Land‐use change shifts and magnifies seasonal variations of the decomposer system in lowland tropical landscapes

Deforestation and agricultural expansion in the tropics affect local and regional climatic conditions, leading to synergistic negative impacts on land ecosystems. Climatic changes manifest in increased inter‐ and intraseasonal variations and frequency of extreme climatic events (i.e., droughts and floods), which have evident consequences for aboveground biodiversity. However, until today, there have been no studies on how land use affects seasonal variations below ground in tropical ecosystems, which may be more buffered against climatic variation. Here, we analyzed seasonal variations in soil parameters, basal respiration, microbial communities, and abundances of soil invertebrates along with microclimatic conditions in rainforest and monocultures of oil palm and rubber in Sumatra, Indonesia. About 75% (20 out of 26) of the measured litter and soil, microbial, and animal parameters varied with season, with seasonal changes in 50% of the parameters depending on land use. Land use affected seasonal variations in microbial indicators associated with carbon availability and cycling rate. The magnitude of seasonal variations in microbial parameters in the soil of monocultures was almost 40% higher than in the soil of rainforest. Measured parameters were associated with short‐term climatic conditions (3‐day period air humidity) in plantations, but not in rainforest, confirming a reduced soil buffering ability in plantations. Overall, our findings suggest that land use temporally shifts and increases the magnitude of seasonal variations of the belowground ecosystem compartment, with microbial communities responding most strongly. The increased seasonal variations in soil biota in plantations likely translate into more pronounced fluctuations in essential ecosystem functions such as nutrient cycling and carbon sequestration, and these ramifications ultimately may compromise the stability of tropical ecosystems in the long term. As the observed seasonal dynamics is likely to increase with both local and global climate change, these shifts need closer attention for the long‐term sustainable management of plantation systems in the tropics.     

Elaphomyces tropicalis sp. nov.: A new ectomycorrhizal fungus associated with dipterocarps from tropical Indonesia

A hypogeous, sequestrate, ectomycorrhizal fungus belonging to Elaphomyces was found in a Shorea plantation at Haurbentes Research Forest, West Java, Indonesia. Elaphomyces tropicalis is described as a new species based on morphological characters and molecular phylogenetic analysis of the ITS rDNA sequence. Sequences of E. tropicalis formed a distinct clade close to E. hassiacus, and sister to E. granulatus and E. asperulus. Elaphomyces tropicalis is not closely related to the E. papillatus clade. Morphologically, E. tropicalis is similar to E. (subsect Papillati) papillatus var. striatosporus with its crested spore ornamentation, but differs by having larger ascomata and different associated hosts. Shorea selanica and S. leprosula are the presumed hosts of E. tropicalis. This is the first report of an Elaphomyces species with Shorea species thus widening the previously known Elaphomyces host range.     

Post‐fire carbon dynamics in the tropical peat swamp forests of Brunei reveal long‐term elevated CH4 flux

Tropical peatlands hold about 15%–19% of the global peat carbon (C) pool of which 77% is stored in the peat swamp forests (PSFs) of Southeast Asia. Nonetheless, these PSFs have been drained, exploited for timber and land for agriculture, leading to frequent fires in the region. The physico‐chemical characteristics of peat, as well as the hydrology of PSFs are affected after a fire, during which the ecosystem can act as a C source for decades, as C emissions to the atmosphere exceed photosynthesis. In this work, we studied the longer‐term impact of fires on C cycling in tropical PSFs, hence we quantified the magnitude and patterns of C loss (CO₂, CH₄ and dissolved organic carbon) and soil‐water quality characteristics in an intact and a degraded burnt PSF in Brunei Darussalam affected by seven fires over the last 40 years. We used natural tracers such as ¹⁴C to investigate the age and sources of C contributing to ecosystem respiration (R_eco) and CH₄, while we continuously monitored soil temperature and water table (WT) level from June 2017 to January 2019. Our results showed a major difference in the physico‐chemical parameters, which in turn affected C dynamics, especially CH₄. Methane effluxes were higher in fire‐affected areas (7.8 ± 2.2 mg CH₄ m^?2 hr^?1) compared to the intact PSF (4.0 ± 2.0 mg CH₄ m^?2 hr^?1) due to prolonged higher WT and more optimal methanogenesis conditions. On the other hand, we did not find significant differences in R_eco between burnt (432 ± 83 mg CO₂ m^?2 hr^?1) and intact PSF (359 ± 76 mg CO₂ m^?2 hr^?1). Radiocarbon analysis showed overall no significant difference between intact and burnt PSF with a modern signature for both CO₂ and CH₄ fluxes implying a microbial preference for the more labile C fraction in the peat matrix.     

Volatiles of Curcuma mangga Val. & Zijp (Zingiberaceae) from Malaysia

Analysis by GC and GC/MS of the essential oil obtained from Malaysian Curcuma mangga Val. & Zijp (Zingiberaceae) rhizomes allowed the identification of 97 constituents, comprising 89.5% of the total oil composition. The major compounds were identified as myrcene (1; 46.5%) and β-pinene (2; 14.6%). The chemical composition of this and additional 13 oils obtained from selected Curcuma L. taxa were compared using multivariate statistical analyses (agglomerative hierarchical cluster analysis and principal component analysis). The results of the statistical analyses of this particular data set pointed out that 1 could be potentially used as a valuable infrageneric chemotaxonomical marker for C. mangga. Moreover, it seems that C. mangga, C. xanthorrhiza Roxb., and C. longa L. are, with respect to the volatile secondary metabolites, closely related. In addition, comparison of the essential oil profiles revealed a potential influence of the environmental (geographical) factors, alongside with the genetic ones, on the production of volatile secondary metabolites in Curcuma taxa.