Different responses of canopy and shrub leaves to canopy nitrogen and water addition in warm temperate forest

IntroductionUnderstanding the effects of nitrogen deposition and increased rainfall on plants is critical for maintaining forest ecosystem services. Although previous studies primarily examined the effects of environmental changes on leaf functional traits, the underlying physiological and metabolic...

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Main Authors: Mengke Li, Ruomin Sun, Yaqi He, Tenglong Zhou, Jianing Mao, Wen Li, Chang Liu, Lei Ma, Shenglei Fu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-04-01
Series:Frontiers in Plant Science
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Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2025.1530588/full
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author Mengke Li
Mengke Li
Mengke Li
Mengke Li
Ruomin Sun
Ruomin Sun
Ruomin Sun
Ruomin Sun
Yaqi He
Yaqi He
Yaqi He
Yaqi He
Tenglong Zhou
Tenglong Zhou
Tenglong Zhou
Tenglong Zhou
Jianing Mao
Jianing Mao
Jianing Mao
Jianing Mao
Wen Li
Wen Li
Wen Li
Wen Li
Chang Liu
Chang Liu
Chang Liu
Chang Liu
Lei Ma
Lei Ma
Lei Ma
Lei Ma
Shenglei Fu
Shenglei Fu
Shenglei Fu
Shenglei Fu
author_facet Mengke Li
Mengke Li
Mengke Li
Mengke Li
Ruomin Sun
Ruomin Sun
Ruomin Sun
Ruomin Sun
Yaqi He
Yaqi He
Yaqi He
Yaqi He
Tenglong Zhou
Tenglong Zhou
Tenglong Zhou
Tenglong Zhou
Jianing Mao
Jianing Mao
Jianing Mao
Jianing Mao
Wen Li
Wen Li
Wen Li
Wen Li
Chang Liu
Chang Liu
Chang Liu
Chang Liu
Lei Ma
Lei Ma
Lei Ma
Lei Ma
Shenglei Fu
Shenglei Fu
Shenglei Fu
Shenglei Fu
author_sort Mengke Li
collection DOAJ
description IntroductionUnderstanding the effects of nitrogen deposition and increased rainfall on plants is critical for maintaining forest ecosystem services. Although previous studies primarily examined the effects of environmental changes on leaf functional traits, the underlying physiological and metabolic processes associated with these traits remain poorly understood and warrant further investigation.MethodsTo address this knowledge gap, we evaluated the influence of canopy nitrogen (25 kg ha-1 yr-1) and water (30% of the local precipitation) addition on leaf functional traits, diversity, and associated physiological and metabolic processes in the dominant species of tree and shrub layers.ResultsOnly the interaction between nitrogen and water significantly reduced the functional richness (FRic) of the community. The other treatments had no notable effects on functional diversity. Importantly, the physiological processes of trees and shrubs showed different regulatory strategies. In addition, there were significant changes in 29 metabolic pathways of the tree, whereas only 18 metabolic pathways were significantly altered in shrub. Among the identified metabolic pathways, four were annotated multiple times, with amino acid metabolism being the most active.DiscussionThese regulatory processes enable the leaves to withstand external disturbances and maintain their relative stability under changing environmental conditions. The study findings underscore the limitations of previous research, which often relied on the direct application of treatments to the understory and so failed to accurately assess the effects of nitrogen and water on leaf functional traits. Future studies should adopt canopy-level nitrogen and water addition to better simulate the impacts of global environmental change.
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spelling doaj-art-91f280223ae74ef4af2e9ecdfb485e782025-08-20T03:10:07ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Plant Science1664-462X2025-04-011610.3389/fpls.2025.15305881530588Different responses of canopy and shrub leaves to canopy nitrogen and water addition in warm temperate forestMengke Li0Mengke Li1Mengke Li2Mengke Li3Ruomin Sun4Ruomin Sun5Ruomin Sun6Ruomin Sun7Yaqi He8Yaqi He9Yaqi He10Yaqi He11Tenglong Zhou12Tenglong Zhou13Tenglong Zhou14Tenglong Zhou15Jianing Mao16Jianing Mao17Jianing Mao18Jianing Mao19Wen Li20Wen Li21Wen Li22Wen Li23Chang Liu24Chang Liu25Chang Liu26Chang Liu27Lei Ma28Lei Ma29Lei Ma30Lei Ma31Shenglei Fu32Shenglei Fu33Shenglei Fu34Shenglei Fu35College of Geographical Sciences, Faculty of Geographic Science and Engineering, Henan University, Zhengzhou, ChinaDabieshan National Observation and Research Field Station of Forest Ecosystem at Henan, Kaifeng, ChinaKey Laboratory of Geospatial Technology for Middle and Lower Yellow River Regions (Henan University), Ministry of Education, Kaifeng, ChinaXinyang Academy of Ecological Research, Henan University, Xinyang, ChinaCollege of Geographical Sciences, Faculty of Geographic Science and Engineering, Henan University, Zhengzhou, ChinaDabieshan National Observation and Research Field Station of Forest Ecosystem at Henan, Kaifeng, ChinaKey Laboratory of Geospatial Technology for Middle and Lower Yellow River Regions (Henan University), Ministry of Education, Kaifeng, ChinaXinyang Academy of Ecological Research, Henan University, Xinyang, ChinaCollege of Geographical Sciences, Faculty of Geographic Science and Engineering, Henan University, Zhengzhou, ChinaDabieshan National Observation and Research Field Station of Forest Ecosystem at Henan, Kaifeng, ChinaKey Laboratory of Geospatial Technology for Middle and Lower Yellow River Regions (Henan University), Ministry of Education, Kaifeng, ChinaXinyang Academy of Ecological Research, Henan University, Xinyang, ChinaCollege of Geographical Sciences, Faculty of Geographic Science and Engineering, Henan University, Zhengzhou, ChinaDabieshan National Observation and Research Field Station of Forest Ecosystem at Henan, Kaifeng, ChinaKey Laboratory of Geospatial Technology for Middle and Lower Yellow River Regions (Henan University), Ministry of Education, Kaifeng, ChinaXinyang Academy of Ecological Research, Henan University, Xinyang, ChinaCollege of Geographical Sciences, Faculty of Geographic Science and Engineering, Henan University, Zhengzhou, ChinaDabieshan National Observation and Research Field Station of Forest Ecosystem at Henan, Kaifeng, ChinaKey Laboratory of Geospatial Technology for Middle and Lower Yellow River Regions (Henan University), Ministry of Education, Kaifeng, ChinaXinyang Academy of Ecological Research, Henan University, Xinyang, ChinaCollege of Geographical Sciences, Faculty of Geographic Science and Engineering, Henan University, Zhengzhou, ChinaDabieshan National Observation and Research Field Station of Forest Ecosystem at Henan, Kaifeng, ChinaKey Laboratory of Geospatial Technology for Middle and Lower Yellow River Regions (Henan University), Ministry of Education, Kaifeng, ChinaXinyang Academy of Ecological Research, Henan University, Xinyang, ChinaCollege of Geographical Sciences, Faculty of Geographic Science and Engineering, Henan University, Zhengzhou, ChinaDabieshan National Observation and Research Field Station of Forest Ecosystem at Henan, Kaifeng, ChinaKey Laboratory of Geospatial Technology for Middle and Lower Yellow River Regions (Henan University), Ministry of Education, Kaifeng, ChinaXinyang Academy of Ecological Research, Henan University, Xinyang, ChinaCollege of Geographical Sciences, Faculty of Geographic Science and Engineering, Henan University, Zhengzhou, ChinaDabieshan National Observation and Research Field Station of Forest Ecosystem at Henan, Kaifeng, ChinaKey Laboratory of Geospatial Technology for Middle and Lower Yellow River Regions (Henan University), Ministry of Education, Kaifeng, ChinaXinyang Academy of Ecological Research, Henan University, Xinyang, ChinaCollege of Geographical Sciences, Faculty of Geographic Science and Engineering, Henan University, Zhengzhou, ChinaDabieshan National Observation and Research Field Station of Forest Ecosystem at Henan, Kaifeng, ChinaKey Laboratory of Geospatial Technology for Middle and Lower Yellow River Regions (Henan University), Ministry of Education, Kaifeng, ChinaXinyang Academy of Ecological Research, Henan University, Xinyang, ChinaIntroductionUnderstanding the effects of nitrogen deposition and increased rainfall on plants is critical for maintaining forest ecosystem services. Although previous studies primarily examined the effects of environmental changes on leaf functional traits, the underlying physiological and metabolic processes associated with these traits remain poorly understood and warrant further investigation.MethodsTo address this knowledge gap, we evaluated the influence of canopy nitrogen (25 kg ha-1 yr-1) and water (30% of the local precipitation) addition on leaf functional traits, diversity, and associated physiological and metabolic processes in the dominant species of tree and shrub layers.ResultsOnly the interaction between nitrogen and water significantly reduced the functional richness (FRic) of the community. The other treatments had no notable effects on functional diversity. Importantly, the physiological processes of trees and shrubs showed different regulatory strategies. In addition, there were significant changes in 29 metabolic pathways of the tree, whereas only 18 metabolic pathways were significantly altered in shrub. Among the identified metabolic pathways, four were annotated multiple times, with amino acid metabolism being the most active.DiscussionThese regulatory processes enable the leaves to withstand external disturbances and maintain their relative stability under changing environmental conditions. The study findings underscore the limitations of previous research, which often relied on the direct application of treatments to the understory and so failed to accurately assess the effects of nitrogen and water on leaf functional traits. Future studies should adopt canopy-level nitrogen and water addition to better simulate the impacts of global environmental change.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2025.1530588/fullcanopy nitrogen additioncanopy water additionfunctional traitphysiological processmetabolic process
spellingShingle Mengke Li
Mengke Li
Mengke Li
Mengke Li
Ruomin Sun
Ruomin Sun
Ruomin Sun
Ruomin Sun
Yaqi He
Yaqi He
Yaqi He
Yaqi He
Tenglong Zhou
Tenglong Zhou
Tenglong Zhou
Tenglong Zhou
Jianing Mao
Jianing Mao
Jianing Mao
Jianing Mao
Wen Li
Wen Li
Wen Li
Wen Li
Chang Liu
Chang Liu
Chang Liu
Chang Liu
Lei Ma
Lei Ma
Lei Ma
Lei Ma
Shenglei Fu
Shenglei Fu
Shenglei Fu
Shenglei Fu
Different responses of canopy and shrub leaves to canopy nitrogen and water addition in warm temperate forest
Frontiers in Plant Science
canopy nitrogen addition
canopy water addition
functional trait
physiological process
metabolic process
title Different responses of canopy and shrub leaves to canopy nitrogen and water addition in warm temperate forest
title_full Different responses of canopy and shrub leaves to canopy nitrogen and water addition in warm temperate forest
title_fullStr Different responses of canopy and shrub leaves to canopy nitrogen and water addition in warm temperate forest
title_full_unstemmed Different responses of canopy and shrub leaves to canopy nitrogen and water addition in warm temperate forest
title_short Different responses of canopy and shrub leaves to canopy nitrogen and water addition in warm temperate forest
title_sort different responses of canopy and shrub leaves to canopy nitrogen and water addition in warm temperate forest
topic canopy nitrogen addition
canopy water addition
functional trait
physiological process
metabolic process
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2025.1530588/full
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