Influence of Aspen on Forest Floor Properties in Black Spruce-dominated Stands

In the absence of fire in black spruce-feathermoss stands, a thick forest floor layer dominated by bryophytes and sphagnum accumulates. This layer is associated with wet, cool and nutrient-poor soil conditions conducive to the paludification process and pushing the ecosystem towards an unproductive open black spruce forest. The presence of Populus tremuloides in theses stands may halt this process because this species has a high nutrient cycling rate and a litter that represses moss cover. The main hypothesis of this study is that, despite similar abiotic conditions (slope and drainage), the presence of Populus tremuloides in a stand dominated by Picea mariana affects surface soil nutrient availability, total N, pH as well as the decomposition process. The abundance of Populus tremuloides trees was associated with higher exchangeable cations, cationic exchangeable capacity and pH of the forest floor layer on all sites. A decrease in organic matter thickness with increasing aspen presence was also found on all sites, suggesting that this species affects the decomposition process by the quality of its litter as well as by a general improvement of soil physical and chemical properties. The decomposition rate of a standard substrate as well as in vitro potential net nitrogen mineralization were positively related to Populus tremuloides on only one of the three sites, and non-significant on the other sites. Strong immobilization of added nitrogen during incubation was observed on all sites and was not related to aspen, which suggested that in these stands, the soil microbial community is uniformly and strongly nitrogen limited. The zone of influence of Populus tremuloides was evaluated in areas around the soil sampling plot ranging from 3 to 7 m. The results revealed that this zone varies with soil properties. The results suggest that the presence of Populus tremuloides accelerate nutrient cycling, which could affect stand productivity to some extent.     

潮虫消耗木本植物凋落物的可选择性试验

近年来,越来越多的学者关注外来植物入侵对土壤生态功能的影响效应及其相应反馈机制的探索与研究,然而本地原生土壤生物群落对不同入侵程度下的外来植物种以及本地原生植物种之间是否存在消耗差异却尚不明了.通过等足目潮虫的选择性喂养试验来测试10个本地种、5个非入侵性外来种和5个强入侵性外来种之间的适口性差异,试图求证外来植物的入侵性是否与植物落叶被消耗率呈现必然联系.数据分析结果显示潮虫对本地种、非入侵性外来种和入侵性外来种的消耗并无显著差异;而潮虫对不同生活型下木本植物的取食却存在显著差异,即灌木消耗率显著高于乔木.其次,通过植物初始性状指标(包括木质素、纤维素、半纤维素、碳、氮含量)与相应消耗率的相关比较,消耗量总体上与植物凋落物的氮含量呈正相关关系(R2 =0.358).由此,研究结论强调植物落叶的降解速率并不一定与植物入侵性或入侵阶段呈绝对相互关连,但是氮含量,抑或各种形式的植物氮元素成分都可能在一定程度上参与并影响着外来植物的入侵进程.     

Mechanisms of plant species impacts on ecosystem nitrogen cycling

Plant species are hypothesized to impact ecosystem nitrogen cycling in two distinctly different ways. First, differences in nitrogen use efficiency can lead to positive feedbacks on the rate of nitrogen cycling. Alternatively, plant species can also control the inputs and losses of nitrogen from ecosystems. Our current understanding of litter decomposition shows that most nitrogen present within litter is not released during decomposition but incorporated into soil organic matter. This nitrogen retention is caused by an increase in the relative nitrogen content in decomposing litter and a much lower carbon‐to‐nitrogen ratio of soil organic matter. The long time lag between plant litter formation and the actual release of nitrogen from the litter results in a bottleneck, which prevents feedbacks of plant quality differences on nitrogen cycling. Instead, rates of gross nitrogen mineralization, which are often an order of magnitude higher than net mineralization, indicate that nitrogen cycling within ecosystems is dominated by a microbial nitrogen loop. Nitrogen is released from the soil organic matter and incorporated into microbial biomass. Upon their death, the nitrogen is again incorporated into the soil organic matter. However, this microbial nitrogen loop is driven by plant‐supplied carbon and provides a strong negative feedback through nitrogen cycling on plant productivity. Evidence supporting this hypothesis is strong for temperate grassland ecosystems. For other terrestrial ecosystems, such as forests, tropical and boreal regions, the data are much more limited. Thus, current evidence does not support the view that differences in the efficiency of plant nitrogen use lead to positive feedbacks. In contrast, soil microbes are the dominant factor structuring ecosystem nitrogen cycling. Soil microbes derive nitrogen from the decomposition of soil organic matter, but this microbial activity is driven by recent plant carbon inputs. Changes in plant carbon inputs, resulting from plant species shifts, lead to a negative feedback through microbial nitrogen immobilization. In contrast, there is abundant evidence that plant species impact nitrogen inputs and losses, such as: atmospheric deposition, fire‐induced losses, nitrogen leaching, and nitrogen fixation, which is driven by carbon supply from plants to nitrogen fixers. Additionally, plants can influence the activity and composition of soil microbial communities, which has the potential to lead to differences in nitrification, denitrification and trace nitrogen gas losses. Plant species also impact herbivore behaviour and thereby have the potential to lead to animal‐facilitated movement of nitrogen between ecosystems. Thus, current evidence supports the view that plant species can have large impacts on ecosystem nitrogen cycling. However, species impacts are not caused by differences in plant quantity and quality, but by plant species impacts on nitrogen inputs and losses.     

外来植物入侵对土壤生物多样性和生态系统过程的影响

随着科学家对生态系统地下部分的重视,评价外来植物入侵对土壤生态系统的影响成为当前入侵生态学领域的研究热点之一。本文综述了外来植物入侵对土壤微生物、土壤动物以及土壤碳、氮循环动态影响的研究,并探讨了其影响机制。已有的研究表明,植物入侵对土壤生物多样性及相关生态系统过程的影响均存在不一致的格局,影响机制也是复杂多样的。外来植物与土著植物凋落物的质与量、根系特征、物候等多种生理生态特性的差异可能是形成格局多样性和影响机制复杂性的最主要原因。今后,加强多尺度和多生态系统的比较研究、机制性研究、生物多样性和生态系统过程的整合性研究及土壤生态系统对植物入侵的反馈研究是评价外来植物入侵对土壤生态系统影响的发展趋势。     

Invasion by <Emphasis Type="Italic">Aegilops triuncialis</Emphasis> (Barb Goatgrass) Slows Carbon and Nutrient Cycling in a Serpentine Grassland

Invasive plant species alter plant community composition and ecosystem function. In the United States, California native grasslands have been displaced almost completely by invasive annual grasses, with serpentine grasslands being one of the few remaining refugia for California grasslands. This study examined how the invasive annual grass, Aegilops triuncialis, has altered decomposition processes in a serpentine annual grassland. Our objectives were to (1) assess howA. triuncialis alters primary productivity and litter tissue chemistry, (2) determine whether A. triuncialis litter is more recalcitrant to decomposition than native litter, and (3) evaluate whether differences in the soil microbial community in A. triuncialis-invaded and native-dominated areas result in different decomposition rates of invasive and/or native plant litter. In invaded plant patches, A. triuncialis was approximately 50% of the total plant cover, in contrast to native plant patches in which A. triuncialis was not detected and native plants comprised over 90% of the total plant cover. End-of-season aboveground biomass was 2-fold higher in A. triuncialis dominated plots compared to native plots; however, there was no significant difference in belowground biomass. Both above- and below-ground plant litter from A. triuncialis plots had significantly higher lignin:N and C:N ratios and lower total N, P, and K than litter from native plant plots. Aboveground litter from native plots decomposed more rapidly than litter from A. triuncialis plots, although there was no difference in decomposition of belowground tissues. Soil microbial community composition associated with different soil patch types had no effect on decomposition rates. These data suggest that plant invasion impacts decomposition and nutrient cycling through changes in plant community tissue chemistry and biomass production.     

Litter decomposition and nitrogen mineralization of soils in subtropical plantation forests of southern China,with special attention to comparisons between legumes and non-legumes

Litter decomposition and nitrogen mineralization were investigated in subtropical plantation forests in southern China. The CO₂ –C release from incubated litter and the forest floor of Acacia mangium, Acacia auriculaeformis, Eucalyptus citriodora, Pinus elliotii and Schima superba stands were used to estimate relative rates of litter decomposition. Decomposition was not positively correlated with litter nitrogen. E. citridora litter decomposed most rapidly and A. mangium litter most slowly, both with and without the addition of exotic nitrogen. Aerobic incubation and intact soil core incubation at 30 °C over a period of 30 days were used to assess nitrogen mineralization of six forest soils. Although there were differences in results obtained using the two methods, patterns between legume and non-legume species were the same regardless of method. All soils had pH values below 4.5, but this did not prevent nitrification. The dominant form of mineral nitrogen was nitrate for legume species and ammonium for non-legume species. The nitrogen mineralization potential was highest for soils in which legumes were growing.     

Indirect effects of black spruce (Picea mariana) cover on community structure and function in sheep laurel (Kalmia angustifolia) dominated heath of eastern Canada

Recent studies on phenotypic plasticity of plant traits indicate that within-species variation in litter quality may be a significant factor that feeds back on litter decomposition and nutrient cycling rates at the stand level. These findings may be especially significant for understanding biodiversity-stability relationships in species-poor ecosystems that have little functional redundancy among primary producers. We tested the null hypothesis that black spruce and Kalmia were functional equivalents with respect to their structuring roles of subordinate vegetation and their influence on site biogeochemistry. The purpose of the study was to determine the degree to which forest cover exerts top-down control on community structure and function of Kalmia-black spruce communities. This community type dominates much of the forest understory and unforested heathlands in Atlantic Canada. We intensively studied a representative stand of Kalmia heath in Terra Nova National Park in eastern Newfoundland. Thirty-two 0.5 m × 0.5 m sample plots were randomly distributed among five transects bisecting gradients in dominance of black spruce and Kalmia. Light levels, species composition, vascular plant cover and soil respiration rate were determined for each plot. Tissue samples of litter, mature and current year leaves of Kalmia were collected and analyzed for nutrient status. Herbaceous species richness and cover peaked at intermediate light levels. Kalmia foliar N concentration and above-ground biomass increased with increasing shade. Soil respiration rates were strongly related to the light gradient and increased with increasing quality of Kalmia litter inputs. Our data indicate that Kalmias vigour and foliar nitrogen concentrations are greater under black spruce canopy as opposed to heath condition and that the shaded phenotype has relatively benign feedbacks on soil productivity compared to the open-habitat phenotype. In the absence of functional diversity at the species level in these species-poor habitats, phenotypic plasticity in Kalmia appears to be an important dimension of the biodiversity-stability relationship in these communities since our data suggest that this species has the potential either to inhibit or facilitate carbon cycling and the pathway is strongly linked to the presence or absence of overstory cover. The role of forest regeneration as an indirect control of forest soil processes such as carbon and nitrogen cycling in this ecosystem is discussed.     

Invasive Grass Alters Litter Decomposition by Influencing Macrodetritivores

The results of nitrogen (N) fertilization experiments have shown inconsistent rates of plant litter decomposition, a phenomenon that may be explained by dispropotionate influence of animal detritivores (macro-detritivores) on litter mass loss versus that of microbial decomposers, whose activity may be dependent on inorganic N. In turn, macrodetritivores may be influenced by plant species composition via their selection of optimal food resources and habitats. In our experiment, fertilizer had no apparent effect on litter decomposition, suggesting that microbial decomposers did not use the additional inorganic N and/or that macrodetritivores had a greater influence on decomposition. Manipulation of macrodetritivores suggested that plant species composition—dominated in this study by Festuca arundinacea, an exotic, invasive grass, and Aster ericoides, a native forb—caused shifts in detrivore communities and/or feeding patterns that tended to increase litter mass loss. Canopy cover of F. arundinacea and A. ericoides ranged from 0% to 11%, suggesting that low-intensity invasion may produce significant changes in ecosystem function, such as decomposition.     

马尾松林两种林下植被土壤碳氮特征及其与凋落物质量的关系

以飞播马尾松林为研究对象,通过典型样地调查和样品测定,采用配对样本t检验和冗余分析（RDA）方法分析芒萁类和禾草类两种林下植被类型土壤碳、氮特征及其与凋落物质量之间的关系。结果表明：（1）土壤有机碳、微生物量碳、可溶性有机碳、全氮、速效氮、微生物量氮和可溶性有机氮含量在0-10、10-20 cm土层均表现为禾草类显著高于芒萁类（P < 0.05）,而在20-40、40-80 cm土层两种植被类型碳氮指标的大小未表现出相同的变化规律,且差异不显著（P > 0.05）。（2）两种植被类型凋落物半分解和未分解层的C含量及C/N值均表现为芒萁类显著高于禾草类（P < 0.05）,而N含量则表现为禾草类显著高于芒萁类（P < 0.05）;同一植被类型的未分解层C含量及C/N值均显著大于半分解层,N含量则半分解层显著大于未分解层（P < 0.05）。（3）0-10 cm土层两种类型凋落物C/N值和C含量均与土壤碳氮各指标呈显著负相关（P < 0.05）,N含量与土壤碳氮各指标的相关性不显著（P > 0.05）;10-20 cm土层,芒萁类的半分解层C/N值与土壤碳氮各指标存在显著相关性（P < 0.05）,禾草类的凋落物C含量与土壤碳氮各指标也存在显著相关性（P < 0.01）。林下植被凋落物C/N值越小,其分解速率越快,有利于土壤养分的积累,禾草类凋落物C/N值低于芒萁类是导致其土壤碳氮指标高于芒萁类的重要原因。     

Browsing-induced Effects on Leaf Litter Quality and Decomposition in a Southern African Savanna

We investigated the linkages between leaf litter quality and decomposability in a savanna plant community dominated by palatable-spinescent tree species. We measured: (1) leaf litter decomposability across five woody species that differ in leaf chemistry; (2) mass decomposition, nitrogen (N); and carbon (C) dynamics in leaf litter of a staple browse species (Acacia nigrescens) as well as (3) variation in litter composition across six sites that experienced very different histories of attack from large herbivores. All decomposition trials included litter bags filled with chopped straw to control for variation in site effects. We found a positive relationship between litter quality and decomposability, but we also found that Acacia and straw litter mass remaining did not significantly vary between heavily and lightly browsed sites. This is despite the fact that both the quality and composition of litter returned to the soil were significantly different across sites. We observed greater N resorption from senescing Acacia leaves at heavily browsed sites, which in turn contributed to increase the C:N ratio of leaf litter and caused greater litter N immobilization over time. This, together with the significantly lower tree- and herb-leaf litter mass beneath heavily browsed trees, should negatively affect decomposition rates. However, estimated dung and urine N deposition from both browsers and grazers was significantly greater at high- than at low-herbivory sites. We hypothesize that N inputs from dung and urine boost litter N mineralization and decomposition (especially following seasonal rainfall events), and thereby offset the effects of poor leaf litter quality at chronically browsed sites. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Long-term Changes in Forest Carbon and Nitrogen Cycling Caused by an Introduced Pest/Pathogen Complex

Invasion of exotic forest pests and pathogens is a serious environmental problem for many forests throughout the world, and has been especially damaging to forests of eastern North America. We studied the impacts of an exotic pest/pathogen complex, the beech bark disease (BBD), in the Catskill Mountains of New York State, USA. In this region, BBD has caused a decline in the basal area of American beech (Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.) over the last 60 years and this decline has been accompanied by an increase in the basal area of sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.). We studied the impacts of the BBD on carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycling using a series of stands that represented a sequence of disease impact and beech replacement by sugar maple. Our study showed that these long-term changes in tree species composition can lead to important changes in C and N cycling in the ecosystem, including an increase in litter decomposition, a decrease in soil C:N ratio, and an increase in extractable nitrate in the soil and nitrate in soil solution. Rates of potential net N mineralization and nitrification did not change across the BBD sequence, but the fraction of mineralized N that was nitrified increased significantly. Many of the observed changes in ecosystem function are larger in magnitude than those attributed to climate change or air pollution, suggesting that the impacts of invasive pests and pathogens on tree species composition could be one of the most important factors driving changes in C and N cycling in these forests in the coming decades.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Hedychium gardnerianum</Emphasis> Invasion into Hawaiian Montane Rainforest: Interactions Among Litter Quality,Decomposition Rate,and Soil Nitrogen Availability

Few studies have examined the invasion of understory species into closed-canopy forests and, despite inter-specific differences in litter quality and quantity between understory and dominant canopy trees, the influence of understory invasions on soil nitrogen (N) cycling remains unknown. This paper examines litter quality and decomposition of kahili ginger (Hedychium gardnerianum), an invasive understory herb, to determine the influence of this species on N cycling in a Hawaiian montane rainforest. To examine the potential feedback between increased soil N availability and litter decomposition, litter from the invasive ginger, a native tree, and native tree fern was collected from unfertilized and fertilized plots and decomposed in a reciprocal transplant design. Hedychium litter decomposed faster than litter from the two native species. Across species, decomposition rates were negatively correlated with litter lignin content. Despite rapid decomposition rates of Hedychium litter, soil nitrogen availability and rates of net mineralization in the soil were similar in invaded and uninvaded plots. Nitrogen cycling at this site may be more strongly influenced by native species, which contribute the most to overall stand biomass. A negative effect of fertilization on the decomposition of Hedychium litter suggests that a negative feedback between litter quality and soil N availability may exist over longer timescales.     

降水变化和氮沉降对荒漠草原两种多年生禾草凋落物分解的影响

凋落物分解是陆地生态系统养分循环的重要过程,在生物地球化学循环过程中发挥着重要作用。全球变化是影响凋落物分解的重要因子,其对生态系统养分循环的影响存在诸多不确定性。研究荒漠草原凋落物分解对氮沉降和降水变化及其二者交互作用的响应,是揭示这些不确定性、保护草原生态系统结构和功能的科学基础。以内蒙古四子王旗短花针茅荒漠草原为研究对象,选取建群种短花针茅和优势种无芒隐子草两种植物凋落物,开展为期4年的长期分解实验,探究两种植物凋落物分解特征及养分释放规律。实验采用裂区设计,主区为自然降水（C）、增雨30%（W）和减雨30%（R）3个水分梯度,副区为0（N0）、30（N30）、50（N50）和100（N100） kg hm^-2 a^-1 4个氮素梯度。结果表明：（1）增雨和氮沉降促进荒漠草原凋落物分解,减雨反之,降水对两种凋落物影响具有差异,而氮沉降的作用不依赖于物种;（2）氮沉降缩短凋落物分解周期5.12%-14.82%,增雨与氮沉降交互缩短凋落物分解周期3.69%-28.75%;（3）降水始终有利于凋落物中碳、纤维素和木质素释放,而分解后期氮沉降对其影响不显著,凋落物分解后期主要受木质素分解速率控制。综上所述,影响荒漠草原凋落物分解的主要因素为降水,其次是氮素,二者对凋落物分解具有协同作用。     

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.     

高山林线交错带高山杜鹃的凋落物分解

凋落物分解是维持生态系统生产力、养分循环、土壤有机质形成的关键生态过程。高山林线交错带是陆地生态系统中对气候变化响应的敏感区域。季节变化和海拔梯度上的植被类型差异可能会影响该区域凋落物的分解,进而对高山生态系统的碳氮循环产生重要影响。采用凋落物分解袋的方法,研究了川西高山林线交错带优势种高山杜鹃(Rhododendron lapponicum)凋落叶在雪被期和生长季的分解特征。结果显示:(1)季节变化和植被类型对高山杜鹃凋落物的分解均具有显著影响(P0.05),凋落叶的质量损失主要发生在生长季且在高山林线最大,暗针叶林中雪被期的质量损失略高于生长季,但差异不显著;(2)林线交错带上高山杜鹃凋落叶分解缓慢,一年干物质失重率为9.62%,拟合分解系数k为0.145;(3)高山杜鹃凋落叶的质量变化主要体现在纤维素降解显著且集中在雪被期,木质素无明显降解,在高山林线上C/N、C/P、木质素/N变化幅度较小且C、N、P的释放表现得稳定而持续。结果表明,季节性雪被对林线交错带内高山杜鹃分解的影响不仅局限在雪被期内,雪被融化期间频繁的冻融作用和雪融水淋洗作用可能会促进高山杜鹃凋落物在生长季初期的分解。总的来看,在气候变暖的情景下,雪被的缩减、生长季的延长和高山杜鹃群落的扩张可能加速高山林线交错带高山杜鹃凋落物的分解。     

Effects of an African grass invasion on Hawaiian shrubland nitrogen biogeochemistry

African perennial C₄ grasses are highly successful invaders in Hawaiian ecosystems. We examined the effects of African molasses grass (Melinis minutiflora Beauv.) on Hawaiian shrubland nitrogen (N) dynamics without the influence of fire disturbance. Vegetation tissue carbon and nitrogen chemistry, soil inorganic N pools, net N mineralization rates, and total soil N were studied in three adjacent areas: a monospecificMelinis grassland, a mixed grass/shrubland mosaic, and an un-invaded shrubland.Melinis plots within the mosaic area exhibited the largest inorganic N pools and fastest net N mineralization rates, but were temporally variable with grass phenology. Un-invaded shrubland plots contained the smallest inorganic N pools and lowest net N mineralization rates. Grass foliar C:N and litter C:N were lower than those of common shrubland species, providing one possible link between species and ecosystem N dynamics at this site. The combined effects of N cycle modification, successful light competition, and fire-cycle enhancement make the invasion ofMelinis a significant perturbation to Hawaiian shrubland ecosystem function and successional dynamics. ei]Section editor H Lambers     

氮沉降对森林土壤有机质和凋落物分解的影响及其微生物学机制

氮沉降持续增加背景下土壤C∶N∶P化学计量比和pH环境等的改变及其可能的土壤微生物学机制已经成为陆地生态系统与全球变化研究的新生长点和科学研究前沿.以生态化学计量学和土壤微生物生态学为理论基础,综述了氮沉降对森林土壤有机质和凋落物分解的影响及其微生物学机制的基本理论、最新进展、研究热点与难点,旨在促进全球变化背景下陆地生态系统地下生态学的研究.氮沉降持续增加会导致森林生态系统磷循环加速,导致磷限制.氮沉降不但改变森林土壤有机质和凋落物的C∶N∶P化学计量比和降低土壤pH值,而且改变土壤微生物生物量碳氮磷、细菌、真菌和放线菌的组成以及影响碳氮磷分解的关键酶活性.氮沉降对森林土壤有机质和凋落物分解的影响表现为促进、抑制和无影响,其影响的差异可能来源于微生物效应的不同.叶片在凋落前有显著的氮磷养分回收,但是根无明显的养分回收,造成土壤有机质和凋落物的C∶N∶P化学计量比存在明显差异.基于DNA/RNA等分子生物学方法为土壤微生物生态学研究提供了强有力的手段,将促进氮沉降对森林土壤有机质和凋落物化学计量比改变的微生物学机制研究.     

Effects of mixing pine and broadleaved tree/shrub litter on decomposition and N dynamics in laboratory microcosms

This study was carried out to compare the ecological function of exotic pine (Pinus radiata—Pr) and native pine (Pinus tabulaeformis—Pt) in terms of litter decomposition and its related N dynamics and to evaluate if the presence of broad-leaved tree species (Cercidiphyllum japonicum—Cj) or shrub species (Ostryopsis davidiana—Od) litter would promote the decomposition of pine needles and N cycling. Mass remaining, N release of the four single-species litters and mixed-species (Pt + Cj; Pr + Cj; Pt + Od; Pr + Od) litters and soil N dynamics were measured at microcosm scale during an 84-day incubation period. The Pt and Pr litter, with poorer substrate quality, indicated slower decomposition rates than did the Cj and Od litter. Due to their high C/N ratios, the N mass of Pt and Pr litter continuously increased during the early stage of decomposition, which showed that Pt and Pr litter immobilized exogenous N by microbes. No significant differences of soil inorganic, dissolved organic and microbial biomass N were found between the Pt and Pr microcosm at each sampling. The results showed that the exotic Pr performed similar ecological function to the native Pt in terms of litter decomposition and N dynamics during the early stage. The presence of Cj or Od litter increased the decomposition rates of pine needle litter and also dramatically increased soil N availability. So it is feasible for plantation managers to consider the use of Cj as an ameliorative species or to retain Od in pine plantations to promote the decomposition of pine litter and increase nutrient circulation. The results also suggested that different species litters induced different soil dissolved organic nitrogen (DON). As a major soluble N pool in soil, DON developed a different changing tendency over time compared with inorganic N, and should be included into soil N dynamic under the condition of our study.     

氮磷添加和栽植密度对大叶相思林土壤微生物群落功能多样性的影响

土壤微生物群落是土壤质量潜在的生态指标,在维持生态系统功能和服务中起着关键的作用。采用Biolog-ECO微平板法,探讨氮磷添加与不同栽植密度交互对大叶相思林(Acacia auriculiformis)土壤微生物功能多样性的影响,以便为建立合理的林分密度和氮磷施肥模式,提高土壤质量提供理论参考。以大叶相思林为研究对象,选择氯化铵(NH4Cl)作为氮肥模拟大气氮沉降,用二水合磷酸二氢钠(NaH2PO4·2H2O)进行磷添加。氮磷处理设置4个水平,即CK、施N、施P和施N+P。种植密度设置4个水平,即1667、2500、4444、10000株/hm²(分别以低密度、中密度、较高密度、高密度表示)。研究结果表明,施P显著提高了4个密度大叶相思林土壤微生物的AWCD值、碳源利用丰富度指数、McIntosh指数、Shannon指数和Simpson指数,而施N和N+P则相反。随着林分密度的减小,各处理的土壤微生物AWCD值趋于减少。通常低密度林分的土壤微生物的丰富度指数、Shannon-Wiener指数、McIntosh指数和Simpson指数较小。