The loss of submerged macrophytes from freshwater ecosystems is accelerating owing to the combined effects of eutrophication and climate change. Submerged macrophytes depend on spring clear water; however, increased water temperatures and excessive phosphorus (P) inputs often lead to the dominance of phytoplankton. It is still not clear how the stoichiometric characteristics of carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and P in different tissues of submerged macrophytes respond to P enrichment and temperature increases. In this study, we established 36 mesocosm ecosystems to explore the effects of warming and P addition on the leaf, turion, stem, and seed stoichiometry of Potamogeton crispus. The results revealed that different functional plant organs show distinct responses to P addition and warming, which demonstrates the importance of evaluating the responses of different submerged macrophyte organs to environmental changes. In addition, interactive effects between P addition and warming were observed in the leaf, turion, and seed C:N:P stoichiometry, which highlights the importance of multifactorial studies. Our data showed that warming caused a decrease in the C content in most organs, with the exception of the stem; P addition increased the P content in most organs, with the exception of seed; N content in the turion and seed were influenced by interactive effects. Collectively, P addition could help P. crispus to resist the adverse effects of high temperatures by aiding growth and asexual reproduction, and asexual propagules were found to be more sensitive to P enrichment than sexual propagules.
Keywords: climate change; eutrophication; growth organs; reproductive organs; stoichiometric characteristics.
Copyright © 2022 Dai, Wang, Wang and Xu.