title: Intraspecific N and P stoichiometry of Phragmites australis: geographic patterns and variation among climatic regions.
abstract: Geographic patterns in leaf stoichiometry reflect plant adaptations to environments. Leaf stoichiometry variations along environmental gradients have been extensively studied among terrestrial plants, but little has been known about intraspecific leaf stoichiometry, especially for wetland plants. Here we analyzed the dataset of leaf N and P of a cosmopolitan wetland species, Phragmites australis, and environmental (geographic, climate and soil) variables from literature and field investigation in natural wetlands distributed in three climatic regions (subtropical, temperate and highland) across China. We found no clear geographic patterns in leaf nutrients of P. australis across China, except for leaf N:P ratio increasing with altitude. Leaf N and N:P decreased with mean annual temperature (MAT), and leaf N and P were closely related to soil pH, C:N ratio and available P. Redundancy analysis showed that climate and soil variables explained 62.1% of total variation in leaf N, P and N:P. Furthermore, leaf N in temperate region and leaf P in subtropical region increased with soil available P, while leaf N:P in subtropical region decreased with soil pH. These patterns in P. australis different from terrestrial plants might imply that changes in climate and soil properties can exert divergent effects on wetland and terrestrial ecosystems.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Hangzhou City for Ecosystem Protection and Restoration, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China.|State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.|Institute of Wetland Research, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Yu-Kun
authors.initials: YK
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Hangzhou City for Ecosystem Protection and Restoration, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China.|State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Ya-Lin
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Guo-Fang
authors.initials: GF
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Hangzhou City for Ecosystem Protection and Restoration, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China.|State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.|Institute of Wetland Research, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Xu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Xuejun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Hangzhou City for Ecosystem Protection and Restoration, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Wen-Bing
authors.initials: WB
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Hangzhou City for Ecosystem Protection and Restoration, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Wen-Hong
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Dai
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Hangzhou City for Ecosystem Protection and Restoration, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China.|State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Shuang-Li
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Hangzhou City for Ecosystem Protection and Restoration, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Hangzhou City for Ecosystem Protection and Restoration, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Ling-Yun
authors.initials: LY
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Hangzhou City for Ecosystem Protection and Restoration, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Xiong
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Hangzhou City for Ecosystem Protection and Restoration, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Yao-Bin
authors.initials: YB
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Hangzhou City for Ecosystem Protection and Restoration, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China.|State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Ming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dong