Nitrogen cycling in a northern hardwood forest: Do species matter?

To investigate the influence of individual tree species on nitrogen (N) cycling in forests, we measured key characteristics of the N cycle in small single-species plots of five dominant tree species in the Catskill Mountains of New York State. The species studied were sugar maple (Acer saccharum), American beech (Fagus grandifolia), yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis), eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis), and red oak (Quercus rubra). The five species varied markedly in N cycling characteristics. For example, hemlock plots consistently showed characteristics associated with "slow" N cycling, including low foliar and litter N, high soil C:N, low extractable N pools, low rates of potential net N mineralization and nitrification and low NO ₃ ^– amounts trapped in ion-exchange resin bags buried in the mineral soil. Sugar maple plots had the lowest soil C:N, and the highest levels of soil characteristics associated with NO ₃ ^– production and loss (nitrification, extractable NO ₃ ^– , and resin bag NO ₃ ^– ). In contrast, red oak plots had near-average net mineralization rates and soil C:N ratios, but very low values of the variables associated with NO ₃ ^– production and loss. Correlations between soil N transformations and litter concentrations of N, lignin, lignin:N ratio, or phenolic constituents were generally weak. The inverse correlation between net nitrification rate and soil C:N that has been reported in the literature was present in this data set only if red oak plots were excluded from the analysis. This study indicates that tree species can exert a strong control on N cycling in forest ecosystems that appears to be mediated through the quality of soil organic matter, but that standard measures of litter quality cannot explain the mechanism of control.     

Increasing Red Maple Leaf Litter Alters Decomposition Rates and Nitrogen Cycling in Historically Oak-Dominated Forests of the Eastern U.S.

Without canopy-opening fire disturbances, shade-tolerant, fire-sensitive species like red maple (Acer rubrum L.) proliferate in many historically oak-dominated forests of the eastern U.S. Here, we evaluate potential implications of increased red maple dominance in upland oak forests of Kentucky on rates of leaf litter decomposition and nitrogen (N) cycling. Over 5 years, we evaluated mass loss of leaf litter and changes in total N and carbon (C) within six leaf litter treatments comprised of scarlet oak, chestnut oak, and red maple, and three mixed treatments of increasing red maple contribution to the leaf litter pool (25, 50, and 75% red maple). Over a 1.5-year period, we conducted a plot-level leaf litter manipulation study using the same treatments plus a control and assessed changes in net nitrification, ammonification, and N mineralization within leaf litter and upper (0–5 cm depth) mineral soil horizons. Red maple leaf litter contained more “fast” decomposing material and initially lost mass faster than either oak species. All litter treatments immobilized N during initial stages of decomposition, but the degree of immobilization decreased with decreasing red maple contribution. The leaf litter plot-level experiment confirmed slower N mineralization rates for red maple only plots compared to chestnut oak plots. As red maple increases, initial leaf litter decomposition rates will increase, leading to lower fuel loads and more N immobilization from the surrounding environment. These changes may reduce forest flammability and resource availability and promote red maple expansion and thereby the “mesophication” of eastern forests of the U.S.     

Isopod effects on decomposition of litter produced under elevated CO2, N deposition and different soil types

The performance of Oniscus asellus (Isopoda) and its influence on litter mass loss and mineralization was assessed in a microcosm experiment, using beech (Fagus sylvatica) leaf litter that was produced on different soil types, contrasting atmospheric CO₂ concentrations, and different nitrogen deposition rates. Litter quality was significantly altered by these treatments, and many of the CO₂ and N effects differed between soil types. Litter quality affected subsequent litter mass loss rates, microbial respiration, and leaching of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and nitrate. These effects were largely independent of the presence of isopods, even though isopods highly accelerated litter mass loss, stimulated microbial respiration by 37%, and increased nitrate leaching by 50%. Isopods did not change their relative rates of litter consumption and growth in response to litter quality. Isopod mortality, however, increased with increasing litter lignin/N ratios, and was significantly different between soil types, which may indicate long‐term effects on litter decomposition through altered isopod densities. Having the choice among the litter of three different species [maple (Acer pseudoplatanus), beech (Fagus sylvatica) and oak (Quercus robur)] grown at either ambient or elevated CO₂, isopods preferred maple to beech when all the litter was produced under elevated CO₂. This suggests that beyond changes in consumption, an altered food selection by isopods in a CO₂‐enriched atmosphere may affect the temporal and spatial composition of the litter layer in temperate forests. In contrast to previous findings, we conclude that isopods do not always increase their consumption rates, and hence do not differentially affect microbial decomposition in litter of poorer quality. Nevertheless changes in animal densities and/or shifts in their food preferences, could result in altered decomposition and carbon and nutrient turnover rates.     

Correlation of foliage and litter chemistry of sugar maple, Acer saccharum, as affected by elevated CO2 and varying N availability, and effects on decomposition

Rising atmospheric carbon dioxide has the potential to alter leaf litter chemistry, potentially affecting decomposition and rates of carbon and nitrogen cycling in forest ecosystems. This study was conducted to determine whether growth under elevated atmospheric CO₂ altered the quality and microbial decomposition of leaf litter of a widely distributed northern hardwood species at sites of low and high soil nitrogen availability. In addition, we assessed whether the carbon–nutrient balance (CNB) and growth differentiation balance (GDB) hypotheses could be extended to predict changes in litter quality in response to resource availability. Sugar maple (Acer saccharum) was grown in the field in open‐top chambers at 36 and 55 Pa partial pressure CO₂, and initial soil mineralization rates of 45 and 348 μg N g^?1 d^?1. Naturally senesced leaf litter was assessed for chemical composition and incubated in the laboratory for 111 d. Microbial respiration and the production of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) were quantified as estimates of decomposition. Elevated CO₂ and low soil nitrogen resulted in higher litter concentrations of nonstructural carbohydrates and condensed tannins, higher C/N ratios and lower N concentrations. Soil N availability appears to have had a greater effect on litter quality than did atmospheric CO₂, although the treatments were additive, with highest concentrations of nonstructural carbohydrates and condensed tannins occurring under elevated CO₂–low soil N. Rates of microbial respiration and the production of DOC were insensitive to differences in litter quality. In general, concentrations of litter constituents, except for starch, were highly correlated to those in live foliage, and the CNB/GDB hypotheses proved useful in predicting changes in litter quality. We conclude the chemical composition of sugar maple litter will change in the future in response to rising atmospheric CO₂, and that soil N availability will exert a major control. It appears that microbial metabolism will not be directly affected by changes in litter quality, although conclusions regarding decomposition as a whole must consider the entire soil food web.     

Influence of Tree Species on Forest Nitrogen Retention in the Catskill Mountains, New York, USA

This study examines the effect of four tree species on nitrogen (N) retention within forested catchments of the Catskill Mountains, New York (NY). We conducted a 300-day ¹⁵N field tracer experiment to determine how N moves through soil, microbial, and plant pools under different tree species and fertilization regimes. Samples were collected from single-species plots of American beech (Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.), eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis L.), red oak (Quercus rubra L.), and sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh). Using paired plots we compared the effects of ambient levels of N inputs (11 kg N/ha/y) to additions of 50 kg N/ha/y that began 1.5 years prior to and continued throughout this experiment. Total plot ¹⁵N recovery (litter layer, organic and mineral soil to 12 cm, fine roots, and aboveground biomass) did not vary significantly among tree species, but the distribution of sinks for ¹⁵N within the forest ecosystem did vary. Recovery in the forest floor was significantly lower in sugar maple stands compared to the other species. ¹⁵Nitrogen recovery was 22% lower in the fertilized plots compared to the ambient plots and red oak stands had the largest drop in ¹⁵N recovery as a result of N fertilization. Aboveground biomass became a significantly greater ¹⁵N sink with fertilization, although it retained less than 1% of the tracer addition. These results indicate that different forest types vary in the amount of N retention in the forest floor, and that forest N retention may change depending upon N inputs.     

Microbial Community Structure and Oxidative Enzyme Activity in Nitrogen-amended North Temperate Forest Soils

Large regions of temperate forest are subject to elevated atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition which can affect soil organic matter dynamics by altering mass loss rates, soil respiration, and dissolved organic matter production. At present there is no general model that links these responses to changes in the organization and operation of microbial decomposer communities. Toward that end, we studied the response of litter and soil microbial communities to high levels of N amendment (30 and 80 kg ha^–1 yr^–1) in three types of northern temperate forest: sugar maple/basswood (SMBW), sugar maple/red oak (SMRO), and white oak/black oak (WOBO). We measured the activity of extracellular enzymes (EEA) involved directly in the oxidation of lignin and humus (phenol oxidase, peroxidase), and indirectly, through the production of hydrogen peroxide (glucose oxidase, glyoxal oxidase). Community composition was analyzed by extracting and quantifying phospholipid fatty acids (PLFA) from soils. Litter EEA responses at SMBW sites diverged from those at oak-bearing sites (SMRO, BOWO), but the changes were not statistically significant. For soil, EEA responses were consistent across forests types: phenol oxidase and peroxidase activities declined as a function of N dose (33–73% and 5–41%, respectively, depending on forest type); glucose oxidase and glyoxal oxidase activities increased (200–400% and 150–300%, respectively, depending on forest type). Principal component analysis (PCA) ordinated forest types and treatment responses along two axes; factor 1 (44% of variance) was associated with phenol oxidase and peroxidase activities, factor 2 (31%) with glucose oxidase. Microbial biomass did not respond to N treatment, but nine of the 23 PLFA that formed >1 mol% of total biomass showed statistically significant treatment responses. PCA ordinated forest types and treatment responses along three axes (36%, 26%, 12% of variance). EEA factors 1 and 2 correlated negatively with PLFA factor 1 (r = –0.20 and –0.35, respectively, n = 108) and positively with PLFA factor 3 (r = +0.36 and +0.20, respectively, n = 108). In general, EEA responses were more strongly tied to changes in bacterial PLFA than to changes in fungal PLFA. Collectively, our data suggests that N inhibition of oxidative activity involves more than the repression of ligninase expression by white-rot basidiomycetes.This revised version was published online in November 2004 with corrections to Volume 48.     

Red oak litter promotes a microarthropod functional group that accelerates its decomposition

The contribution of microarthropod activity to litter decomposition varies widely but can be substantial. Oribatid mites are the most diverse and abundant of the microarthropod groups in forest litter. This experiment was designed to examine the effect of litter type and complexity on the diversity and species composition of oribatid mites, and to test whether alterations in species composition due to litter type affected litter decomposition. In an array of plots on a mixed-hardwood site in the mountains of North Carolina, I exposed microarthropod assemblages to a range of litter types: yellow birch, sugar maple, red oak and two mixed litters. Over several years, the litter types selected oribatid mite assemblages of different species composition. By comparing the decomposition of consecutive cohorts of litter, it was possible to detect differences in decomposition accompanying the shifts in the assemblage. A comparison of the mass loss rates between the two litter cohorts over eighteen months reveals similar trajectories for four litter types. In the oak litter, however, the second cohort disappeared significantly faster than the first. In both years, the litters came from the same trees and were nearly identical in initial carbon and nitrogen contents. Since the response was specific to oak litter, it is unlikely that differences in environmental factors are responsible for the faster mass loss of oak. A significant increase of endophagous oribatid mites, those that burrow into plant material, in the second cohort of oak may account for its accelerated decomposition. The woody petioles and thick leaf-planes of oak leaves provide microhabitats for burrowing mites. Endophage activity can accelerate the litter decomposition both through direct comminution of leaf material and by facilitating microbial growth. Because of their low population growth rates, oribatid populations that are reduced by disturbance are slow to recover and by disrupting these non-resilient populations, disturbance may have long-term repercussions for decomposition. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Indirect Effects of Nitrogen Amendments on Organic Substrate Quality Increase Enzymatic Activity Driving Decomposition in a Mesic Grassland

The fate of soil organic carbon (SOC) is determined, in part, by complex interactions between the quality of plant litter inputs, nutrient availability, and the microbial communities that control decomposition rates. This study explores these interactions in a mesic grassland where C and nitrogen (N) availability and plant litter quality have been manipulated using both fertilization and haying for 7 years. We measured a suite of soil parameters including inorganic N, extractable organic C and N (EOC and EON), soil moisture, extracellular enzyme activity (EEA), and the isotopic composition of C and N in the microbial biomass and substrate sources. We use these data to determine how the activity of microbial decomposers was influenced by varying levels of substrate C and N quality and quantity and to explore potential mechanisms explaining the fate of enhanced plant biomass inputs with fertilization. Oxidative EEA targeting relatively recalcitrant C pools was not affected by fertilization. EEA linked to the breakdown of relatively labile C rich substrates exhibited no relationship with inorganic N availability but was significantly greater with fertilization and associated increases in substrate quality. These increases in EEA were not related to an increase in microbial biomass C. The ratio of hydrolytic C:N acquisition enzymes and δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N values of microbial biomass relative to bulk soil C and N, or EOC and EON suggest that microbial communities in fertilized plots were relatively C limited, a feature likely driving enhanced microbial efforts to acquire C from labile sources. These data suggest that in mesic grasslands, enhancements in biomass inputs and quality with fertilization can prompt an increase in EEA within the mineral soil profile with no significant increases in microbial biomass. Our work helps elucidate the microbially mediated fate of enhanced biomass inputs that are greater in magnitude than the associated increases in mineral soil organic matter.     

Does nitrogen availability control rates of litter decomposition in forests?

The effects of increased exogenous N availability on rates of litter decomposition were assessed in several field fertilization trials. In a jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.) forest, needle litter decomposed at the same rate in control plots and in plots fertilized with urea and ammonium nitrate (1350 kg N ha^-1) with or without P and K. Mixed needle litter of western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla (Raf.) Sarg.), western red cedar (Thuja plicata Donn) and Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco) incubated in plots recently amended with sewage sludge (500 kg N ha^-1) lost less weight during 3 years than did litter in control plots. Forest floor material also decomposed more slowly in plots amended with sewage sludge. Paper birch (Betula papyrifera Marsh.) leaf litter placed on sewage sludge (1000 kg N ha^-1), pulp sludge, or sewage-pulp sludge mixtures decomposed at the same rate as leaf litter in control plots. These experiments demonstrate little effect of exogenous N availability on rates of litter decomposition.The influence of endogenous N availability on rates of litter decomposition was examined in a microcosm experiment. Lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta var. latifolia Engelm.) needle litter collected from N-fertilized trees (525 kg N ha^-1 in ammonium nitrate) were 5 times richer in N than needles from control trees (1.56% N versus 0.33% N in control trees), but decomposed at the same rate. Green needles from fertilized trees contained twice as much N as needles from control trees (1.91% N versus 0.88% N), but decomposed at the same rate. These experiments suggest that N availability alone, either exogenous or endogenous, does not control rates of litter decomposition. Increased N availability, through fertilization or deposition, in the absence of changes in vegetation composition, will not alter rates of litter decomposition in forests.     

黄土丘陵区刺槐人工林林龄增加土壤微环境变化对凋落物分解的影响

凋落物所处的土壤微环境是影响其分解的关键因素之一,然而在黄土高原广泛栽植的刺槐人工林中,土壤微环境随林龄增加如何改变、其对凋落物分解过程的影响趋势尚不清楚。为明确上述问题,以油松凋落物(典型的难分解凋落物)和白三叶凋落物(易分解)为对象,分别在林龄为10、20、33 a和43 a的刺槐林地土壤表面进行为期592 d的模拟分解试验,检测凋落物分解特征以及地表土壤理化生物学性质随林龄增加的变化趋势,并分析凋落物分解速率与土壤微环境指标间的关系。结果表明:(1)随林龄增加,油松凋落物的分解速率呈先小幅降低后提高的趋势,白三叶凋落物的分解速率持续提高(P<0.05);(2)总体而言,随林龄增加林地表层土壤温度呈先降后增趋势,土壤湿度、有效磷含量和pH持续降低,而速效氮含量持续提高(P<0.05);(3)林龄增加显著改变了林地土壤微生物群落结构,特别是在各分解时间点时均导致真菌属的明显演替现象。土壤中9种凋落物分解酶的总酶活性和木质纤维素酶活性均在分解第108天时随林龄增加呈先降后增趋势,而在分解第389天和第592天时持续提高(P<0.05)。(4)油松凋落物分解速率仅与土壤总酶活性、真菌群落结构和铵态氮含量呈显著正相关,白三叶凋落物分解速率则与总酶和木质纤维素酶活性、细菌和真菌群落结构、温度和铵态氮含量显著正相关,而与土壤湿度和pH显著负相关(P<0.05)。综上所述,刺槐林龄增加引起的土壤理、化和生物微环境变化总体倾向于加速凋落物的分解过程。     

Nitrogen Addition Increases Carbon Storage in Soils, But Not in Trees, in an Eastern U.S. Deciduous Forest

Forest ecosystems in most industrialized and agricultural regions receive elevated rates of atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition from air pollution. To evaluate the effects of excess N deposition on carbon (C) and N cycling, we experimentally added N (as NH₄NO₃) to naturally-occurring, single-species plots of five different tree species that are common in the Northern Hardwood forests of northeastern North America: sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh), American beech (Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.), yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis Britton), eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis (L.) Carr), and northern red oak (Quercus rubra L.). The experiment was performed in the Catskill Mountains of southeastern New York State, USA, and used a paired-plot design with six replicate plots per species. After 6 years of treatment, most species showed increases in foliar N concentrations in N-treated plots, but only for maple and birch were those increases statistically significant. No significant effects of the N treatment were observed on woody biomass increment or aboveground net primary production (ANPP) for any species. In the oak plots, the N treatment increased acorn production in mast years. In the soils, the N treatment was associated with a significant decline in potential N mineralization and nitrification rates in the mineral horizon but not in the forest floor, and in the mineral horizon the effect of the N treatment varied among species. The N treatment caused a significant increase in C stock, N stock and C:N ratio in the forest floor, with the largest effect in the hemlock plots. Nitrate leaching increased significantly in treated plots compared to controls. Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in soil solution was unaffected by the N treatment, but the variation in DOC across plots was correlated with the C stock in the forest floor. These results suggest that the ANPP of these forests is not limited by N availability, but that excess N may cause accumulations of C in the forest floor, particularly in hemlock stands, perhaps through inhibition of decomposition rates or by altering phenolic chemistry of the litter. The magnitude, and sometimes the direction of the N treatment responses varied among species, suggesting that predictions of forest responses to elevated N deposition should take into account spatial and temporal variation in tree species composition.     

Survival ofSclerotinia minor Jagger sclerotia in solarized soil

Calcium, magnesium and potassium dynamics in decomposing litter of three tree species were measured over a two-year period. The speices studied were flowering dogwood (Cornus florida), red maple (Acer rubrum) and chestnut oak (Quercus prinus). The order of decomposition was:C. florida>A. rubrum>Q. prinus.Calcium concentrations increased following any initial leaching losses. However, there were net releases of Ca from all three litter types since mass loss exceeded the increases in concentration. Net release of Ca by the end of two years from all three species combined was 42% of initial inputs in litterfall. Magnesium concentrations increased in the second year, following decreases due to leaching during the first year inC. florida andA. rubrum litter. Net release of Mg by the end of two years was 58% of initial inputs. Potassium concentrations decreased rapidly and continued to decline throughout the study. Net release of K by the end of two years was 91% of initial inputs.These data on cation dynamics, and similar data on N, S and P dynamics from a previous study, were combined with annual litterfall data to estimate the release of selected nutrients from foliar litter of these tree species at the end of one and two years of decomposition. The relative mobility of all six elements examined in relation to mass loss after two years was; K>Mg>mass>Ca>S>P>N.     

In situ litter decomposition and litter quality in a Mojave Desert ecosystem: effects of elevated atmospheric CO2 and interannual climate variability

Rising atmospheric CO₂ has been predicted to reduce litter decomposition as a result of CO₂‐induced reductions in litter quality. However, available data have not supported this hypothesis in mesic ecosystems, and no data are available for desert or semi‐arid ecosystems, which account for more than 35% of the Earth's land area. The objective of our study was to explore controls on litter decomposition in the Mojave Desert using elevated CO₂ and interannual climate variability as driving environmental factors. In particular, we sought to evaluate the extent to which decomposition is modulated by litter chemistry (C:N) and litter species and tissue composition. Naturally senesced litter was collected from each of nine 25 m diameter experimental plots, with six plots exposed to ambient [CO₂] or 367 μL CO₂ L^?1 and three plots continuously fumigated with elevated [CO₂] (550 μL CO₂ L^?1) using FACE technology beginning in April 1997. All litter collected in 1998 (a wet, or El Niño year; 306 mm precipitation) was pooled as was litter collected in 1999 (a dry year; 94 mm). Samples were allowed to decompose for 4 and 12 months starting in May 2001 in mesh litterbags in the locations from which litter was collected. Decomposition of litter produced under elevated CO₂ and ambient CO₂ did not differ. Litter produced in the wetter year showed more rapid initial decomposition (over the first 4 months) than that produced in the drier year (27±2% yr^?1 or 7.8±0.7 g m^?2 yr^?1 for 1998 litter; 18±3% yr^?1 or 2.2±0.4 g m^?2 yr^?1 for 1999 litter). C:N ratios of litter produced under elevated CO₂ (wet year: 37±0.5; dry year: 42±2.5) were higher than those of litter produced under ambient CO₂ (wet year: 34±1.1; dry year: 35±1.4). Litter production in the wet year (amb. CO₂: 25.1±1.1 g m^?2 yr^?1; elev. CO₂: 35.0±1.1 g m^?2 yr^?1) was more than twice as high as that in the dry year (amb. CO₂: 11.6±1.7 g m^?2, elev. CO₂: 13.3±3.4 g m^?2), and contained a greater proportion of Lycium pallidum and a lower proportion of Larrea tridentata than litter produced in the dry year. Decomposition, viewed across all treatments, decreased with increasing C:N ratios, decreased with increasing proportions of Larrea tridentata and increased with increasing proportions of Lycium pallidum and Lycium andersonii. Because litter C:N did not vary by litter production year, and CO₂ did not alter decomposition or litter species/tissue composition, it is likely that the impact of year‐to‐year variation in precipitation on the proportion of key plant species in the litter may be the most important way in which litter decomposition will be modulated in the Mojave Desert under future rising atmospheric CO₂.     

A sporulation medium forDiscula destructiva,the dogwood anthracnose fungus

A growth medium incorporating finely ground oak or maple leaf tissue was developed for the purpose of increasing in vitro conidium production by the dogwood anthracnose pathogen,Discula destructiva.     

Winter climate change implications for decomposition in northeastern forests: comparisons of sugar maple litter with herbivore fecal inputs

Forests in northeastern North America are influenced by varying climatic and biotic factors; however, there is concern that rapid changes in these factors may lead to important changes in ecosystem processes such as decomposition. Climate change (especially warming) is predicted to increase rates of decomposition in northern latitudes. Warming in winter may result in complex effects including decreased levels of snow cover and an increased incidence of soil freezing that will effect decomposition. Along with these changes in climate, moose densities have also been increasing in this region, likely affecting nutrient dynamics. We measured decomposition and N release from ¹⁵N‐labeled sugar maple leaf litter and moose feces over 20 months in reference and snow removal treatment (to induce soil freezing) plots in two separate experiments at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest in New Hampshire, USA. Snow removal/soil freezing decreased decomposition of maple litter, but stimulated N transfer to soil and microbial biomass. Feces decomposed more rapidly than maple litter, and feces N moved into the mineral soil more than N derived from litter, likely due to the lower C : N ratio of feces. Feces decomposition was not affected by the snow removal treatment. Total microbial biomass (measured as microbial N and C) was not significantly affected by the treatments in either the litter or feces plots. These results suggest that increases in soil freezing and/or large herbivore populations, increase the transfer rate of N from plant detritus or digested plants into the mineral soil. Such changes suggest that altering the spatial and temporal patterns of soil freezing and moose density have important implications for ecosystem N cycling.     

Elevated temperature may intensify the positive effects of nutrients on microbial decomposition in streams

相似文献   

Effects of elevated CO2 and nitrogen fertilization pretreatments on decomposition on tallgrass prairie leaf litter

Standing dead and green foliage litter was collected in early November 1990 from Andropogon gerardii (C₄), Sorghastrum nutans (C₄), and Poa pratensis (C₃) plants that were grown in large open-top chambers under ambient or twice ambient CO₂ and with or without nitrogen fertilization (45 kg N ha⁻¹). The litter was placed in mesh bags on the soil surface of pristine prairie adjacent to the growth treatment plots and allowed to decay under natural conditions. Litter bags were retrieved at fixed intervals and litter was analyzed for mass loss, carbon chemistry, and total Kjeldahl nitrogen and phosphorus. The results indicate that growth treatments had a relatively minor effect on the initial chemical composition of the litter and its subsequent rate of decay or chemical composition. This suggests that a large indirect effect of CO₂ on surface litter decomposition in the tallgrass prairie would not occur by way of changes in chemistry of leaf litter. However, there was a large difference in characteristics of leaf litter decomposition among the species. Poa leaf litter had a different initial chemistry and decayed more rapidly than C₄ grasses. We conclude that an indirect effect of CO₂ on decomposition and nutrient cycling could occur if CO₂ induces changes in the relative aboveground biomass of the prairie species.     

Leaf litter identity alters the timing of lotic nutrient dynamics

相似文献   

Litter Breakdown and Microbial Succession on Two Submerged Leaf Species in a Small Forested Stream

Microbial succession during leaf breakdown was investigated in a small forested stream in west-central Georgia, USA, using multiple culture-independent techniques. Red maple (Acer rubrum) and water oak (Quercus nigra) leaf litter were incubated in situ for 128 days, and litter breakdown was quantified by ash-free dry mass (AFDM) method and microbial assemblage composition using phospholipid fatty acid analysis (PLFA), ribosomal intergenic spacer analysis (RISA), denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE), and bar-coded next-generation sequencing of 16S rRNA gene amplicons. Leaf breakdown was faster for red maple than water oak. PLFA revealed a significant time effect on microbial lipid profiles for both leaf species. Microbial assemblages on maple contained a higher relative abundance of bacterial lipids than oak, and oak microbial assemblages contained higher relative abundance of fungal lipids than maple. RISA showed that incubation time was more important in structuring bacterial assemblages than leaf physicochemistry. DGGE profiles revealed high variability in bacterial assemblages over time, and sequencing of DGGE-resolved amplicons indicated several taxa present on degrading litter. Next-generation sequencing revealed temporal shifts in dominant taxa within the phylum Proteobacteria, whereas γ-Proteobacteria dominated pre-immersion and α- and β-Proteobacteria dominated after 1 month of instream incubation; the latter groups contain taxa that are predicted to be capable of using organic material to fuel further breakdown. Our results suggest that incubation time is more important than leaf species physicochemistry in influencing leaf litter microbial assemblage composition, and indicate the need for investigation into seasonal and temporal dynamics of leaf litter microbial assemblage succession.     

Shredder abundance and leaf breakdown in an Appalachian Mountain stream

SUMMARY.

• 1 Breakdown rates of dogwood (Cornus florida L.), red maple (Acer rubrum L.) and white oak (Quercus alba L.) leaves were investigated at two first-order and two second-order sites in an Appalachian Mountain stream.
• 2 Leaves exposed in mesh bags were sampled on eight occasions over a 207 day period and breakdown rates were compared using an exponential decay model.
• 3 There was a consistent ranking in leaf breakdown rate within each site, i.e. dogwood > red maple > white oak, and all species broke down faster at second-than at first-order sites.
• 4 Our data suggest that differences in species-specific leaf breakdown rates were largely a function of shredder abundance on the leaves.