Trees show higher resilience than herbs under phosphorus deficit induced by 12‐year simulated acid rain

作者：Guangcan Yu, Mianhai Zheng, Ying‐Ping Wang, Mengxiao Yu, Jun Jiang, Enqing Hou, Nannan Cao, Ye Shu, Songjia Chen, Jingtao Wu, Fengcai Liu, Linhua Wang, Shuo Zhang, Pingping Xu, Deqiang Zhang, Junhua Yan · 发表于：Ecology · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1002/ecy.70071 · 被引用次数：5 · 研究领域：Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics、Soil and Water Nutrient Dynamics、Peatlands and Wetlands Ecology

Acid rain, with 60% deposition in Asia, may exacerbate plant phosphorus (P) limitation; however, its long-term effects on different plant life-forms remain largely undetermined. Understanding these effects is essential for predicting ecosystem resilience and promoting forest health under environmental change. Herein, we investigated the P status in two tree and two herb species and their rhizosphere soils after 12 years of acid treatment at three pH levels (pH: 4.0, 3.5, and 3.0) in a tropical forest in Southern China. We found that leaf, litter, and root P; leaf N and P resorption efficiency; and their ratios remained stable in trees; however, herb leaf and litter P levels declined. Acid addition reduced inorganic P in tree rhizosphere soil and inorganic and organic P in herb rhizosphere soil. Rhizosphere soil P fractions were more regulated by soil physicochemical properties and less regulated by microbial community in trees than in herbs. Under long-term simulated acid rain, stable tree P status benefited from soil inorganic P depletion, and herbs partially met their P requirements via biological mineralization of soil organic P. These distinct P-associated responses and acquisition strategies provide insights into safeguarding forest health among plants of different functional types under long-term acid rain events.