Plant diversity and dry-matter dynamics of peri-urban plant communities in an Indian dry tropical region

The emergence of variety of land-use changes due to continuous anthropogenic pressure in peri-urban areas may concomitantly result in modification of the structure of associated plant communities for their sustainable growth. In the present study, plant diversity, and above- and belowground biomass distribution among species were investigated to understand their dynamics across different season, soil, and site conditions in a dry tropical peri-urban region in India. From four study sites that covered contrasting land uses: abandoned brick kiln (ABK), grazing land (GL), Kali river bank (KRB), and agricultural land (AL), a total of 360 monoliths were randomly extracted in three seasons, and dry weights were estimated for aboveground and belowground parts of species individuals. Seasonal soil samples of the sites were analyzed for physico-chemical characteristics. Of the total 87 recorded species that were mainly annual weeds and ruderals, 77% were forbs and 23% grasses. The ranges of plant biomass recorded across all sites and seasons were: aboveground 228–738 g m⁻², belowground 83–288 g m⁻², and a total of 344–1,026 g m⁻². The dominance of species differed between above- and belowground; some species dominated only above- or belowground, and others dominated in both layers. Above- and belowground biomass of the sites, differential community-biomass allocation to above- and belowground parts and species dominants varied significantly with site and season. ABK and AL sites showed lower species diversity and soil nutrients compared to GL and KRB sites. Belowground biomass significantly declined with increasing soil organic C and total N, indicating altered dry matter allocation under resource-scarce habitat conditions. Higher diversity occurred at both low- and high-biomass sites, reflective of enhanced ability of these plant communities to exploit resources maximally in spatio-temporal pattern.     

Grazers and soil moisture determine the fate of added 15NH4 + in Yellowstone grasslands

The influence of ungulate grazers on nutrient cycling and ecosystem productivity in grasslands has been shown to differ with moisture, nutrient availability, and feedbacks between above- and belowground activities. We examined the movement of nitrogen (N), applied as (¹⁵NH₄)₂SO₄, through both dry and mesic sites in the northern range of Yellowstone National Park to test the hypothesis that plants were more able to acquire added N in grazed relative to ungrazed sites. Previous studies showed enhanced N mineralization in grazed areas, and detritus removal by grazers was predicted to enhance early-season plant growth. Thirteen months after tracer addition, there were no differences in plant ¹⁵N as a function of grazing, but historically ungrazed sites retained more ¹⁵N in accumulated litter than at grazed sites. This result demonstrated the importance of detritus in regulating redistribution of incoming N and the role of grazers in this process. Site moisture status influenced ¹⁵N recovery in all pools—soils, microbial biomass, and plants—and greater plant ¹⁵N acquisition occurred in roots at dry relative to mesic sites. Understanding how grazers influence nutrient cycling at the landscape scale requires further investigation of interactions among soil moisture, plant production, litter accumulation, grazing intensity, and belowground processes.     

Grazing-induced changes in plant composition affect litter quality and nutrient cycling in flooding Pampa grasslands

Changes in plant community composition induced by vertebrate grazers have been found to either accelerate or slow C and nutrient cycling in soil. This variation may reflect the differential effects of grazing-promoted (G+) plant species on overall litter quality and decomposition processes. Further, site conditions associated with prior grazing history are expected to influence litter decay and nutrient turnover. We studied how grazing-induced changes in plant life forms and species identity modified the quality of litter inputs to soil, decomposition rate and nutrient release in a flooding Pampa grassland, Argentina. Litter from G+ forbs and grasses (two species each) and grazing-reduced (G−) grasses (two species) was incubated in long-term grazed and ungrazed sites. G+ species, overall, showed higher rates of decomposition and N and P release from litter. However, this pattern was primarily driven by the low-growing, high litter-quality forbs included among G+ species. Forbs decomposed and released nutrients faster than either G+ or G− grasses. While no consistent differences between G+ and G− grasses were observed, patterns of grass litter decay and nutrient release corresponded with interspecific differences in phenology and photosynthetic pathway. Litter decomposition, N release and soil N availability were higher in the grazed site, irrespective of species litter type. Our results contradict the notion that grazing, by reducing more palatable species and promoting less palatable ones, should decrease nutrient cycling from litter. Plant tissue quality and palatability may not unequivocally link patterns of grazing resistance and litter decomposability within a community, especially where grazing causes major shifts in life form composition. Thus, plant functional groups defined by species’ “responses” to grazing may only partially overlap with functional groups based on species “effects” on C and nutrient cycling.     

Grazing intensity significantly affects belowground carbon and nitrogen cycling in grassland ecosystems: a meta‐analysis

Livestock grazing activities potentially alter ecosystem carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycles in grassland ecosystems. Despite the fact that numerous individual studies and a few meta‐analyses had been conducted, how grazing, especially its intensity, affects belowground C and N cycling in grasslands remains unclear. In this study, we performed a comprehensive meta‐analysis of 115 published studies to examine the responses of 19 variables associated with belowground C and N cycling to livestock grazing in global grasslands. Our results showed that, on average, grazing significantly decreased belowground C and N pools in grassland ecosystems, with the largest decreases in microbial biomass C and N (21.62% and 24.40%, respectively). In contrast, belowground fluxes, including soil respiration, soil net N mineralization and soil N nitrification increased by 4.25%, 34.67% and 25.87%, respectively, in grazed grasslands compared to ungrazed ones. More importantly, grazing intensity significantly affected the magnitude (even direction) of changes in the majority of the assessed belowground C and N pools and fluxes, and C : N ratio as well as soil moisture. Specifically,light grazing contributed to soil C and N sequestration whereas moderate and heavy grazing significantly increased C and N losses. In addition, soil depth, livestock type and climatic conditions influenced the responses of selected variables to livestock grazing to some degree. Our findings highlight the importance of the effects of grazing intensity on belowground C and N cycling, which may need to be incorporated into regional and global models for predicting effects of human disturbance on global grasslands and assessing the climate‐biosphere feedbacks.     

短期氮素添加和模拟放牧对青藏高原高寒草甸生态系统呼吸的影响

氮沉降和放牧是影响草地碳循环过程的重要环境因子,但很少有研究探讨这些因子交互作用对生态系统呼吸的影响。在西藏高原高寒草甸地区开展了外源氮素添加与刈割模拟放牧实验,测定了其对植物生物量分配、土壤微生物碳氮和生态系统呼吸的影响。结果表明:氮素添加显著促进生态系统呼吸,而模拟放牧对其无显著影响,且降低了氮素添加的刺激作用。氮素添加通过提高微生物氮含量和土壤微生物代谢活性,促进植物地上生产,从而增加生态系统的碳排放;而模拟放牧降低了微生物碳含量,且降低了氮素添加的作用,促进根系的补偿性生长,降低了氮素添加对生态系统碳排放的刺激作用。这表明,放牧压力的存在会抑制氮沉降对高寒草甸生态系统碳排放的促进作用,同时外源氮输入也会缓解放牧压力对高寒草甸生态系统生产的负面影响。     

植物与土壤微生物在调控生态系统养分循环中的作用

陆地生态系统的地上、地下是相互联系的。植物与土壤微生物作为陆地生态系统中的重要组成部分, 它们之间的相互作用是生态系统地上、地下结合的重要纽带。该文首先介绍了植物在养分循环中对营养元素的吸收、积累和归还等作用, 阐述了土壤微生物对养分有效性及土壤质量具有重要的作用。其次, 重点综述了植物与土壤微生物之间相互依存、相互竞争的关系。植物通过其凋落物与分泌物为土壤微生物提供营养, 土壤微生物作为分解者提供植物可吸收的营养元素, 比如共生体菌根真菌即可使植物根与土壤真菌达到互惠。然而, 植物的养分吸收与微生物的养分固持同时存在, 因而两者之间存在对养分的竞争。通过植物多样性对土壤微生物多样性的影响分析, 以及土壤微生物直接或间接作用于植物多样性和生产力的分析, 探讨了植物物种多样性与土壤微生物多样性之间的内在联系。针对当前植物与土壤微生物对养分循环的调控机制的争论, 提出植物凋落物是调节植物与土壤微生物养分循环的良好媒介, 植物与土壤微生物的共同作用对维持整个生态系统的稳定性具有重要意义。也指出了目前在陆地生态系统地上、地下研究中存在的不足和亟待解决的问题。     

Vegetation and soil responses to livestock grazing in Central Asian grasslands: a review of Chinese literature

Grasslands in northern China and the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau are particularly important to both ecosystem functioning and pastoral livelihoods. Although there are numerous degradation studies on the effect of livestock grazing across the region, they are largely only published in Chinese, and most focus on single sites. Based on case studies from 100 sites, covering a mean annual precipitation gradient of 95–744 mm, we present a comprehensive, internationally accessible review on the impact of livestock grazing on vegetation and soils. We compared ungrazed or slightly grazed sites with moderately and heavily grazed sites by evaluating changes in two indicator groups: vegetation (plant species richness, vegetation cover, aboveground biomass, belowground biomass and root/shoot ratio) and soil (pH, bulk density, organic C, total N, total P and available P). Most indicators declined with intensified grazing, while soil pH, bulk density and belowground biomass increased. Available P showed no clear response. Variables within indicator groups were mostly linearly correlated at a given grazing intensity. Relative grazing effects on different indicators varied along specific abiotic gradients. Grazing responses of plant species richness, aboveground biomass, soil bulk density, total N and available P interacted with precipitation patterns, while grazing effects on belowground biomass were influenced by temperature. Elevation had impact on grazing responses of aboveground biomass and soil organic carbon. Complex grazing effects reflect both methodological inconsistency and ecological complexity. Further assessments should consider specific characteristics of different indicators in the context of the local environment.     

Are patterns in nutrient limitation belowground consistent with those aboveground: results from a 4 million year chronosequence

Accurately predicting the effects of global change on net carbon (C) exchange between terrestrial ecosystems and the atmosphere requires a more complete understanding of how nutrient availability regulates both plant growth and heterotrophic soil respiration. Models of soil development suggest that the nature of nutrient limitation changes over the course of ecosystem development, transitioning from nitrogen (N) limitation in ‘young’ sites to phosphorus (P) limitation in ‘old’ sites. However, previous research has focused primarily on plant responses to added nutrients, and the applicability of nutrient limitation-soil development models to belowground processes has not been thoroughly investigated. Here, we assessed the effects of nutrients on soil C cycling in three different forests that occupy a 4 million year substrate age chronosequence where tree growth is N limited at the youngest site, co-limited by N and P at the intermediate-aged site, and P limited at the oldest site. Our goal was to use short-term laboratory soil C manipulations (using ¹⁴C-labeled substrates) and longer-term intact soil core incubations to compare belowground responses to fertilization with aboveground patterns. When nutrients were applied with labile C (sucrose), patterns of microbial nutrient limitation were similar to plant patterns: microbial activity was limited more by N than by P in the young site, and P was more limiting than N in the old site. However, in the absence of C additions, increased respiration of native soil organic matter only occurred with simultaneous additions of N and P. Taken together, these data suggest that altered nutrient inputs into ecosystems could have dissimilar effects on C cycling above- and belowground, that nutrients may differentially affect of the fate of different soil C pools, and that future changes to the net C balance of terrestrial ecosystems will be partially regulated by soil nutrient status.     

Nutrient cycling in Pinus sylvestris stands in eastern Finland

Nutrient cycling within three Pinus sylvestris stands was studied in eastern Finland. The aim of the study was to determine annual fluxes and distribution of N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Zn, Fe, B, and Al in the research stands. Special emphasis was put on determining the importance of different fluxes, especially the internal cycle within the trees in satisfying the tree nutrient requirements for biomass production. The following nutrient fluxes were included, input; free precipitation and throughfall, output; percolation through soil profile, biological cycle; nutrient uptake from soil, retranslocation within trees, return to soil in litterfall, release by litter decomposition. The distribution of nutrients was determined in above- and belowground tree compartments, in ground and field vegetation, and in soil.The nitrogen use efficiencies were 181, 211 and 191 g of tree aboveground dry matter produced per g of N supplied by uptake and retranslocation in the sapling, pole stage and mature stands, respectively. Field vegetation was more efficient in nitrogen use than trees. Stand belowground/aboveground and fine root/coarse root biomass ratios decreased with tree age. With only slightly higher fine root biomass, almost three times more nitrogen had to be taken-up from soil for biomass production in the mature stand than in the sapling stand.The annual input-output balances of most nutrients were positive; throughfall contained more nutrients than was lost in mineral soil leachate. The sulphate flux contributed to the leaching of cations, especially magnesium, from soil in the mature stand.Retranslocation supplied 17–42% of the annual N, P and K requirements for tree aboveground biomass production. Precipitation and throughfall were important in transferring K and Mg, and also N in the sapling stand. Litterfall was an important pathway for N, Ca, Mg and micro nutrients, especially in the oldest stands.     

Dynamics of dry matter production in a mixed-grass prairie in western North Dakota

Summary Above- and belowground biomass of primary producers were estimated by the harvest method on 10 dates in 1969 in a mixed-prairie grassland. A range of estimates of above- and belowground net primary production is established using several methods of calculation. The range for aboveground production is 240 to 302 g·m^-2 and 931 to 1221 g·m^-2 for belowground production. Correlation analysis indicated that above- and belowground biomass dynamics are significantly (0.05) related to air and soil temperature, soil water, precipitation, and vapor pressure deficit. Analysis of energy flow through primary producers indicates a net storage of energy in the standing dead, litter, and belowground compartments. Accumulation in the standing dead was 63% of inputs, in the litter 8%, and belowground 37%. Belowground decomposition was 57% of belowground production and the same value aboveground was 50%.     

Effects of nitrogen addition on vegetation and ecosystem carbon in a semi-arid grassland

To clarify responses of plant and soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) pools in grassland ecosystem to N addition, a field experiment was performed in a grassland in Keerqin Sandy Lands, Northeast China. We investigated vegetation composition and C and N pools of plant and soil (0–30 cm) after five consecutive years of N addition at a rate of 20 g N m^?2 y^?1. Vegetation composition and species diversity responded dramatically to N addition, as dominance by C₄ perennials was replaced with C₃ annuals. Carbon in aboveground pool increased significantly (over two-fold), mainly due to the increase of the C in aboveground living plants and surface litter, which increased by 98 and 134%, respectively. Although soil C did not change significantly, the root C pool decreased in response to 5 years of N addition. The total ecosystem C pool was not significantly impacted by N addition because the large soil pool did not respond to N addition, and the increase in aboveground C was offset by the decrease in root C pool. Moreover, N addition significantly increased the aboveground N pool, but had no significant effects on belowground and total ecosystem N pools. Our results suggest that in the mid-term N addition alters the C and N partitioning in above- and belowground pools, but has no significant effects on total ecosystem C and N pools in these N-limited grasslands.     

Grazing history effects on above- and below-ground litter decomposition and nutrient cycling in two co-occurring grasses

Large herbivores may alter carbon and nutrient cycling in soil by changing above- and below-ground litter decomposition dynamics. Grazing effects may reflect changes in plant allocation patterns, and thus litter quality, or the site conditions for decomposition, but the relative roles of these broad mechanisms have rarely been tested. We examined plant and soil mediated effects of grazing history on litter mass loss and nutrient release in two grazing-tolerant grasses, Lolium multiflorum and Paspalum dilatatum, in a humid pampa grassland, Argentina. Shoot and root litters produced in a common garden by conspecific plants collected from grazed and ungrazed sites were incubated under both grazing conditions. We found that grazing history effects on litter decomposition were stronger for shoot than for root material. Root mass loss was neither affected by litter origin nor incubation site, although roots from the grazed origin immobilised more nutrients. Plants from the grazed site produced shoots with higher cell soluble contents and lower lignin:N ratios. Grazing effects mediated by shoot litter origin depended on the species, and were less apparent than incubation site effects. Lolium shoots from the grazed site decomposed and released nutrients faster, whereas Paspalum shoots from the grazed site retained more nutrient than their respective counterparts from the ungrazed site. Such divergent, species-specific dynamics did not translate into consistent differences in soil mineral N beneath decomposing litters. Indeed, shoot mass loss and nutrient release were generally faster in the grazed grassland, where soil N availability was higher. Our results show that grazing influenced nutrient cycling by modifying litter breakdown within species as well as the soil environment for decomposition. They also indicate that grazing effects on decomposition are likely to involve aerial litter pools rather than the more recalcitrant root compartment.     

Positive feedbacks between decomposition and soil nitrogen availability along fertility gradients

Background and aims

We determined the relationship between site N supply and decomposition rates with respect to controls exerted by environment, litter chemistry, and fungal colonization.

Methods

Two reciprocal transplant decomposition experiments were established, one in each of two long-term experiments in oak woodlands in Minnesota, USA: a fire frequency/vegetation gradient, along which soil N availability varies markedly, and a long-term N fertilization experiment. Both experiments used native Quercus ellipsoidalis E.J. Hill and Andropogon gerardii Vitman leaf litter and either root litter or wooden dowels.

Results

Leaf litter decay rates generally increased with soil N availability in both experiments while belowground litter decayed more slowly with increasing soil N. Litter chemistry differed among litter types, and these differences had significant effects on belowground (but not aboveground) decay rates and on aboveground litter N dynamics during decomposition. Fungal colonization of detritus was positively correlated with soil fertility and decay rates.

Conclusions

Higher soil fertility associated with low fire frequency was associated with greater leaf litter production, higher rates of fungal colonization of detritus, more rapid leaf litter decomposition rates, and greater N release in the root litter, all of which likely enhance soil fertility. During decomposition, both greater mass loss and litter N release provide mechanisms through which the plant and decomposer communities provide positive feedbacks to soil fertility as ultimately driven by decreasing fire frequency in N-limited soils and vice versa.     

Effect of altered litter input and nitrogen addition on ecosystem aboveground primary productivity and plant functional group composition in a semiarid grassland

不同的草原利用方式(围封、放牧和割草等)随着大气氮沉降的不断加剧, 改变了凋落物输入量。凋落物作为连接地上-地下碳循环过程的关键环节, 对草原生态系统生产力和碳循环过程影响显著。氮是草原生产力的主要限制因子, 凋落物输入量的变化对草原生态系统结构和功能的影响仍缺乏长期实验证据支持。该研究在内蒙古半干旱典型草原建立一个凋落物输入变化和氮添加控制实验平台, 通过连续6年对群落生产力和功能群组成的监测, 研究了凋落物添加与去除和氮添加对半干旱草原群落生产力和功能群组成的影响。研究发现: 1)凋落物输入量增加和氮添加均显著提高了群落生产力, 在对照和氮添加处理下, 凋落物去除处理导致生产力分别降低了8.4%和7.6%, 而凋落物添加处理使生产力分别提高了10.7%和6.3%; 2)不同植物功能群对凋落物输入变化和氮添加的响应存在差异, 导致群落功能群结构发生变化。随着凋落物输入量增加和氮添加, 群落优势功能群多年生禾草(包括多年生丛生禾草和多年生根茎禾草)的生物量显著提高, 对群落生产力的贡献增加, 在群落中的优势地位增强; 而另一优势功能群多年生杂类草生物量对凋落物和氮添加处理均无显著响应, 进而导致在氮添加处理下其对群落生物量的贡献比例显著降低; 3)凋落物输入主要改善土壤水分状况, 而氮添加则主要通过提高土壤养分含量, 促进群落生产力, 并通过影响主要功能群生物量, 导致群落结构发生变化。以上结果表明, 适当的草原管理方式如围封禁牧和降低放牧强度等都能通过增加凋落物的输入来提高草原生产力, 维持生态系统稳定性。而适量的氮等养分添加管理也有助于提高草原生产力, 促进其恢复。     

The difference between above- and below-ground self-thinning lines in forest communities

Quantifying the self-thinning process in various plant communities has been a long-standing issue in both theoretical and empirical studies. Most studies on plant self-thinning have centered only on aboveground parts, and rarely on belowground parts. There is still a general lack of comparison between above- and belowground self-thinning processes, especially for forest communities. The fundamental mechanistic difference and the functional association between above- and belowground competition indicate that the self-thinning process of belowground parts may be different from that of aboveground parts. We investigated the self-thinning lines for above-ground (M _A), below-ground (M _B), and total biomass (M _T), respectively, across forest communities in China. The results showed that neither the classical self-thinning rule (−3/2 exponent) nor the universal scaling rule (−4/3 exponent) can apply to all the self-thinning relationships across these forest communities and that the self-thinning lines for belowground biomass were flatter and lower than those for aboveground biomass across most of these forest communities.     

不同放牧强度下短花针茅荒漠草原植被-土壤系统有机碳组分储量特征

草地生态系统作为陆地生态系统的重要组成部分,在全球碳循环中发挥着重要作用。以内蒙古短花针茅荒漠草原不同放牧强度样地为研究对象,通过分析地上植物、凋落物、根系、土壤中有机碳和土壤轻组有机碳,研究草原植被-土壤系统有机碳组分储量的变化特征,从碳储量角度为合理利用草原提供指导。研究结果表明:(1)不同放牧强度荒漠草原地上植物碳储量为11.98—44.51 g/m~2,凋落物碳储量10.43—36.12 g/m~2,根系(0—40cm)碳储量502.30—804.31 g/m~2,且对照区(CK)均显著高于中度放牧区(MG)、重度放牧区(HG);(2)0—40cm土壤碳储量为7817.43—9694.16 g/m~2,其中轻度放牧区(LG)碳储量为9694.16 g/m~2,显著高于CK、HG(P0.05);(3)植被—土壤系统的碳储量为8342.14—10494.80 g/m~2,LGMGCKHG,有机碳主要储存于土壤当中,占比约90.54%—93.71%,适度放牧利用有利于发挥草地生态系统的碳汇功能;(4)土壤轻组有机碳储量为484.20—654.62 g/m~2,LG储量最高,表明适度放牧有助于草原土壤营养物质的循环和积累。     

凋落物输入变化和氮添加对半干旱草原群落生产力及功能群组成的影响

不同的草原利用方式(围封、放牧和割草等)随着大气氮沉降的不断加剧, 改变了凋落物输入量。凋落物作为连接地上-地下碳循环过程的关键环节, 对草原生态系统生产力和碳循环过程影响显著。氮是草原生产力的主要限制因子, 凋落物输入量的变化对草原生态系统结构和功能的影响仍缺乏长期实验证据支持。该研究在内蒙古半干旱典型草原建立一个凋落物输入变化和氮添加控制实验平台, 通过连续6年对群落生产力和功能群组成的监测, 研究了凋落物添加与去除和氮添加对半干旱草原群落生产力和功能群组成的影响。研究发现: 1)凋落物输入量增加和氮添加均显著提高了群落生产力, 在对照和氮添加处理下, 凋落物去除处理导致生产力分别降低了8.4%和7.6%, 而凋落物添加处理使生产力分别提高了10.7%和6.3%; 2)不同植物功能群对凋落物输入变化和氮添加的响应存在差异, 导致群落功能群结构发生变化。随着凋落物输入量增加和氮添加, 群落优势功能群多年生禾草(包括多年生丛生禾草和多年生根茎禾草)的生物量显著提高, 对群落生产力的贡献增加, 在群落中的优势地位增强; 而另一优势功能群多年生杂类草生物量对凋落物和氮添加处理均无显著响应, 进而导致在氮添加处理下其对群落生物量的贡献比例显著降低; 3)凋落物输入主要改善土壤水分状况, 而氮添加则主要通过提高土壤养分含量, 促进群落生产力, 并通过影响主要功能群生物量, 导致群落结构发生变化。以上结果表明, 适当的草原管理方式如围封禁牧和降低放牧强度等都能通过增加凋落物的输入来提高草原生产力, 维持生态系统稳定性。而适量的氮等养分添加管理也有助于提高草原生产力, 促进其恢复。     

Resource manipulation effects on net primary production,biomass allocation and rain-use efficiency of two semiarid grassland sites in Inner Mongolia,China

Productivity of semiarid grasslands is affected by soil water and nutrient availability, with water controlling net primary production under dry conditions and soil nutrients constraining biomass production under wet conditions. In order to investigate limitations on plants by the response of root–shoot biomass allocation to water and nitrogen (N) availability, a field experiment, on restoration plots with rainfed, unfertilized control plots, fertilized plots receiving N (25 kg urea-N ha⁻¹) and water (irrigation simulating a wet season), was conducted at two sites with different grazing histories: moderate (MG) and heavy (HG) grazing. Irrigation and N addition had no effect on belowground biomass. Irrigation increased aboveground (ANPP) and belowground net primary production (BNPP) and rain-use efficiency based on ANPP (RUE_ANPP), whereas N addition on rainfed plots had no effect on any of the measured parameters. N fertilizer application on irrigated plots increased ANPP and RUE_ANPP and reduced the root fraction (RF: root dry matter/total dry matter), resulting in smaller N effects on total net primary production (NPP) and rain-use efficiency based on NPP. This suggests that BNPP should be included in evaluating ecosystem responses to resource availability from the whole-plant perspective. N effects on all measured parameters were similar on both sites. However, site HG responded to irrigation with higher ANPP and a lower RF when compared to site MG, indicating that species composition had a pronounced effect on carbon allocation pattern due to below- and aboveground niche complementarity.     

Invasion by an exotic tree alters above and belowground ecosystem components

With the widespread introduction and invasion of exotic plants there is a need for studies that quantify alterations of basic ecosystem structure and function. Ecosystem invasion by Melaleuca quinquenervia significantly altered both above- and belowground ecosystem components in this study. We measured the quantity and nutrient concentration of the litterfall, litter layer, and soil; microbial biomass pools; and rates of potentially mineralizable nitrogen and soil oxygen demand. Annual litterfall was 4.9 times higher in the non-invaded sites and contained 1.9 times more phosphorus than invaded sites. Non-invaded plots contained a larger litter layer compared to invaded plots: 2.4 ± 1.2 kg m⁻² and 0.62 ± 0.3 kg m⁻² , respectively. Lower nutrient concentration and quantity of the litter layer in the invaded plots led to changes in the aboveground storage of nutrients. In the invaded plots there was four times less carbon, seven times less nitrogen, and ten times less phosphorus stored in the organic litter layer compared to the non-invaded plots. Microbial biomass nutrient pools were consistently lower at both the 0–5 cm and 5–15 cm depth in the invaded soils compared to non-invaded soils, indicating a plant mediated change. Although M. quinquenervia altered microbial community structure, microbial activities were not different between invaded and non-invaded plots at either depth as measured by rates of soil oxygen demand and potentially mineralizable nitrogen. These changes may affect both native plant growth and water quality, and may act to promote and maintain site dominance by M. quinquenervia.     

Coordination of aboveground and belowground responses to local‐scale soil fertility differences between two contrasting Jamaican rain forest types

There is growing interest in understanding how declining soil fertility in the prolonged absence of major disturbance drives ecological processes, or ‘ecosystem retrogression’. However, there are few well characterized study systems for exploring this phenomenon in the tropics, despite tropics occupying over 40% of the Earth's terrestrial surface. We studied two types of montane rain forest in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica that represent distinct stages in ecosystem development, i.e. an earlier stage with shallow organic matter and a late stage with deep organic matter (hereafter ‘mull’ and ‘mor’ stages). We characterized responses of soil fertility and plant, soil microbial and nematode communities to the transition from mull to mor and whether these responses were coupled. For soil abiotic properties, we found this transition led to lower amounts of both nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) and an enhanced N to P ratio. This led to shorter‐statured and less diverse forest, and convergence of tree species composition among plots. At the whole community (but not individual species) level foliar and litter N and P diminished from mull to mor, while foliar N to P and resorption efficiency of P relative to N increased, indicating increasing P relative to N limitation. We also found impairment of soil microbes (but not nematodes) and an increasing role of fungi relative to bacteria during the transition. Our results show that retrogression phenomena involving increasing nutrient (notably P) limitation can be important drivers in tropical systems, and are likely to involve aboveground–belowground feedbacks whereby plants produce litter of diminishing quality, impairing soil microbial processes and thus reducing the supply of nutrients from the soil for plant growth. Such feedbacks between plants and the soil, mediated by plant litter and organic matter quality, may serve as major though often overlooked drivers of long term environmental change.