Responses of Intraspecific and Interspecific Trait Variations to Nitrogen Addition in a Tibetan Alpine Meadow

Author:

Yu Jialuo12,Shi Peili12ORCID,Zong Ning12ORCID,Song Minghua1,Miao Yujue12,Huang Xiaofang12,Chen Xueying12ORCID,Hei Huixin1

Affiliation:

1. Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China

2. College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China

Abstract

A community functional structure may respond to environmental changes such as nitrogen (N) enrichment by altering intraspecific and interspecific trait variations. However, the relative contributions of both components in determining the community response to N enrichment are unclear. In this study, we measured the plant height (H), leaf area (LA), leaf dry matter content (LDMC), and specific leaf area (SLA) based on a nine-year N addition gradient experiment in an alpine meadow on the Tibetan Plateau. We examined the intraspecific and interspecific variations within and among the communities, the responses of traits in terms of community weighted mean (CWM) and non-weighted mean (CM) to N addition, and the effects of these trait variations on aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP). Our results show that N addition increased the interspecific variation in H while decreasing that of LA within the community, whereas it had no significant effects on the intraspecific variations in the four traits within the community. In contrast, N addition significantly increased the intraspecific variation in H and decreased that of LA among the communities. Moreover, the contribution of intraspecific variation was greater than that of the interspecific variation in terms of CWM for all traits, while the opposite contribution was observed in terms of CM, suggesting that the dominant species would have greater resilience while subdominant species would become less resistant to N addition. Further, intraspecific variations of LA and LDMC within the community played an important role in explaining community productivity. Our results highlight the importance of both intraspecific and interspecific variations in mediating functional trait responses to N enrichment, and intraspecific variation within the communities has important implications for community functioning that should be considered to better understand and predict the responses of the alpine grasslands to N enrichment.

Funder

National Key Research and Development Program of China

National Natural Science Foundation of China

Publisher

MDPI AG

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