Abstract Carbon (C) allocation strategy plays a critical role in plant adaptability, which are also important to assess the productivity stability under environmental change. Based on optimal partitioning theory, we asked two questions: (1) How is plant C allocation within tissues affected by nutrient enrichment (N addition)? And (2) does long‐term N addition alter how plants allocate C under drought? To address these questions, we conducted a greenhouse experiment using the widespread perennial C 3 grass, Leymus chinensis , under four treatments: ‘Watered’, ‘Dry’, ‘Watered + N’ and ‘Dry + N’. 13 CO 2 pulse labelling was used to trace C transport through the plant–soil system. We found that drought and N addition resulted in additive effects on C allocation. Greater above‐ground biomass under N addition resulted in higher C loss via above‐ground plant respiration, even under drought, which plays a more important role in the adjustment of root:shoot ratio than does the trade‐off between above‐ and below‐ground organs. Compared to the concept of active phenotype adjustment for maximized growth rate in traditional optimal partitioning theory, our results imply that pre‐drought allometry, which changes under long‐term resource addition, also determines how plants respond to drought and their adaptability to changing environmental conditions. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.
Whether there are photosynthetic pathway differences exist in the amplitude of nighttime variations in the carbon isotope composition of leaf dark-respired CO2 (δ13Cl) and respiratory apparent isotope fractionation relative to biomass (ΔR,biomass) in response to drought stress is unclear. These differences, if present, would be important for the partitioning of C3-C4 mixed ecosystem C fluxes. We measured δ13Cl, the δ13C of biomass and of potential respiratory substrates and leaf gas exchange in a one C3 (Leymus chinensis) and two C4 (Chloris virgata and Hemarthria altissima) grasses during a manipulated drought period. For all studied grasses, δ13Cl decreased from 2100 h to 0300 h. The magnitude of the nighttime shift in δ13Cl decreased with increasing drought stress. The δ13Cl values were correlated with the δ13C of respiratory substrates, whereas the magnitude of the nighttime shift in δ13Cl strongly depended on the daytime carbon assimilation rate and the range of nighttime variations in the respiratory substrate content. The ΔR,biomass in the C3 and C4 grasses varied in opposite directions with the intensification of the drought stress. The contribution of C4 plant-associated carbon flux is likely to be overestimated if carbon isotope signatures are used for the partitioning of ecosystem carbon exchange and the δ13C of biomass is used as a substitute for leaf dark-respired CO2. The detected drought sensitivities in δ13Cl and differences in respiratory apparent isotope fractionation between C3 and C4 grasses have marked implications for isotope partitioning studies at the ecosystem level.
As one of the most important limiting factors of grassland productivity, drought is predicted to increase in intensity and frequency. Greenhouse studies suggest that arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) can improve plant drought resistance. However, whether AMF can improve plant drought resistance in field conditions and whether the effects of AMF on drought resistance differ among plants with different photosynthetic pathways remain unclear. To evaluate the effect of indigenous AMF on plant drought resistance, an in situ rainfall exclusion experiment was conducted in a temperate meadow in northeast China. The results showed that AMF significantly reduced the negative effects of drought on plant growth. On average, AMF enhanced plant biomass, photosynthetic rate (A), stomatal conductance (gs), intrinsic water use efficiency (iWUE), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity of the C3 species Leymus chinensis by 58, 63, 38, 15, and 45%, respectively, and reduced levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) by 32% under light and moderate drought (rainfall exclusion of 30 and 50%, respectively). However, under extreme drought (rainfall exclusion of 70%), AMF elevated only aboveground biomass and catalase (CAT) activities. Averagely, AMF increased the aboveground biomass, A, and CAT activity of Hemarthria altissima (C4) by 37, 28, and 30%, respectively, under light and moderate droughts. The contribution of AMF to plant drought resistance was higher for the C3 species than that for the C4 species under both light and moderate drought conditions. The results highlight potential photosynthetic type differences in the magnitude of AMF-associated enhancement in plant drought resistance. Therefore, AMF may determine plant community structure under future climate change scenarios by affecting the drought resistance of different plant functional groups.
Mechanical patent specifications are carriers of technological innovation, and their translation not only needs to accurately convey the technical information of the source language, but also conforms to the expression habits of the target language, so as to ensure that readers in cross-cultural and cross-linguistic backgrounds can understand and apply the relevant technologies. The purpose of this paper is to explore the translation strategy of mechanical patent specifications under the guidance of the theory of functional equivalence, so as to make the translated text functionally the same as the source language through the techniques of lexical, syntactic, chapter and style equivalence. To this end, this paper adopts the method of literature analysis, through combing the relevant theories and research results, and analysing the translation strategies in practice with actual cases. Through such research, this paper strives to provide effective guidance for the translation of mechanical patent specifications within the framework of the functional equivalence theory, and to promote the accurate communication and smooth application of patent information in international technical exchanges.
Nitrous oxide (N2O) is one of the most important greenhouse gases contributing to global climate warming. Recently, studies have shown that arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) could reduce N2O emissions in terrestrial ecosystems; however, the microbial mechanisms of how AMF reduces N2O emissions under climate change are still not well understood. We tested the influence of AMF on N2O emissions by setting up a gradient of precipitation intensity (+50%, +30%, ambient (0%), -30%, -50%, and -70%) and manipulating the presence or exclusion of AMF hyphae in a semiarid grassland located in northeast China. Our results showed that N2O fluxes dramatically declined with the decrease in precipitation gradient during the peak growing season (June-August) in both 2019 and 2020. There was a significantly positive correlation between soil water content and N2O fluxes. Interestingly, N2O fluxes significantly decreased when AMF were present compared to when they were absent under all precipitation conditions. The contribution of AMF to mitigate N2O emission increased gradually with decreasing precipitation magnitudes, but no contribution in the severe drought (-70%). AMF significantly reduced the soil's available nitrogen concentration and altered the composition of the soil bacteria community including those associated with N2O production. Hyphal length density was negatively correlated with the copy numbers of key genes for N2O production (nirK and nirS) and positively correlated with the copy numbers of key genes for N2O consumption (nosZ). Our results highlight that AMF would reduce the soil N2O emission under precipitation variability in a temperate grassland except for extreme drought.