Effect of Clonal integration of Loropetalum chinense on its rhizosphere soil nutrient status in karst ecosystems

Description

Our study hypothesizes that: 1) under the same succession stage, there are significant differences in the carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium content and ecological stoichiometry characteristics among the rhizosphere soil of the mother plant, the rhizosphere soil of the clones, the rhizosphere soil of the non-cloned plants, and the non-rhizosphere soil of L. chinense. 2) as growth succession progresses, the carbon, nitrogen, and potassium contents in the rhizosphere soil of the mother plant, the rhizosphere soil of the ramets, the rhizosphere soil of the non-cloned plants, and the non-rhizosphere soil of the L. chinense will gradually decrease, while the phosphorus content will gradually increase. Our secondary goal is to explore the relationship between soil nutrients and their stoichiometric characteristics to identify the key driving factors for these interactions. The results our research will enhance our understanding of the impact of clone integration of L. chinense on rhizosphere soil nutrients in karst areas. Our data is obtained through field sampling and laboratory testing of soil indicators. My data shows the changes in pH, moisture content, organic carbon, total nitrogen, available nitrogen, total phosphorus, available potassium, and available potassium content of maternal plant rhizosphere soil, ramet rhizosphere soil, unclonable plant rhizosphere soil, and non rhizosphere soil at different succession stages under the effect of clone integration, as well as the ecological stoichiometry of these soil nutrients. It is worth noting that：our first key finding was that rhizosphere soil of non-cloned plants consistently exhibited higher levels of soil organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen (TN), available nitrogen (AN), available phosphorus (AP), and a higher C/P ratio compared to the rhizosphere soil of mother and ramet plants involved in clonal integration. In contrast, the non-rhizosphere soil had the lowest levels of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus, suggesting that clonal integration lowers the concentrations of these nutrients in the rhizosphere soil of cloned plants. Secondly, our analysis revealed that soil TP, TK, and C/N values were highest in the rhizosphere soil of the mother plants throughout the early, middle, and late stages of succession. This indicates that clone integration improves the limitations of P and K content in soil in karst areas. Finally, the ecological stoichiometry of nutrients in the rhizosphere soil of mother plants, ramets, non-cloned plants, and non-rhizosphere soil exhibits significant interactions with soil C, N, P, K, pH, and SWC across the early, middle, and late stage of succession. These findings provide scientific basis for the adaptive regulation of the rhizosphere soil environment on clonal integration during the succession process of L. chinense. Beneficial for promoting research on vegetation restoration in karst areas.

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