Effects of nitrogen deposition on growth and relationship of Robinia pseudoacacia and Quercus acutissima seedlings

Increased nitrogen deposition and biological invasions may be two crucial consequences of global change. Exotic plants often have adverse effects on native plants. However, there are reports of occasional positive interaction between them. Increased nitrogen deposition enhances nitrogen availability in soil, which may facilitate the growth of some exotic plant and decrease the competitive advantage of native plants because of their adaptation to low-nutrient environments. Consequently, increased nitrogen deposition may regulate the relationship between exotic and native plants. A greenhouse experiment was, thus, conducted to examine the effects of increased nitrogen deposition on the relationship between the native Quercus acutissima and the exotic Robinia pseudoacacia, which are both widely distributed in North China. Seedlings of both species were grown in monoculture and mixture arrangements in a pot experiment with different nitrogen addition levels (i.e., 0, 2, 5, and 10 g N m–2 a–1). Nitrogen addition altered the biomass partitioning of Q. acutissima and R. pseudoacacia seedlings, with more biomass allocated to leaves and less to roots. Although R. pseudoacacia seedlings always had growth predominance over Q. acutissima seedlings, Q. acutissima was not threatened by R. pseudoacacia at the four levels of nitrogen addition during the three-month duration of the experiment. A positive interaction between the seedlings of R. pseudoacacia and Q. acutissima was found, and increased nitrogen deposition did not affect the positive interaction. Further studies are necessary to determine whether or not R. pseudoacacia is harmful to native ecosystems and should be limited for forestation in North China.