Comparisons of leaf traits among 17 major plant species in Shazhuyu Sand Control Experimental Station of Qinghai Province
青海省沙珠玉治沙站17种主要植物叶性因子的比较

Much evidence indicates that in arid environments, higher leaf nitrogen concentration and lower specific leaf area are generally correlated with higher water use efficiency. We measured specific leaf area (SLA), mass-based (N (mass)) and area-based (N (area)) leaf nitrogen concentrations for 17 native or introduced plant species in Shazhuyu Desert Control Experimental Station of Qinghai Province. The data were further compared with our previous data collected in the wet forests in the Gongga Mountains, eastern Tibetan Plateau. In general, N (mass) increased with increasing SLA. We found that there was a strategy shift in the N (mass) vs SLA relation patterns between the native perennial grasses and shrubs growing in the fixed sandy dune (Group-2, N (area)>3.0 g m~(-2)) and the native short-lived grasses growing in the moving sandy dune (Group-2, N (area)<3.0 g m~(-2)). Compared with Group-2 species, Group-1 species had a higher N (mass) at a given SLA or a lower SLA at a given N (mass). Among the eight introduced species, four shrubs for Aragana korshinskii, Caragana davazamcii, Salix suchowensis and Salix cheilophila belonged to Group-1, whereas others for Caragana microphylla, Amarix chinensis, Glycyrrhiza uralensis and Populus cathayana belonged to Group-2. We believe that the Group-1 introduced species would be more adaptive to the arid climate than the Group-2 planted species. The short-lived grasses (Group-2) for Agriophyllum squarrosum and Corispermum hyssopifolium had much higher SLA but relatively lower leaf nitrogen concentrations than the other species. The characteristics appear to be related to the low soil nitrogen content in the moving sandy dune and the relatively high soil water availability during the short growing seasons.