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

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.

本研究假设：1) 在相同的演替阶段，母根际土壤、克隆根际土壤、非克隆植物根际土壤和L. chinense的非根际土壤在碳、氮、磷和钾含量以及生态化学计量学特征方面存在显著差异。2) 随着演替的推进，母植物根际土壤、枝条根际土壤、非克隆植物根际土壤和L. chinense的非根际土壤中的碳、氮和钾含量将逐渐降低，而磷含量将逐渐升高。本研究之次要目标是探究土壤养分与其化学计量学特性之间的关系，以识别这些相互作用的关键驱动力。研究结果将深化我们对L. chinense克隆整合对喀斯特地区根际土壤养分影响的认知。我们的数据通过实地采样和实验室检测土壤指标获得。数据显示，在克隆整合的影响下，母植物根际土壤、枝条根际土壤、非克隆植物根际土壤和非根际土壤在不同演替阶段的pH值、含水量、有机碳、总氮、有效氮、总磷、有效钾和有效钾含量以及这些土壤养分的生态化学计量学特征的变化。值得注意的是，我们的首要关键发现是非克隆植物的根际土壤在土壤有机碳（SOC）、总氮（TN）、有效氮（AN）、有效磷（AP）以及C/P比值方面，相较于参与克隆整合的母植物和枝条植物根际土壤，始终表现出更高的水平。相反，非根际土壤的碳、氮、磷含量最低，这表明克隆整合降低了克隆植物根际土壤中这些养分的浓度。其次，我们的分析揭示，在整个演替的早期、中期和晚期阶段，土壤总磷（TP）、总钾（TK）和C/N值在母植物根际土壤中最高。这表明克隆整合改善了喀斯特地区土壤中磷和钾含量的限制。最后，母植物、枝条、非克隆植物和非根际土壤根际土壤中养分的生态化学计量学特征与土壤C、N、P、K、pH和SWC在演替的早期、中期和晚期阶段表现出显著的相互作用。这些发现为L. chinense演替过程中克隆整合对根际土壤环境的适应性调节提供了科学依据，有利于促进喀斯特地区植被恢复研究。