. Geogr. Sci. 22, 15–28 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11769-012-0511-7

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