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Nitrogen enrichment intensifies legume reliance on root phosphatase activity but weakens inter-specific correlations between N2 fixation and mycorrhizal colonization

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Abstract

Aims

The relationships between nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) acquisition strategies among herbaceous legume species remain poorly understood, particularly in relation to how they are altered by N availability. This study aimed to investigate the relationships between N2 fixation, plant N concentration and P acquisition through two main strategies in temperate herbaceous legumes, and to demonstrate the influences of soil N availability on these relationships.

Methods

In a field pot experiment, eight temperate herbaceous legumes were grown with or without N addition. Plant growth, plant N and P concentrations, N2 fixation, arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungal colonization and root phosphatase activity (RPA) were measured, and the relationships between N2 fixation, plant N concentration and each P acquisition strategy were assessed under contrasting N availability.

Results

N addition increased RPA. However, AM fungal colonization showed species-specific responses to N addition, and the ratio of AM fungal colonization to root phosphatase activity was decreased by N addition. Among eight legume species, AM fungal colonization increased with N2 fixation rate in the absence of N addition, but no relationship was observed with N addition. RPA increased with plant N concentration among legume species, regardless of N addition.

Conclusions

As two key P acquisition strategies, neither RPA nor AM fungal colonization of temperate herbaceous legumes were species-specific traits, since both were positively correlated with N2 fixation rate and plant N concentration. In addition, the correlation between N2 fixation and AM fungal colonization was regulated by N availability. While N enrichment intensifies the legume reliance on RPA for acquiring more P, it weakens the association of N2 fixation in driving across species AM colonization.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by Strategic Science and Technology Guide Project of CAS (XDA23060403) and National Key Research and Development Program of China (2016YFC0500606) and Natural Science Foundation of China (31600318) and Jilin Province Science and Technology Development Plan (20190303066SF) and The grant of Youth Innovation Promotion Association of CAS (2016210).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, 130102, China

    Qiang Li, Yingxin Huang & Daowei Zhou

  2. Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Grassland Farming, Changchun, 130102, China

    Qiang Li, Yingxin Huang & Daowei Zhou

  3. Key Laboratory of Mollisols Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, China

    Qiang Li, Yingxin Huang & Daowei Zhou

  4. School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia

    Matthew D. Denton

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  1. Qiang Li
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Correspondence to Qiang Li, Matthew D. Denton or Yingxin Huang.

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Supplementary Information

Supplementary data consist of the following. Table S1: Available nitrogen (NH4++NO3−) and available P concentrations and available N:P ratio in bulk soil.

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Li, Q., Denton, M.D., Huang, Y. et al. Nitrogen enrichment intensifies legume reliance on root phosphatase activity but weakens inter-specific correlations between N2 fixation and mycorrhizal colonization. Plant Soil 465, 503–514 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-021-04989-8

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