Differential uptake of nitrogen forms by two herbs in the Gurbantunggut desert, Central Asia

Understanding how plants adjust their requirements for different N forms can help elucidate plant coexistence strategies in N-limited desert ecosystems. To understand the mechanisms involved, we investigated whether two desert herbs can directly absorb dissolved organic nitrogen (N) and tested whether the patterns changed over different growth stages. Two dominant herbaceous species, Astragalus arpilobus and Arnebia decumbens, from the southern edge of the Gurbantunggut desert, China, were selected. Short-term (24 h)