ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Environ. Sci.
Sec. Drylands
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fenvs.2025.1601695
This article is part of the Research TopicEcosystem Services and Sustainable Restoration Interlinking Soil, Geological, and Vegetation Interactions for Sustainable DevelopmentView all 6 articles
Responses of Alpine Grassland Plant Communities on Sejila Mountain in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau to Phosphorus Addition
Provisionally accepted
- Tibet Agriculture and Animal Husbandry College, Linzhi, China
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As an important global ecological security barrier, the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is a key region for exploring how global climate change affects the grassland ecosystem. Therefore, this study explored the mechanism of the impact of intensified atmospheric Phosphorus (P) deposition on the alpine grassland plant communities in Sejila Mountain, Nyingchi, Tibet. A field experiment with four different gradients of phosphate fertilizer application (0, 50, 75, and 100 kg•hm⁻²•a⁻¹) was designed. The variation patterns of plant morphology, biomass, nutrient content, and stoichiometric ratio characteristics in response to P were systematically analyzed. The results revealed that P addition significantly affected the total community biomass and root-shoot ratio, showing a trend of initial increase followed by decline (P < 0.05). Additionally, P addition significantly influenced the plant traits (average height, total coverage, and abundance) and aboveground biomass of plant community (Poaceae, Cyperaceae, and Forbs). The plant traits and aboveground biomass of Poaceae and Forbs increased significantly with increasing of P addition levels. At a P addition of 100 kg•hm⁻²•a⁻¹, a decline in these parameters was observed. The total coverage and aboveground biomass of Cyperaceae plants showed a significant downward trend. P addition had limited effects on plant carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) contents and their respective stoichiometric ratios. However, it significantly increased P contents in both aboveground and belowground plant parts (P < 0.05), consequently reducing the C:P and N:P stoichiometric ratios in plants. This effectively enhanced plant P use efficiency. In conclusion, this study highlights the significant role of P addition in shaping the plant community structure and nutrient cycling of alpine grasslands. However, excessive P addition may exacerbate ecological competition among plants, potentially leading to nutritional imbalances and soil environmental degradation.
Keywords: Phosphorus addition, Alpine grassland, plant traits, Nutrient content, Stoichiometric ratio
Received: 28 Mar 2025; Accepted: 06 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zhang, Ye, Tao, Niu, Cui, Li and Han. 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: Yanying Han, Tibet Agriculture and Animal Husbandry College, Linzhi, China
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