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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Functional Plant Ecology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpls.2025.1537643
Leaf stoichiometric characteristics and responses of sea-buckthorn (Hippophae L.) involved in its niche-driven species distribution patterns across China
Provisionally accepted- Ningxia University, Yinchuan, China
The stoichiometric characteristics of leaves can indicate the nutrient limitations and ecological strategies of closely related plants. Sea-buckthorn is a unique species in China with economic and ecological value, yet nutrient limitations and environmental adaptation strategies in its main distribution areas remain unclear. Here,This study aims to explore the adaptive mechanism in different geographical environments and its impact on species substitution distribution patterns by analyzing the leaf stoichiometric characteristics of three species of sea-buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides, Hippophae tibetana and Hippophae neurocarpa). Our results reveal that the overall nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) concentrations of Sea-buckthorn leaves of are respectively 32.19 ± 4.96mg·g-1, and 2.03 ± mg·g-1 with an N/P ratio of 16.68 ± 4.01. Leaf N concentration significantly increased, with increasing longitude, and latitude. Leaf P concentration significantly increased, with the change of longitude. Among the three sea-buckthorn species, the N concentration of Chinese sea-buckthorn and Coastal sea-buckthorn exhibited increase significantly with latitude, whereas the N concentration of Tibetan sea-buckthorn showed significant variation with longitude. Through standardised major axis (SMA) regression, an allometric relationship was observed between the N and P concentrations across sea-buckthorn species. Notably, the N and P concentrations of Tibetan sea-buckthorn exhibited significant allometric relationship. Potential evapotranspiration and altitude were identified as the primary factors influencing N concentration, while slope and humidity index were the main drivers affecting P concentration. Additionally, average annual radiation and precipitation were found to influence the N/P ratio. The leaf stoichiometry of sea-buckthorn species revealed distinct adaptation mechanisms to their respective habitats, leading to niche-driven species distribution patterns along environmental gradients. Tibetan sea-buckthorn served as a transitional zone between the other two species. Therefore, this study can provide basic data for the stoichiometric characteristics of sea-buckthorn leaves and the distribution pattern of species substitution, with provides a new ecological perspective on the relationship between species distribution and plant stoichiometric characteristics.
Keywords: leaf stoichiometric characteristics, niche-driven species distribution, sea-buckthorn (Hippophae L.), Chinese sea-buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides), Coastal sea-buckthorn (Hippophae neurocarpa), Tibetan sea-buckthorn (Hippophae tibetana)
Received: 01 Dec 2024; Accepted: 07 Apr 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zhang, Li, Yang, Yu, Yang and Wang. 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:
Xiaowei Li, Ningxia University, Yinchuan, China
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