Effects of Increased Nitrogen and Phosphorus Deposition on Offspring Performance of Two Dominant Species in a Temperate Steppe Ecosystem

Plants adapt to environment by plastic growth which will be transferred to offspring through transgenerational effect. Performance and response of maternal and offspring plant will affect population dynamics and community composition. However, it is scarcely understood how maternal nutrient environment affect the performance and response of offspring through transgenerational effect. Here we studied the impacts of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) enrichment on maternal and offspring performances and responses of Stipa krylovii and Artemisia frigida. Seeds were collected from maternal plant experiencing N or/and P addition for three years in Inner Mongolia grassland. We found that maternal nutrient addition significantly affected seed traits, offspring biomass, and offspring responses of A. frigida. Maternal N addition significantly affected maternal reproductive biomass, seed traits of S. kryloii. Maternal P addition of S. kryloii significantly affected seed qualities, seedling biomass and seeding response to N addition. Our results suggested that transgenerational effects of N and P enrichment to the two dominant plant species existed in this ecosystem. Furthermore, the two species exhibited different adaptive strategies to future nutrient addition. These findings indicate that maternal environmental effect should be considered into the model projection of vegetation dynamics in response to ongoing environmental change.