基金项目:国家自然科学基金(31960304); 西藏农牧学院林学学科创新团队建设项目(藏财预指2020-001); 西藏农牧学院研究生创新项目(YJS2020-24)
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Objective: Cupressus gigantea is an evergreen tree species endemic to Tibet. Because of its small number of individuals and narrow distribution area, it has become an endangered tree species under national first-class key protection. High quality seedlings are needed in the process of vigorously collecting seeds and raising seedlings and building artificial forest. Scientific fertilization can effectively improve the quality of seedlings and avoid environmental pollution caused by excess fertilizer. Nitrogen is one of the most important limiting nutrients during tree growth.
Methods: 2-year-old seedlings of Cupressus gigantea were used as experimental materials, and the fertilization experiment was carried out by potting. There are four treatments: index fertilization, double index fertilization, average fertilization, and no fertilization (control). The effects of different fertilization treatments on the growth and photosynthesis of aboveground and underground new roots of giant cypress seedlings were studied.
Results: The results suggested that after fertilization, the seedling height, ground diameter, biomass, total root length, surface area and volume of new roots were significantly higher than those of the control. Among the different fertilization treatments, the seedling height, ground diameter and biomass of C. gigantea under the exponential fertilization were significantly higher than those under the average fertilization and double exponential fertilization, and the biomass under the exponential fertilization was about 5 times that of the control. The maximum length of new root was 1464.78 cm under the exponential fertilization, which increased by 70% compared with that of control. The length of new roots increased by 35% and 15%, respectively, under the average fertilization and double exponential fertilization compared with that of no fertilization. The first peak value of net photosynthetic rate of the control, average fertilization and double exponential fertilization appeared at 10:00, and the maximum value appeared at 14:00. The peak value of net photosynthetic rate of the exponential fertilization appeared at 14:00, which was significantly higher than the values of the other three treatments. The average daily net photosynthetic rate and water use efficiency of C. gigantea seedlings under the exponential fertilization and double exponential fertilization were significantly higher than those of the average fertilization and control. The light compensation point of seedlings under the exponential fertilization was the smallest, which was about 1/2 of the control. The apparent quantum efficiency was the largest under the exponential fertilization and the smallest of the control. It is evident that exponential fertilization could enhance the utilization of weak light. However, there was no significant difference in the light saturation point among the treatments, which reached the saturation point at about 1400 μmol/(m2•s).
Conclusion: Fertilization was beneficial to improve the growth of C. gigantea seedlings, nutrient accumulation and new root growth, among which the promotion effect of index fertilization was the most significant. Exponential fertilization is beneficial to improve the photosynthetic capacity of C. gigantea seedlings. There is little difference in the utilization of strong light among various fertilization treatments, but the utilization of weak light can be significantly enhanced after index fertilization. It can be seen that exponential fertilization can effectively improve the photosynthetic capacity of C. gigantea seedlings, which is conducive to the formation and accumulation of photosynthetic products and thereby promotes the growth of seedlings. However, for the precise cultivation of C. gigantea seedlings, it is necessary to carry out long-term and continuous experiments on the rational application of nutrient elements such as nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium and their couplings with water, so as to provide a basis for the production of large-scale high-quality and strong seedlings in the field.