Contrasting NH₄⁺ and NO₃⁻ uptake preference between woody and herbaceous plants in Chinese terrestrial ecosystems

Abstract

Different plants exist in preferences for ammonium (NH₄⁺) and nitrate (NO₃⁻) as the dominant N source, reflecting their adaptation to habitat environments. Elucidating plant specific nitrogen preferences and influencing factors is crucial for ecosystem management under climate change. In this study, we synthesized 216 observations from ¹⁵N isotopic tracer studies of diverse forests and grasslands in China to elucidate variations in and factors influencing soil inorganic nitrogen uptake by woody and herbaceous plants. Woody plants had significantly higher uptake rates and proportional contributions of ¹⁵NH₄⁺ than ¹⁵NO₃⁻ (P < 0.05), while herbaceous plants exhibited a contrary trend (P < 0.05). Mean annual temperature played a significantly role in regulating both ¹⁵NH₄⁺ and ¹⁵NO₃⁻ uptake rates in woody and herbaceous plants, followed by mean annual precipitation, mean annual inorganic nitrogen deposition rates, and soil total nitrogen content (P < 0.05). In addition, the key factors influencing nitrogen preference of woody and herbaceous plants were woody plant functional types (evergreen and deciduous plants) and soil inorganic nitrogen content, respectively. Based on the different functional types of woody plants, evergreen plants preferred ¹⁵NH₄⁺, while deciduous plants preferred ¹⁵NO₃⁻. The results reveal inorganic nitrogen patterns by different plant types in China and that mean annual temperature is a key determinant of plant nitrogen uptake rates. Thus, by matching species-specific nitrogen preferences with the environmental conditions of different regions, valuable insights can be gained to improve the uptake of inorganic N by different plant types and cope with N limitation.

Keywords

Nitrogen deposition / Nitrogen preference / ¹⁵N isotopic tracer / Plant functional type

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