Consistent Plant and Microbe Nutrient Limitation Patterns During Natural Vegetation Restoration

ABSTRACT: Vegetation restoration is assumed to enhance carbon (C) sequestration in terrestrial ecosystems, where plant producers and microbial decomposers play key roles in soil C cycling. However, it is not clear how the nutrient limitation patterns of plants and soil microbes might change during vegetation restoration. We investigated the nutrient limitations of the plant and microbial communities along a natural vegetation restoration chronosequence (1, 8, 16, 31, and 50 years) following farmland abandonment in Qinling Mountains, China, and assessed their relationships with soil factors. The result showed that following natural vegetation restoration, the nitrogen (N) limitation of plant and microbial communities was alleviated significantly, and thereafter, it began to shift to phosphorus (P) li

SUBMITTER: Xue Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9161215 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature