Effects of Different Nitrogen Forms on Growth, Water Status and Osmoprotectants in Pinus koraiensis Seedlings under Drought Stress

doi:10.7525/j.issn.1673-5102.2026.04.015

Abstract

Abstract:

To investigate the response patterns to nitrogen forms and determine the optimal nitrogen supply form for enhancing drought tolerance， seedling morphology， biomass， needle water status， and osmoprotectant mass fraction were examined in two-year-old P.koraiensis seedlings under drought levels（moderate and severe drought， with full irrigation as the control） and nitrogen forms（nitrate nitrogen， ammonium nitrogen， and glycinate nitrogen， with no nitrogen application as the control）. The results indicated that the interaction between drought levels and nitrogen forms significantly affected the root morphology， root and needle biomass， seedling quality， needle water status， and osmoprotectants in P.koraiensis seedlings（P<0.05）. Under full irrigation， seedlings fertilized with ammonium nitrogen exhibited significantly superior performances in seedling height， total root length， total root area， root biomass， Dickson’s quality index， and osmoprotectant mass fraction compared to those fertilized with glycinate nitrogen（P<0.05）. Under moderate drought， seedlings fertilized with glycinate nitrogen showed no significant differences in seedling height， root collar diameter， total root volume， root tip number， biomass in various organs and the whole plant， Dickson’s quality index， needle water status， and proline mass fraction compared to those fertilized with ammonium nitrogen. Under severe drought， seedlings fertilized with glycinate nitrogen demonstrated significantly better performances in root collar diameter growth， total root length， total root area， root biomass， needle biomass， total biomass， Dickson’s quality index， needle water status， and needle osmoprotectant mass fraction compared to those fertilized with inorganic nitrogen（P<0.05）. The response of P. koraiensis seedlings to nitrogen forms was significantly affected by drought levels. Under full irrigation， inorganic nitrogen（especially ammonium nitrogen） favored seedling growth and osmoprotectant accumulations. However， under severe drought， glycinate nitrogen improved seedling water status by promoting osmoprotectant accumulations， being more beneficial for seedling growth than inorganic nitrogen. This study elucidates the growth response of P. koraiensis seedlings to different nitrogen forms under drought stress， providing theoretical basis and technical reference for cultivating drought tolerant seedlings through nitrogen application in nurseries.

Key words: Pinus koraiensis, drought stress, nitrogen form, growth, water status, osmoprotectants

CLC Number:

S791.22

Jiawei HAN, He HUANG, Huiliang LIU, Haibo WU, Hailong SHEN, Peng ZHANG. Effects of Different Nitrogen Forms on Growth, Water Status and Osmoprotectants in Pinus koraiensis Seedlings under Drought Stress[J]. Bulletin of Botanical Research, 2026, 46(4): 751-763.

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营养元素及目标浓度 Nutrients and target concentration/（mg·L^-1）	肥料 Fertilizers	施肥量Fertilization rate/（mg·L^-1）
营养元素及目标浓度 Nutrients and target concentration/（mg·L^-1）	肥料 Fertilizers	对照 CK	硝态氮 Nitrate nitrogen	铵态氮 Ammonium nitrogen	有机氮 Glycinate nitrogen
N（500.00）	Ca（NO₃）₂	—	2 929.00	—	—
N（500.00）	（NH₄）₂SO₄	—	—	2 360.00	—
N（500.00）	C₂H₅NO₂	—	—	—	2 681.00
P（200.00）	KH₂PO₄	877.00	877.00	877.00	877.00
K（500.00）	K₂SO₄	555.00	555.00	555.00	555.00
Ca（267.00）	CaCl₂	741.00	74.00	741.00	741.00
Mg（133.00）	MgSO₄·7H₂O	1 348.00	1 348.00	—	1 348.00
Mg（133.00）	MgCl₂·6H₂O	—	—	1 111.00	—
Fe（13.33）	FeSO₄·7H₂O	66.33	66.33	66.33	66.33
Mn（2.67）	MnCl₂·4H₂O	9.60	9.60	9.60	9.60
Zn（1.07）	ZnSO₄·7H₂O	4.70	4.70	4.70	4.70
Cu（0.50）	CuSO₄·5H₂O	1.96	1.96	1.96	1.96
Mo（0.07）	Na₂MoO₄·2H₂O	0.18	0.18	0.18	0.18
B（1.67）	H₃BO₃	9.55	9.55	9.55	9.55

变异来源 Sources	自由度 d_f	P
变异来源 Sources	自由度 d_f	苗高 Seedling height	苗高生长量 Seedling height growth	地径 Root collar diameter	地径生长量 Root collar diameter growth
干旱水平 Drought level	2	<0.001	<0.001	<0.001	<0.001
氮素形态 Nitrogen form	3	<0.001	<0.001	<0.001	<0.001
干旱水平×氮素形态 Drought level × Nitrogen form	6	0.276	0.241	0.651	0.232

变异来源 Sources	自由度 d_f	P
变异来源 Sources	自由度 d_f	总根长 Total root length	总根表面积 Total root area	总根体积 Total root volume	根尖数量 Number of root tips
干旱水平 Drought level	2	<0.001	<0.001	0.015	0.158
氮素形态 Nitrogen form	3	<0.001	<0.001	0.089	0.004
干旱水平×氮素形态 Drought level × Nitrogen form	6	0.001	<0.001	0.902	0.969

变异来源 Sources	自由度 d_f	P
变异来源 Sources	自由度 d_f	根系生物量 Root biomass	茎干生物量 Stem biomass	针叶生物量 Needle biomass	全株生物量 Total biomass	苗木质量指数 Dickson’s quality index
干旱水平 Drought level	2	<0.001	0.023	<0.001	<0.001	<0.001
氮素形态 Nitrogen form	3	<0.001	0.339	<0.001	<0.001	<0.001
干旱水平×氮素形态 Drought level × Nitrogen form	6	0.004	0.996	0.011	0.052	0.013

变异来源 Sources	自由度 d_f	P
变异来源 Sources	自由度 d_f	针叶水势 Needle water potential	针叶相对含水量 Needle relative water content
干旱水平 Drought level	2	<0.001	<0.001
氮素形态 Nitrogen form	3	<0.001	0.005
干旱水平×氮素形态 Drought level × Nitrogen form	6	<0.001	0.002