Abstract
Aims
Drought stress is an important limiting factor of plant performance, and how it interacts with increasing nitrogen (N) deposition to affect seedling development requires further investigation. This study addresses the combined effects of N deposition and drought on growth and physiological attributes of Phyllostachys edulis (Carr.) seedlings.
Methods
Seedling growth attributes and nitrogen metabolism indicators were evaluated after the fast-growing period in the presence of four simulated N deposition rates (control, 0 kg·ha−1·yr−1; low N, 30; medium N, 60; high N, 90) and two watering conditions (normal, 75 ± 5% of field capacity; or drought, 35 ± 5%).
Results
Drought stress significantly inhibited P. edulis seedling growth and N metabolism. Under normal watering conditions, greater simulated N deposition was associated with higher seedling component mass, free amino acid and soluble protein content in leaves, and enzyme activity related to N metabolism. Under drought conditions, medium N deposition maximized seedling component mass and enzyme activity related to N metabolism. Overall, low and medium N deposition improved seedling performance under drought conditions, but high N deposition did not.
Conclusions
Moderate N deposition can partially offset the negative effects of drought stress on P. edulis seedling development.
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Acknowledgements
This work was funded by the Major Research Plan (2016YFD0600900) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31770645, 31901369). We gratefully acknowledge the executive editor and anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments. We thank the greenhouse managers and workers at the Zhejiang A&F University for their valuable help and support.
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The study was designed by Wenhui Shi and Shanlu Shao. The experiments were performed by Shanlu Shao, Lin Lin, and Wenhui Shi. Wenhui Shi analyzed the data and co-wrote the manuscript with Lin Lin. Yeqing Ying supervised the study, helped design the experiments and write the paper. Anguo He participated in data collection and analysis.
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The datasets generated and/or analyzed during this study are available from the first author (Wenhui Shi, shiwenhui2008@163.com) and the corresponding author (Yeqing Ying, yeqing@zafu.edu.cn) on reasonable request.
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Shi, W., Lin, L., Shao, S. et al. Effects of simulated nitrogen deposition on Phyllostachys edulis (Carr.) seedlings under different watering conditions: is seedling drought tolerance related to nitrogen metabolism?. Plant Soil 448, 539–552 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-020-04445-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-020-04445-z