Species-dependent responses of soil microbial properties to fresh leaf inputs in a subtropical forest soil in South China

Aims Forest disturbance from extreme weather events due to climate change could increase the contribution of fresh green leaves to the litter layer of soil and subsequently alter the composition and activity of the soil microbial properties and soil carbon cycling. The objective of this study was to compare the effect of naturally fallen litter and fresh leaves on the soil microbial community composition and their activities.Methods Fresh leaves and normal fallen litter were collected from four tree species (Pinus elliottii, Schima superba, Acacia mangium, A. auriculaeformis) in subtropical China and mixed with soil. Soil microbial community composition was determined using PLFAs, and its activity was quantified by soil respiration. During a 12-month period, the decomposition rate of litter was measured bimonthly using a litterbag method. Soil microbial samples were collected after 6 and 12 months. Soil respiration was measured monthly.Important findings We found that fresh leaves decomposed faster than their conspecific fallen litter. Although total microbial biomass and bacterial biomass were similar among treatments, soil fungal biomass was higher in fresh leaf than fallen litter treatments, resulting in greater values of the Fungal phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs)/Bacterial PLFAs ratio. Fungal PLFA values were greater for Schima superba than the other species. The effect of litter type on soil respiration was species-dependent. Specifically, fallen litter released 35% more CO₂ than fresh leaves of the conifer P. elliottii. The opposite pattern was observed in the broadleaf species whose fresh leaf treatments emitted 17%–32% more CO₂ than fallen litter. Given future predictions that global climate change will cause more disturbances to forests, these results indicate that conifer and broadleaf forests in subtropical China may respond differently to increased fresh litter inputs, with net soil microbial respiration decreasing in conifer forests and increasing in broadleaf forests.     

Characterization of fungal soil communities by F-RISA and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi fromAraucaria angustifolia forest soils after replanting and wildfire disturbances

The Fungal Ribosomallntergenic Spacer Analysis (F-RlSA) was used to characterize soil fungal communities from three Cecosystems ofAraucaria angustifolia from Brazil: a native forest and two replanted forest ecosystems, one of them with a past history of wildfire. The arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) infection was evaluated inAraucaria roots of 18-monthold axenic plants previously inoculated with soils collected from those areas in a greenhouse experiment. The principal componentanalysis of F-RISA profiles showed different soil fungal community betweenthe three studied areas. Sixty three percent of F-RISA fragments amplified in the soil and the substrate samples presented lengths between 500 and 700 bp. The number of Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs) was 34 for soil and 38 for substrate, however, more fragments were detected in soil (214) than in substrate (163). Anin silico F-RISA analysis to compare our data with ITSI-5.8S-ITS2 sequences from NCBI database showed the presence of Ascomycota, Basidiomycota and Glomeromycota among the soil and substrate fungal communities. AMF infection was higher in plants inoculated with soil from the native forest and the replanted forest with wildfire, both presenting similar chemical characteristics but with different disturbance levels. These results indicate that soil chemical composition may influence the soil fungal community structures rather than the anthropogenicor fire disturbances.     

Forest regrowth as the controlling factor of soil nutrient availability 75 years after fire in a deciduous forest of Southern Quebec

The effects of secondary succession on soil nutrient availability following fire in the 1920s was investigated in a hardwood forest of southern Quebec by correlation analyses between soil and solution chemistry, tree species composition, tree growth, litterfall nutrient fluxes and presence of charcoal monitored in six 300 m² plots between 1994 and 1998. The results suggests that the pioneer stand of largetooth aspen, paper birch and yellow birch that followed fire enriched the forest floor and upper mineral soil with its K-rich litter, but lowered solution NH₄, NO₃ and Mg concentrations through its high nutrient demand. High woody biomass primarily observed in the maple-dominated stands was associated with low exchangeable base cation concentrations in the forest floor, suggesting that nutrient immobilisation in trees is also a significant process leading to spatial variation in base cation availability in the forest floor. Finally, charcoal was positively correlated with exchangeable base cations in the forest floor which leads to believe that charcoal has a high affinity for base cations and that it can increase base cation availability decades after forest fire disturbance.     

林火干扰对广东木荷林生态系统碳库的影响

森林碳库在调节CO₂浓度及减缓温室效应中发挥重要作用。选择广东木荷林为研究对象,通过相邻样地法,进行植被生物量、凋落物生物量和土壤样品的采样与分析,研究不同林火干扰强度对生态系统各碳库(植被、凋落物和土壤有机碳)及生态系统碳库产生的变化规律和空间分布格局及其影响因素。结果表明:(1)植被碳密度随着林火干扰强度增强而减少,但不同组分的植被碳密度表现不同,乔木碳密度在不同林火干扰强度下变化与植被碳密度变化一致,而草本碳密度则呈现相反的变化趋势。相同林火干扰强度下,植被各组分碳密度均以乔木层降低幅度最大。林火干扰均显著降低了凋落物碳密度(P<0.05),并随林火干扰强度的增加其降低幅度增大,但不同林火干扰强度对凋落物碳密度的影响有所差异。林火干扰降低了土壤有机碳密度,且降低幅度随土层深度增加而逐渐变小。(2)林火干扰有效改变了生态系统碳库的空间分布格局。对照样地木荷林土壤有机碳库占比为61.59%,重度林火干扰后,土壤有机碳库占比为70.96%呈上升趋势,占生态系统碳库的优势地位,而植被和凋落物碳库占比呈下降趋势,处于生态系统碳库的次要地位。(3)双因素方差分析表明,林火干扰强度和土层深度及其交互作用均对土壤有机碳密度有显著影响。林火干扰强度解释了土壤有机碳密度变异的8.78%,土层深度解释了土壤有机碳密度变异的70.29%,林火干扰强度和土层深度之间的交互作用解释了土壤有机碳密度变异的8.16%。研究发现:林火干扰降低了生态系统碳库,且随林火干扰强度增加,生态系统碳库减少幅度增大。轻度林火干扰对森林生态系统碳库的影响差异不显著,而中度和重度林火干扰对森林生态系统碳库的影响差异显著。研究结果对深化亚热带森林固碳效应的影响机制提供理论支撑。     

Changes to the N cycle following bark beetle outbreaks in two contrasting conifer forest types

Outbreaks of Dendroctonus beetles are causing extensive mortality in conifer forests throughout North America. However, nitrogen (N) cycling impacts among forest types are not well known. We quantified beetle-induced changes in forest structure, soil temperature, and N cycling in Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) forests of Greater Yellowstone (WY, USA), and compared them to published lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta var. latifolia) data. Five undisturbed stands were compared to five beetle-killed stands (4–5 years post-outbreak). We hypothesized greater N cycling responses in Douglas-fir due to higher overall N stocks. Undisturbed Douglas-fir stands had greater litter N pools, soil N, and net N mineralization than lodgepole pine. Several responses to disturbance were similar between forest types, including a pulse of N-enriched litter, doubling of soil N availability, 30–50 % increase in understory cover, and 20 % increase in foliar N concentration of unattacked trees. However, the response of some ecosystem properties notably varied by host forest type. Soil temperature was unaffected in Douglas-fir, but lowered in lodgepole pine. Fresh foliar %N was uncorrelated with net N mineralization in Douglas-fir, but positively correlated in lodgepole pine. Though soil ammonium and nitrate, net N mineralization, and net nitrification all doubled, they remained low in both forest types (<6 μg N g soil^?1 NH₄ ⁺or NO₃ ^?; <25 μg N g soil^?1 year^?1 net N mineralization; <8 μg N g soil^?1 year^?1 net nitrification). Results suggest that beetle disturbance affected litter and soil N cycling similarly in each forest type, despite substantial differences in pre-disturbance biogeochemistry. In contrast, soil temperature and soil N–foliar N linkages differed between host forest types. This result suggests that disturbance type may be a better predictor of litter and soil N responses than forest type due to similar disturbance mechanisms and disturbance legacies across both host–beetle systems.     

河北小五台山国家级自然保护区森林群落与环境的关系

植物与环境之间的关系是一个复杂的演变过程,运用数量生态学方法探讨森林群落的物种组成、种群的生态特征、不同植物群落与环境之间的关系,有助于保护该区森林群落的稳定性和生物多样性。根据148个森林群落样方数据,选用双向指示种分析(TWINSPAN)和典范对应分析(CCA)方法,对河北小五台山国家级自然保护区森林群落进行分类和排序研究。结果表明:(1)TWINSPAN将该区的森林群落分为20个类型;(2)CCA排序结果较好地反映出群落分布格局与环境梯度的关系,各个森林群落类型在前两轴分异明显,在11个环境因子中,海拔、坡位、凋落层厚度、土壤导电率、土壤温度、土壤湿度、土壤厚度和干扰程度这8个环境因子对森林群落的分布起较大的作用,影响森林群落的分布格局,形成不同的植被类型。(3)乔木层优势种的CCA二维排序图所揭示的环境梯度与群落类型的分布有很大的相似性;t值双序图阐明了海拔、凋落层厚度、土壤温度、干扰程度等环境因子对森林群落乔木层优势种有着重要影响。采用TWINSPAN分类与CCA排序的方法,较好地解释了森林群落与环境因子的关系,为小五台山地区森林生态系统的科学管理和保护提供了理论依据,研究结果也为同类地区森林生态系统研究及保护提供参考和借鉴。     

Quantifying variation in forest disturbance,and its effects on aboveground biomass dynamics,across the eastern United States

The role of tree mortality in the global carbon balance is complicated by strong spatial and temporal heterogeneity that arises from the stochastic nature of carbon loss through disturbance. Characterizing spatio‐temporal variation in mortality (including disturbance) and its effects on forest and carbon dynamics is thus essential to understanding the current global forest carbon sink, and to predicting how it will change in future. We analyzed forest inventory data from the eastern United States to estimate plot‐level variation in mortality (relative to a long‐term background rate for individual trees) for nine distinct forest regions. Disturbances that produced at least a fourfold increase in tree mortality over an approximately 5 year interval were observed in 1–5% of plots in each forest region. The frequency of disturbance was lowest in the northeast, and increased southwards along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts as fire and hurricane disturbances became progressively more common. Across the central and northern parts of the region, natural disturbances appeared to reflect a diffuse combination of wind, insects, disease, and ice storms. By linking estimated covariation in tree growth and mortality over time with a data‐constrained forest dynamics model, we simulated the implications of stochastic variation in mortality for long‐term aboveground biomass changes across the eastern United States. A geographic gradient in disturbance frequency induced notable differences in biomass dynamics between the least‐ and most‐disturbed regions, with variation in mortality causing the latter to undergo considerably stronger fluctuations in aboveground stand biomass over time. Moreover, regional simulations showed that a given long‐term increase in mean mortality rates would support greater aboveground biomass when expressed through disturbance effects compared with background mortality, particularly for early‐successional species. The effects of increased tree mortality on carbon stocks and forest composition may thus depend partly on whether future mortality increases are chronic or episodic in nature.     

Impacts of nitrogen-fixing and non-nitrogen-fixing tree species on soil respiration and microbial community composition during forest management in subtropical China

Forest management with N-fixing trees can improve soil fertility and tree productivity, but have little information regarding belowground carbon processes and microbial properties. We aimed to evaluate the effects of three forest management regimes, which were Erythrophleum fordii (N-fixing tree), Pinus massoniana (non-N-fixing tree), and their mixed forest, on soil respiration and microbial community composition in subtropical China, using Barometric Process Separation and phospholipid fatty acid profiles, respectively. We found that the inclusions of N-fixing species in forests significantly increased the soil respiration, but have no effects on SOC and ecosystem total C stock. In addition, soil microbial communities were obviously different among the three forest management regimes. For instance, total and bacterial PLFAs were higher in the E. fordii and mixed forest than in the P. massoniana forest. Conversely, fungal PLFAs in the P. massoniana forest were elevated versus the other two forests. Soil total N, nitrate-N and pH were the key determinants shaping the microbial community composition. Our study suggests that variations in soil respiration in the studied forests could be primarily explained by the differences of root biomass and soil microbial biomass, but not soil organic carbon. Although soil fertility and microbial biomass were promoted, N-fixing plantings also brought on increased CO₂ emissions in laboratory assays. The future decision of tree species selection for forest management in subtropical China therefore needs to consider the potential influences of tree species on CO₂ emissions.     

人为干扰对中亚热带森林生物量及其空间分布格局的影响

为揭示不同程度的人为干扰对中亚热带森林生物量及其空间分布格局的影响机制,在湘中丘陵区4种处于不同程度的人为干扰、地域相邻的植物群落:檵木-南烛-满山红灌草丛(LVR)、檵木-杉木-白栎灌木林(LCQ)、马尾松-石栎-檵木针阔混交林(PLL)、石栎-红淡比-青冈常绿阔叶林(LAG)设置固定样地,结合植物群落调查,采用收获法和建立主要树种各器官生物量相对生长方程,测定和估算群落生物量。结果表明:(1)随着人为干扰程度减弱,群落总生物量呈显著的指数函数增长(P0.05),地上部分、地下部分生物量表现为异速生长,LAG与PLL乔木层生物量差异不显著(P0.05),4个群落灌木层生物量及其各器官、地上部分、地下部分生物量均呈先增加后下降的变化特征,草本层生物量及其地上部分、地下部分生物量先下降再增高,凋落物层现存量总体上呈增加趋势;(2)不同程度的人为干扰,群落生物量的空间分布格局不同,LVR群落灌木层、草本层生物量相当,LCQ群落灌木层生物量占明显优势,草本层生物量下降,PLL和LAG群落乔木层生物量占绝对优势,灌木层、草本层和凋落物层生物量占群落总生物量低于10%;(3)群落总生物量与树种多样性指数呈显著的正相关(P0.05),与土壤有机碳、全氮、水解氮、有效磷含量呈显著的正相关(P0.05),表明不同程度的人为干扰造成群落树种多样性、土壤养分含量的变化,是导致群落生物量变化的主要因素。     

Influence of nutrients,disturbances and site conditions on carbon stocks along a boreal forest transect in central Canada

The interacting influence of disturbances and nutrient dynamics on aboveground biomass, forest floor, and mineral soil C stocks was assessed as part of the Boreal Forest Transect Case Study in central Canada. This transect covers a range of forested biomes–-from transitional grasslands (aspen parkland) in the south, through boreal forests, and into the forested subarctic woodland in the north. The dominant forest vegetation species are aspen, jack pine and spruce. Disturbances influence biomass C stocks in boreal forests by determining its age-class structure, altering nutrient dynamics, and changing the total nutrient reserves of the stand. Nitrogen is generally the limiting nutrient in these systems, and N availability determines biomass C stocks by affecting the forest dynamics (growth rates and site carrying capacity) throughout the life cycle of a forest stand. At a given site, total and available soil N are determined both by biotic factors (such as vegetation type and associated detritus pools) and abiotic factors (such as N deposition, soil texture, and drainage). Increasing clay content, lower temperatures and reduced aeration are expected to lead to reduced N mineralization and, ultimately, lower N availability and reduced forest productivity. Forest floor and mineral soil C stocks vary with changing balances between complex sets of organic carbon inputs and outputs. The changes in forest floor and mineral soil C pools at a given site, however, are strongly related to the historical changes in biomass at that site. Changes in N availability alter the processes regulating both inputs and outputs of carbon to soil stocks. N availability in turn is shaped by past disturbance history, litter fall rate, site characteristics and climatic factors. Thus, understanding the life-cycle dynamics of C and N as determined by age-class structure (disturbances) is essential for quantifying past changes in forest level C stocks and for projecting their future change.     

Bamboo dominance reduces tree regeneration in a disturbed tropical forest

Human disturbance may change dominance hierarchies of plant communities, and may cause substantial changes in biotic environmental conditions if the new dominant species have properties that differ from the previous dominant species. We examined the effects of bamboos (Bambusa tulda and Cephalostachyum pergracile) and their litter on the overall woody seedling abundance, species richness and diversity in a mixed deciduous forest in northeastern Thailand. These bamboo species are gaining dominance after human disturbance. Our results show that seedling abundance and species richness were reduced by bamboo canopies. Seedling abundance and species diversity under bamboo canopies were affected by bamboo litter, whereas seedling abundance and species diversity outside bamboo canopies did not respond to the mixed-tree litter manipulation. Removal of bamboo litter increased seedling abundance and species diversity. However, bamboo litter addition did not affect seedling abundance or species diversity compared to either control or litter removal. This may indicate that the effect of natural amount of bamboo litter is as high as for litter addition in preventing seedling establishment by woody species and hence in minimizing resource competition. We conclude that undergrowth bamboos and their litter affect tree seedling regeneration differently from mixed-tree litter, causing changes in plant community composition and species diversity. Increased human disturbance, causing a shift in dominance structure of these forests, may result in a concomitant reduction in their overall woody species abundance, richness and diversity. Thus, management of bamboos by controlling their distribution in areas of high bamboo density can be an important forest restoration method.     

Effect of soil microorganisms and labile C availability on soil respiration in response to litter inputs in forest ecosystems: A meta‐analysis

Litter inputs can influence soil respiration directly through labile C availability and, indirectly, through the activity of soil microorganisms and modifications in soil microclimate; however, their relative contributions and the magnitude of any effect remain poorly understood. We synthesized 66 recently published papers on forest ecosystems using a meta‐analysis approach to investigate the effect of litter inputs on soil respiration and the underlying mechanisms involved. Our results showed that litter inputs had a strong positive impact on soil respiration, labile C availability, and the abundance of soil microorganisms, with less of an impact related to soil moisture and temperature. Overall, soil respiration was increased by 36% and 55%, respectively, in response to natural and doubled litter inputs. The increase in soil respiration induced by litter inputs showed a tendency for coniferous forests (50.7%)> broad‐leaved forests (41.3%)> mixed forests (31.9%). This stimulation effect also depended on stand age with 30‐ to 100‐year‐old forests (53.3%) and ≥100‐year‐old forests (50.2%) both 1.5 times larger than ≤30‐year‐old forests (34.5%). Soil microbial biomass carbon and soil dissolved organic carbon increased by 21.0%‐33.6% and 60.3%‐87.7%, respectively, in response to natural and doubled litter inputs, while soil respiration increased linearly with corresponding increases in soil microbial biomass carbon and soil dissolved organic carbon. Natural and doubled litter inputs increased the total phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) content by 6.6% and 19.7%, respectively, but decreased the fungal/bacterial PLFA ratio by 26.9% and 18.7%, respectively. Soil respiration also increased linearly with increases in total PLFA and decreased linearly with decreases in the fungal/bacterial PLFA ratio. The contribution of litter inputs to an increase in soil respiration showed a trend of total PLFA > fungal/bacterial PLFA ratio > soil dissolved organic carbon > soil microbial biomass carbon. Therefore, in addition to forest type and stand age, labile C availability and soil microorganisms are also important factors that influence soil respiration in response to litter inputs, with soil microorganisms being more important than labile C availability.     

Biodiversity and climate determine the functioning of Neotropical forests

Aim

Tropical forests account for a quarter of the global carbon storage and a third of the terrestrial productivity. Few studies have teased apart the relative importance of environmental factors and forest attributes for ecosystem functioning, especially for the tropics. This study aims to relate aboveground biomass (AGB) and biomass dynamics (i.e., net biomass productivity and its underlying demographic drivers: biomass recruitment, growth and mortality) to forest attributes (tree diversity, community‐mean traits and stand basal area) and environmental conditions (water availability, soil fertility and disturbance).

Location

Neotropics.

Methods

We used data from 26 sites, 201 1‐ha plots and >92,000 trees distributed across the Neotropics. We quantified for each site water availability and soil total exchangeable bases and for each plot three key community‐weighted mean functional traits that are important for biomass stocks and productivity. We used structural equation models to test the hypothesis that all drivers have independent, positive effects on biomass stocks and dynamics.

Results

Of the relationships analysed, vegetation attributes were more frequently associated significantly with biomass stocks and dynamics than environmental conditions (in 67 vs. 33% of the relationships). High climatic water availability increased biomass growth and stocks, light disturbance increased biomass growth, and soil bases had no effect. Rarefied tree species richness had consistent positive relationships with biomass stocks and dynamics, probably because of niche complementarity, but was not related to net biomass productivity. Community‐mean traits were good predictors of biomass stocks and dynamics.

Main conclusions

Water availability has a strong positive effect on biomass stocks and growth, and a future predicted increase in (atmospheric) drought might, therefore, potentially reduce carbon storage. Forest attributes, including species diversity and community‐weighted mean traits, have independent and important relationships with AGB stocks, dynamics and ecosystem functioning, not only in relatively simple temperate systems, but also in structurally complex hyper‐diverse tropical forests.     

菌根真菌影响森林生态系统碳循环研究进展

森林生态系统在全球碳(C)储量中占据极为重要的地位。菌根真菌广泛存在于森林生态系统中,在森林生态系统C循环过程中发挥重要的作用。阐述了不同菌根类型真菌在森林生态系统C循环过程中的功能,对比了温带/北方森林与热带/亚热带森林中菌根真菌介导的C循环研究方面新近取得的研究结果。发现温带和北方森林的外生菌根(EcM)植物对地上生物量C的贡献相对较小,然而是地下C储量的主要贡献者;以丛枝菌根(AM)共生为主的热带/亚热带森林地表生物量占比较高,表明AM植被对热带/亚热带森林地上生物量C的贡献相对较大。我们还就全球变化背景下,菌根真菌及其介导的森林生态系统C汇功能,以及不同菌根类型树种影响C循环的机制等进行了总结。菌根真菌通过影响凋落物分解、土壤有机质形成及地下根系生物量,进而影响整个森林生态系统的C循环功能。菌根介导的森林C循环过程很大程度上取决于(优势)树木的菌根类型和森林土壤中菌根真菌的群落结构。最后指出了当前研究存在的主要问题以及未来研究展望。本文旨在明确菌根真菌在森林生态系统C循环转化过程中的重要生态功能,有助于准确地评估森林生态系统C汇现状,为应对全球变化等提供重要的依据。     

Experimental litterfall manipulation drives large and rapid changes in soil carbon cycling in a wet tropical forest

Global changes such as variations in plant net primary production are likely to drive shifts in leaf litterfall inputs to forest soils, but the effects of such changes on soil carbon (C) cycling and storage remain largely unknown, especially in C‐rich tropical forest ecosystems. We initiated a leaf litterfall manipulation experiment in a tropical rain forest in Costa Rica to test the sensitivity of surface soil C pools and fluxes to different litter inputs. After only 2 years of treatment, doubling litterfall inputs increased surface soil C concentrations by 31%, removing litter from the forest floor drove a 26% reduction over the same time period, and these changes in soil C concentrations were associated with variations in dissolved organic matter fluxes, fine root biomass, microbial biomass, soil moisture, and nutrient fluxes. However, the litter manipulations had only small effects on soil organic C (SOC) chemistry, suggesting that changes in C cycling, nutrient cycling, and microbial processes in response to litter manipulation reflect shifts in the quantity rather than quality of SOC. The manipulation also affected soil CO ₂ fluxes; the relative decline in CO ₂ production was greater in the litter removal plots (?22%) than the increase in the litter addition plots (+15%). Our analysis showed that variations in CO ₂ fluxes were strongly correlated with microbial biomass pools, soil C and nitrogen (N) pools, soil inorganic P fluxes, dissolved organic C fluxes, and fine root biomass. Together, our data suggest that shifts in leaf litter inputs in response to localized human disturbances and global environmental change could have rapid and important consequences for belowground C storage and fluxes in tropical rain forests, and highlight differences between tropical and temperate ecosystems, where belowground C cycling responses to changes in litterfall are generally slower and more subtle.     

Soil CO<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Bold">2</Emphasis></Subscript> efflux and fungal and bacterial biomass in a plantation and a secondary forest in wet tropics in Puerto Rico

We examined the effects of root and litter exclusion on the rate of soil CO₂ efflux and microbial biomass using trenching and tent separation techniques in a secondary forest (SF) and a pine (Pinus caribaea Morelet) plantation in the Luquillo Experimental Forest in Puerto Rico. Soil surface CO₂ efflux was measured using the alkali trap method at 12 randomly-distributed locations in each treatment (control, root exclusion, litter exclusion, and both root and litter exclusion) in the plantation and the SF, respectively. We measured soil CO₂ efflux every two months and collected soil samples at each sampling location in different seasons to determine microbial biomass from August 1996 to July 1997. We found that soil CO₂ efflux was significantly reduced in the litter and root exclusion plots (7-year litter and/or root exclusion) in both the secondary forest and the pine plantation compared with the control. The reduction of soil CO₂ efflux was 35.6% greater in the root exclusion plots than in the litter exclusion plots in the plantation, whereas a reversed pattern was found in the secondary forest. Microbial biomass was also reduced during the litter and root exclusion period. In the root exclusion plots, total fungal biomass averaged 31.4% and 65.2% lower than the control plots in the plantation and the secondary forest, respectively, while the total bacterial biomass was 24% and 8.3% lower than the control plots in the plantation and the secondary forest, respectively. In the litter exclusion treatment, total fungal biomass averaged 69.2% and 69.7% lower than the control plots in the plantation and the secondary forest, respectively, while the total bacterial biomass was 48% and 50.1% lower than the control plots in the plantation and the secondary forest, respectively. Soil CO₂ efflux was positively correlated with both fungal and bacterial biomass in both the plantation the secondary forest. The correlation between soil CO₂ efflux and active fungal biomass was significantly higher in the plantation than in the secondary forest. However, the correlation between the soil CO₂ efflux and both the active and total bacterial biomass was significantly higher in the secondary forest than in the plantation in the day season. In addition, we found soil CO₂ efflux was highly related to the strong interactions among root, fungal and bacterial biomass by multiple regression analysis (R² > 0.61, P < 0.05). Our results suggest that carbon input from aboveground litterfall and roots (root litter and exudates) is critical to the soil microbial community and ecosystem carbon cycling in the wet tropical forests.     

Effects of disturbance scale on soil microbial communities in the Western Cascades of Oregon

Aims

To gain a better understanding of how rapidly microbial communities respond to different magnitudes of perturbation that mimic minor or catastrophic disturbances.

Methods

Two montane sites in the western Cascade Mountains of Oregon with adjacent areas of forest and meadow vegetation were studied. A reciprocal transplant experiment evaluated both minor (soil cores remaining in the same vegetation type) or more severe disturbance (soil cores transferred to a different vegetation type). The biomass and composition of the bacterial and fungal communities were measured for 2 years following the establishment of the experiment.

Results

Minor disturbance (coring) had little impact on microbial biomass but transferring between vegetation type showed greater fungal biomass in soil incubated in the forest environment. The composition of bacterial communities was not influenced by coring but responded strongly to transfers between vegetation sites, changing to reflect their new environment after 2 years. Fungal community composition responded somewhat to coring, probably from disrupting mycorrhizal fungal hyphae, but more strongly to being transferred to a new environment.

Conclusions

The response of the microbial community to major disturbance was rapid, showing shifts reflective of their new environment within 2 years, suggesting that microbial communities have the capacity to quickly adjust to catastrophic disturbances.     

Slowed decomposition is biotically mediated in an ectomycorrhizal, tropical rain forest

Bacteria and fungi drive the cycling of plant litter in forests, but little is known about their role in tropical rain forest nutrient cycling, despite the high rates of litter decay observed in these ecosystems. However, litter decay rates are not uniform across tropical rain forests. For example, decomposition can differ dramatically over small spatial scales between low-diversity, monodominant rain forests, and species-rich, mixed forests. Because the climatic patterns and soil parent material are identical in co-occurring mixed and monodominant forests, differences in forest floor accumulation, litter production, and decomposition between these forests may be biotically mediated. To test this hypothesis, we conducted field and laboratory studies in a monodominant rain forest in which the ectomycorrhizal tree Dicymbe corymbosa forms >80% of the canopy, and a diverse, mixed forest dominated by arbuscular mycorrhizal trees. After 2 years, decomposition was significantly slower in the monodominant forest (P < 0.001), but litter production was significantly greater in the mixed forest (P < 0.001). In the laboratory, we found microbial community biomass was greater in the mixed forest (P = 0.02), and the composition of fungal communities was distinct between the two rain forest types (P = 0.001). Sequencing of fungal rDNA revealed a significantly lower richness of saprotrophic fungi in the monodominant forest (19 species) relative to the species-rich forest (84 species); moreover, only 4% percent of fungal sequences occurred in both forests. These results show that nutrient cycling patterns in tropical forests can vary dramatically over small spatial scales, and that changes in microbial community structure likely drive the observed differences in decomposition.     

Litter Decomposition Within the Canopy and Forest Floor of Three Tree Species in a Tropical Lowland Rain forest,Costa Rica

The rain forest canopy hosts a large percentage of the world's plant biodiversity, which is maintained, in large part, by internal nutrient cycling. This is the first study to examine the effects of site (canopy, forest floor) and tree species (Dipteryx panamensis, Lecythis ampla, Hyeronima alchorneoides) on decay rates of a common substrate and in situ leaf litter in a tropical forest in Costa Rica. Decay rates were slower for both substrates within the canopy than on the forest floor. The slower rate of mass loss of the common substrate in the canopy was due to differences in microclimate between sites. Canopy litter decay rates were negatively correlated with litter lignin:P ratios, while forest floor decay rates were negatively correlated with lignin concentrations, indicating that the control of litter decay rates in the canopy is P availability while that of the forest floor is carbon quality. The slower cycling rates within the canopy are consistent with lower foliar nutrient concentrations of epiphytes compared with forest floor-rooted plants. Litter decay rates, but not common substrate decay rates, varied among tree species. The lack of variation in common substrate decay among tree species eliminated microclimatic variation as a possible cause for differences in litter decay and points to variation in litter quality, nutrient availability and decomposer community of tree species as the causal factors. The host tree contribution to canopy nutrient cycling via litter quality and inputs may influence the quality and quantity of canopy soil resources.     

土壤微生物群落对麻栎-刺槐混交林凋落物分解的影响

以麻栎-刺槐混交林和麻栎纯林为研究对象,采用野外定点采样、室内分析与高通量测序的方法,对凋落物分解过程中土壤微生物菌群多样性特征及其对凋落物分解速率的影响进行了研究。结果表明:(1)麻栎-刺槐混交林凋落物的分解速率高于麻栎纯林。两种林分凋落物有机碳(TOC)、全氮(TN)发生释放,全磷(TP)发生积累-释放的过程。(2)两种林分土壤细菌优势类群为放线菌门(Acidobacteria)、变形菌门(Proteobacteria)、酸杆菌门(Actinobacteria)和疣微菌门(Verrucomicrobia),土壤真菌优势类群为担子菌门(Basidiomycota)、子囊菌门(Ascomycota)和被孢霉门(Moritierellomycota)。(3)凋落物分解过程中,麻栎-刺槐混交林土壤微生物菌群丰富度指数和菌群多样性指数变化范围小于麻栎纯林。(4)凋落物分解速率与土壤细菌菌群丰富度指数和菌群多样性指数呈显著正相关,与土壤真菌菌群丰富度指数呈显著正相关。土壤微生物群落对麻栎-刺槐混交林和麻栎纯林凋落物分解速率具有重要影响,研究结果为深入开展混交林土壤微生物多样性对凋落物分解的影响研究提供理论依据。