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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Nutrition
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1400261
This article is part of the Research Topic Adaptive Nutrient Management Systems for Plant Nutrition: Optimization, Profitability, and Ecosystem Assessment View all 8 articles

Carbon and nitrogen stoichiometry across plant-soil system accounts for the degradation of multi-year alfalfa grassland

Provisionally accepted
Wei Wang Wei Wang 1Tao Tian Tao Tian 2Meng-Ying Li Meng-Ying Li 2Bao-Zhong Wang Bao-Zhong Wang 2Qiang Zhang Qiang Zhang 3Fu-Jian Mei Fu-Jian Mei 2Yun-Li Xiao Yun-Li Xiao 2Shi-Sheng Li Shi-Sheng Li 4Ji-Yuan Li Ji-Yuan Li 2Ning Wang Ning Wang 2Yu-Miao Yang Yu-Miao Yang 2Hong-Yan Tao Hong-Yan Tao 2Li Zhu Li Zhu 2You-Cai Xiong You-Cai Xiong 2*
  • 1 Shanxi Agricultural University, Taiyuan, China
  • 2 Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu Province, China
  • 3 Shanxi Agricultural University, Jinzhong, Shanxi Province, China
  • 4 Huanggang Normal University, Huanggang, Hubei Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) grassland is prone to degradation following multi-year maintenance. Yet, its mechanism regarding the stoichiometry of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) across plant-soil system is still unclear. To address this issue, the method of space-for-time sampling was employed to investigate alfalfa grasslands with five planting years (5-, 8-, 10-, 15- and 20-year periods) in the semiarid Loess Plateau. The results showed that the alfalfa above- and underground biomass decreased steadily decrease after 5-8th years, showing a degradation tendency with the extension of planting duration. The mean weight diameter of aggregate registered an increase with planting years. However, the C and N stocks decreased with planting years in five soil aggregate fractions. Specifically, they were the highest in the 5th year, and then started to gradually decrease along the 8th, 10th, 15th and 20th year. Redundancy and correlation analysis confirmed that the C and N stocks of soil aggregates were closely positively associated with those of plant. Overall, the highest stability of soil physical structure was found during the period from 5th to 8th year, and afterwards the stability declined. In conclusion, alfalfa plantation improved soil structure stability but aggravated soil C & N stocks, and biomass and soil aggregate indicators accounted for alfalfa field degradation after a certain year of plantation.

    Keywords: Alfalfa field, soil aggregates, Carbon and nitrogen stoichiometry, degradation, semiarid region

    Received: 13 Mar 2024; Accepted: 26 Aug 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Wang, Tian, Li, Wang, Zhang, Mei, Xiao, Li, Li, Wang, Yang, Tao, Zhu and Xiong. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: You-Cai Xiong, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, Gansu Province, China

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