Abstract
The carbon and nitrogen (C-N) mass of each plant was measured in abandoned, harvested, burned, and burned-harvested plots in a Miscanthus sinensis Anderss.-dominated grassland for three years. In the abandoned plot, the C-N mass of M. sinensis plants decreased and that of woody plants increased each year, whereas the opposite occurred in the harvested plot. The C-N mass of M. sinensis plants increased rapidly after burning. The C-N ratio of M. sinensis plants was higher (mean=64) than that of other herbs and woody plants (means=35, 36, respectively). The C-N ratio of M. sinensis plants and other herbs was heigher in the burned and burned-harvested plots. The dominance of M. sinensis plants with a higher C-N ratio leads to an increase of the C-N ratio and lower nitrogen availability in the grassland plant community. Low nutrition conditions after burning may promote the dominance of M. sinensis over other plants.
