Earthworms and legumes control litter decomposition in a plant diversity gradient

The role of species and functional group diversity of primary producers for decomposers and decomposition processes is little understood. We made use of the "Jena Biodiversity Experiment" and tested the hypothesis that increasing plant species (1, 4, and 16 species) and functional group diversity (1, 2, 3, and 4 groups) beneficially affects decomposer density and activity and therefore the decomposition of plant litter material. Furthermore, by manipulating the densities of decomposers (earthworms and springtails) within the plant diversity gradient we investigated how the interactions between plant diversity and decomposer densities affect the decomposition of litter belonging to different plant functional groups (grasses, herbs, and legumes). Positive effects of increasing plant species or functional group diversity on earthworms (biomass and density) and microbial biomass were mainly due to the increased incidence of legumes with increasing diversity. Neither plant species diversity nor functional group diversity affected litter decomposition, However, litter decomposition varied with decomposer and plant functional group identity (of both living plants and plant litter). While springtail removal generally had little effect on decomposition, increased earthworm density accelerated the decomposition of nitrogen-rich legume litter, and this was more pronounced at higher plant diversity. The results suggest that earthworms (Lumbricus terrestris L.) and legumes function as keystone organisms for grassland decomposition processes and presumably contribute to the recorded increase in primary productivity with increasing plant diversity.     

Interactive effects of plant species diversity and elevated CO2 on soil biota and nutrient cycling

Terrestrial ecosystems consist of mutually dependent producer and decomposer subsystems, but not much is known on how their interactions are modified by plant diversity and elevated atmospheric CO2 concentrations. Factorially manipulating grassland plant species diversity and atmospheric CO2 concentrations for five years, we tested whether high diversity or elevated CO2 sustain larger or more active soil communities, affect soil aggregation, water dynamics, or nutrient cycling, and whether plant diversity and elevated CO2 interact. Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) pools, symbiotic N2 fixation, plant litter quality, soil moisture, soil physical structure, soil nematode, collembola and acari communities, soil microbial biomass and microflora community structure (phospholipid fatty acid [PLFA] profiles), soil enzyme activities, and rates of C fluxes to soils were measured. No increases in soil C fluxes or the biomass, number, or activity of soil organisms were detected at high plant diversity; soil H2O and aggregation remained unaltered. Elevated CO2 affected the ecosystem primarily by improving plant and soil water status by reducing leaf conductance, whereas changes in C cycling appeared to be of subordinate importance. Slowed-down soil drying cycles resulted in lower soil aggregation under elevated CO2. Collembola benefited from extra soil moisture under elevated CO2, whereas other faunal groups did not respond. Diversity effects and interactions with elevated CO2 may have been absent because soil responses were mainly driven by community-level processes such as rates of organic C input and water use; these drivers were not changed by plant diversity manipulations, possibly because our species diversity gradient did not extend below five species and because functional type composition remained unaltered. Our findings demonstrate that global change can affect soil aggregation, and we advocate that soil aggregation should be considered as a dynamic property that may respond to environmental changes and feed back on other ecosystem functions.     

植物多样性对土壤微生物的影响

生物多样性强烈地影响生态系统的过程.生态系统过程的变化可导致生物多样性衰减并因此导致生态系统功能衰退.植物种丰度和植物功能多样性对土壤细菌群落的代谢活性和代谢多样性有成正比的影响.土壤细菌的代谢活性和代谢多样性随植物种数量的对数和植物功能组的数量而直线上升.其原因可能是由植被流入土壤的物质和能量的多样性和数量的增加,也可能是由土壤动物区系起作用的土壤微生境的多样性的增加造成的.由于植物多样性的丧失所引起的植物生物量的减少对分解者群落有强烈的影响微生物生物量将可能减少,因为在大多数陆地生态系统中,有机碳源限制着土壤微生物的活性.     

Interactions among lignin, cellulose, and nitrogen drive litter chemistry-decay relationships

Litter decay rates often correlate with the initial ratios of lignin:nitrogen (N) or lignin:cellulose in litter. However, the chemical and microbial mechanisms that give rise to these patterns are still unclear. To identify these mechanisms, we studied the decomposition of a model plant system, Arabidopsis thaliana, in which plants were manipulated to have low levels of lignin, cellulose, or litter N. Nitrogen fertilizer often increases the loss of cellulose, but it suppresses the breakdown of lignin in plant litter. To understand the mechanisms driving these patterns, we decomposed plants in litterbags for one year in control and N-fertilized plots in an Alaskan boreal forest. We found that litter N had a positive effect on total mass loss because it increased the loss of lignin, N, and soluble C. Lignin had a negative effect on rates of total litter mass loss due to decreases in the loss of cellulose and hemicellulose. Cellulose had a positive effect on lignin loss, supporting the concept of a "priming effect" for lignin breakdown. However, the low-cellulose plants also lost more of their original cellulose compared to the other plant types, indicating that decomposers mined the litter for cellulose despite the presence of lignin. Low-lignin litter had higher fungal biomass and N-acetyl glucosaminidase (NAG, a chitinase) activity, suggesting that lignin restricted fungal growth and may have influenced competitive interactions between decomposers. Nitrogen fertilization increased NAG activity in the early stages of decay. In the later stages, N fertilization led to increased cellulase activity on the litters and tended to reduce lignin losses. The transition over time from competition among decomposers to high cellulase activity and suppressed lignin loss under N fertilization suggests that, in N-limited systems, N fertilization may alter decomposer community structure by favoring a shift toward cellulose- and mineral-N users.     

Seasonal variations in plant species effects on soil N and P dynamics

It is well established that plant species influence ecosystem processes, but we have little ability to predict which vegetation changes will alter ecosystems, or how the effects of a given species might vary seasonally. We established monocultures of eight plant species in a California grassland in order to determine the plant traits that account for species impacts on nitrogen and phosphorus cycling. Plant species differed in their effects on net N mineralization and nitrification rates, and the patterns of species differences varied seasonally. Soil PO4- and microbial P were more strongly affected by slope position than by species. Although most studies focus on litter chemistry as the main determinant of plant species effects on nutrient cycling, this study showed that plant species affected biogeochemical cycling through many traits, including direct traits (litter chemistry and biomass, live-tissue chemistry and biomass) and indirect traits (plant modification of soil bioavailable C and soil microclimate). In fact, species significantly altered N and P cycling even without litter inputs. It became particularly critical to consider the effects of these multiple traits in order to account for seasonal changes in plant species effects on ecosystems. For example, species effects on potential rates of net N mineralization were most strongly influenced by soil bioavailable C in the fall and by litter chemistry in the winter and spring. Under field conditions, species effects on soil microclimate influenced rates of mineralization and nitrification, with species effects on soil temperature being critical in the fall and species effects on soil moisture being important in the dry spring. Overall, this study clearly demonstrated that in order to gain a mechanistic, predictive understanding of plant species effects on ecosystems, it is critical to look beyond plant litter chemistry and to incorporate the effects of multiple plant traits on ecosystems.     

Increasing litter species richness reduces variability in a terrestrial decomposer system

Debate on the relationship between diversity and stability has been driven by the recognition that species loss may influence ecosystem properties and processes. We conducted a litterbag experiment in the Scottish Highlands, United Kingdom, to examine the effects of altering plant litter diversity on decomposition, microbial biomass, and microfaunal abundance. The design of treatments was fully factorial and included five species from an upland plant community (silver birch, Betula pendula; Scots' pine, Pinus sylvestris; heather, Calluna vulgaris; bilberry, Vaccinium myrtillus; wavy-hair grass, Deschampsia flexuosa); species richness ranged from one to five species. We tested the effects of litter species richness and composition on variable means, whether increasing litter species richness reduced variability in the decomposer system, and whether any richness-variability relationships were maintained over time (196 vs. 564 days). While litter species composition effects controlled variable means, we revealed reductions in variability with increasing litter species richness, even after accounting for differences between litter types. These findings suggest that higher plant species richness per se may result in more stable ecosystem processes (e.g., decomposition) and decomposer communities. Negative richness-variation relationships generally relaxed over time, presumably because properties of litter mixtures became more homogeneous. However, given that plant litter inputs continue to enter the belowground system over time, we conclude that variation in ecosystem properties may be buffered by greater litter species richness.     

Effects of belowground biota on primary and secondary metabolites in Brassica oleracea

Summary. Soil organisms in direct and indirect interaction with plant roots affect aboveground herbivores, likely by inducing different plant responses. We investigated the combined effects of the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita (in direct interaction with roots) and the endogeic earthworm Octolasion tyrtaeum (in indirect interaction with roots) on the performance of Brassica oleracea. Both earthworms and nematodes increased N uptake and shoot biomass of B. oleracea. Earthworm activity mobilized more soil N than litter N, and herbivory by nematodes tended to increase the microbial biomass in soil. Only the structural class of sulphur containing glucosinolates was affected by the soil organisms. Earthworms decreased glucoiberin concentrations in B. oleracea shoots. Glucoraphanin was affected by an interaction between earthworms and nematodes.     

Incorporation of plant carbon into the soil animal food web of an arable system

We used stable isotopes to examine the incorporation of plant carbon into the belowground food web of an agricultural system. Plots were established and planted with maize (Zea mays) in a rye field (Secale cereale) near G?ttingen (northern Germany) in May 1999. In October 1999, April 2000, and October 2000, meso- and macrofauna and maize and rye litter were collected in each plot and analyzed for 13C and 15N content. 15N signatures suggested that the soil animal species analyzed span three trophic levels with the trophic position of species varying little in time. The species investigated formed a continuum from primary to secondary decomposers to predators. On average, predator species differed from primary and secondary decomposers by 3.9 sigma15N suggesting that they fed on a mixed diet of both decomposer groups. The combined analysis of 13C and 15N signatures allowed us to identify links between prey and consumer species. In October 1999, shortly after maize residues had been incorporated into the plots, maize-born carbon was present in each of the animal species investigated, including top predators. The incorporation of maize carbon into the belowground food web increased during the following 12 months but the concentration of maize-born carbon never exceeded 50% in any of the species. Furthermore, the ranks of the incorporation of maize-born carbon of the species changed little. The results suggest that the belowground food web relies heavily on carbon originating from plant residues from before the recent two growing seasons. In most species the amount of maize-born carbon increased continuously; however, in some species it decreased during winter, suggesting that these species switched to a diet based more on C3 plants during winter, or predominantly metabolized carbon incorporated during the last growing season. The study documents that the combined analysis of 13C and 15N signatures in soil invertebrate species, after replacement of C3 by C4 plants, is a powerful tool to better understand the structure of the belowground food web and the flux of carbon through it.     

Tree species and mycorrhizal associations influence the magnitude of rhizosphere effects

Previous research on the effects of tree species on soil processes has focused primarily on the role of leaf litter inputs. We quantified the extent to which arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) and ectomycorrhizal (ECM) tree species influence soil microbial activity and nutrient availability through rhizosphere effects. Rhizosphere soil, bulk soil, and fine roots were collected from 12 monospecifc plots (six AM and six ECM tree species) planted on a common soil at the Turkey Hill Plantations in Dryden, New York. Rhizosphere effects were estimated by the percentage difference between rhizosphere and bulk soil samples for several assays. Rhizosphere effects on soil microbes and their activities were significant for ECM species but in only a few cases for AM species. In AM tree species, microbial biomass, net N mineralization, and phosphatase enzyme activity in the rhizosphere were 10-12% greater than in bulk soil. In ECM tree species, rhizosphere effects for microbial biomass, C mineralization rates, net N mineralization, and phosphatase activity were 25-30% greater than bulk soil, and significantly greater than AM rhizosphere effects. The magnitude of rhizosphere effects was negatively correlated with the degree of mycorrhizal colonization in AM tree species (r = -0.83) and with fine root biomass (r = -0.88) in ECM tree species, suggesting that different factors influence rhizosphere effects in tree species forming different mycorrhizal associations. Rhizosphere effects on net N mineralization and phosphatase activity were also much greater in soils with pH < 4.3 for both AM and ECM tree species, suggesting that soil pH and its relation to nutrient availability may also influence the magnitude of rhizosphere effects. Our results support the idea that tree roots stimulate nutrient availability in the rhizosphere, and that systematic differences between AM and ECM may result in distinctive rhizosphere effects for C, N, and P cycling between AM and ECM tree species.     

Recovery of plant diversity following N cessation: effects of recruitment, litter, and elevated N cycling

Plant species richness has declined and composition shifted in response to elevated atmospheric deposition of biologically active nitrogen over much of the industrialized world. Litter thickness, litter nitrogen (N) content, and soil N mineralization rates often remain elevated long after inputs cease, clouding the prospects that plant community diversity and composition would recover should N inputs be reduced. Here we determined how N cycling, litter accumulation, and recruitment limitation influenced community recovery following cessation of long-term N inputs to prairie-like grasslands. We alleviated each of these potential inhibitors through a two-year full-factorial experiment involving organic carbon addition, litter removal, and seed addition. Seed addition had the largest effect on increasing seedling and species numbers and may be necessary to overcome long-term burial of seeds of target perennial grassland species. Litter removal increased light availability and bare sites for colonization, though it had little effect on reducing the biomass of competing neighbors or altering extractable soil N. Nonetheless, these positive influences were enough to lead to small increases in species richness within one year. We found that, although C addition quickly altered many factors assumed favorable for the target community (decreased N availability and biomass of nearby competitors, increased light and site availability), these changes were insufficient to positively impact species richness or seedling numbers over the experimental duration. However, only carbon addition had species-specific effects on the existing plant community, suggesting that its apparent limited utility may be more a result of slow recovery under ambient recruitment rather than from a lack of a restorative effect. There were dramatic interactions among treatments, with the positive effects of litter removal largely negated by carbon addition, and the positive effects of seed addition generally amplified by litter removal. It remains unclear whether each mechanism explored here will induce community recovery, but over different temporal scales. Long-term monitoring will help resolve these remaining questions. Regardless, our results suggest that reversal of species loss and compositional shifts from N deposition in prairies may be more inhibited by habitat fragmentation, recruitment limitation, and long-term suppression of fire than from continued effects of elevated N.     

Grassland establishment under varying resource availability: a test of positive and negative feedback

The traditional logic of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) interactions in ecosystems predicts further increases or decreases in productivity (positive feedback) in response to high and low fertility in the soil, respectively; but the potential for development of feedback in ecosystems recovering from disturbance is less well understood. Furthermore, this logic has been challenged in grassland ecosystems where frequent fires or grazing may reduce the contribution of aboveground litter inputs to soil organic matter pools and nutrient supply for plant growth, relative to forest ecosystems. Further, if increases in plant productivity increase soil C content more than soil N content, negative feedback may result from increased microbial demand for N making less available for plant growth. We used a field experiment to test for feedback in an establishing grassland by comparing aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) and belowground pools and fluxes of C and N in soil with enriched, ambient, and reduced N availability. For eight years annual N enrichment increased ANPP, root N, and root tissue quality, but root C:N ratios remained well above the threshold for net mineralization of N. There was no evidence that N enrichment increased root biomass, soil C or N accrual rates, or storage of C in total, microbial, or mineralizable pools within this time frame. However, the net nitrogen mineralization potential (NMP) rate was greater following eight years of N enrichment, and we attributed this to N saturation of the microbial biomass. Grassland developing under experimentally imposed N limitation through C addition to the soil exhibited ANPP, root biomass and quality, and net NMP rate similar to the ambient soil. Similarity in productivity and roots in the reduced and ambient N treatments was attributed to the potentially high nitrogen-use efficiency (NUE) of the dominant C4 grasses, and increasing cover of legumes over time in the C-amended soil. Thus, in a developing ecosystem, positive feedback between soil N supply and plant productivity may promote enhanced long-term N availability and override progressive N limitation as C accrues in plant and soil pools. However, experimentally imposed reduction in N availability did not feed back to reduce ANPP, possibly due to shifts in NUE and functional group composition.     

Susceptibility of a Northern Hardwood Forest to Exotic Earthworm Invasion

Abstract:  Numerous exotic earthworm species are colonizing northern hardwood forests of North America, where no native earthworms exist. Upon invasion, earthworms have been shown to alter the surface soil environment and plant populations and communities. We sought to identify land-use factors in the Ottawa National Forest (ONF), Michigan (U.S.A.), that contribute to earthworm invasion in forest dominated by sugar maple ( Acer saccharum Marsh.) so that the susceptibility to additional colonization could be evaluated. We sampled earthworm communities in Sylvania Wilderness Area, a unique old-growth hardwood forest, and nonwilderness sites influenced by recreational fishing, recent timber harvesting, or roads. All the nonwilderness sites contained one to five species of exotic earthworms. In contrast, only 50% of wilderness sites contained exotic earthworms, all of a single species. Nonwilderness sites also had thinner litter and duff layers, higher soil C and N content, and higher nitrogen mineralization potentials than Sylvania sites. Two central differences between Sylvania and nonwilderness sites were that all nonwilderness sites were in close contact with roads and had a history of timber harvest, whereas these factors were not present in Sylvania Wilderness Area. Using average rates of colonization, we constructed two geographic information system models to estimate the percentage of sugar maple on the ONF falling within a theoretical 100-year invasion distance of roads and of second-growth sugar maple as relative indices of susceptibility to invasion. Both models indicated high susceptibility to invasion, with 91.7% and 98.9% of sugar maple habitat falling within a theoretical 100-year invasion distance of roads or historical harvests, respectively.     

Direct and indirect control of grassland community structure by litter, resources, and biomass

Multiple factors linked through complex networks of interaction including fertilization, aboveground biomass, and litter control the diversity of plant communities. The challenge of explaining plant diversity is to determine not only how each individual mechanism directly influences diversity, but how those mechanisms indirectly influence diversity through interactions with other mechanisms. This approach is well established in the study of plant species richness, but surprisingly little effort has been dedicated toward understanding the controls of community evenness, despite the recognition that this aspect of diversity can influence a variety of critical ecosystem functions. Similarly, studies of diversity have predominantly focused on the influence of shoot, rather than root, biomass, despite the fact that the majority of plant biomass is belowground in many natural communities. In this study, I examine the roles of belowground biomass, live aboveground biomass, litter, and light availability in controlling the species richness and evenness of a rough fescue grassland community using structural equation modeling. Litter was the primary mechanism structuring grassland diversity, with both richness and evenness declining with increasing litter cover. There were few relationships between shoot biomass, shading, and diversity, and more importantly, no relationship between root biomass and diversity. The lack of relationship between root biomass and species richness and evenness suggests that, even though root competition in grasslands is intense, belowground interactions may not play an important role in structuring community diversity or composition.     

Nitrogen niches revealed through species and functional group removal in a boreal shrub community

Most theories attempting to explain the coexistence of species in local communities make fundamental assumptions regarding whether neighbors exhibit competitive, neutral, or positive resource-use interactions; however, few long-term data from naturally assembled plant communities exist to test these assumptions. We utilized a 13-year experiment consisting of factorial removal of three shrub species (Vaccinium myrtillus, V. vitis-idaea, and Empetrum hermaphroditum) and factorial removal of two functional groups (tree roots and feather mosses) to assess how neighbors affect N acquisition and growth of each of the three shrub species. The removal plots were established on each of 30 lake islands in northern Sweden that form a natural gradient of resource availability. We tested the hypotheses that: (1) the presence of functionally similar neighbors would reduce shrub N acquisition through competition for a shared N resource; (2) the removal of functional groups would affect shrub N acquisition by altering the breadth of their niches; and (3) soil fertility would influence the effects of neighbor removals. We found that the removal of functionally similar neighbors (i.e., other shrub species) usually resulted in higher biomass and biomass N, with the strength of these effects varying strongly with site fertility. Shrub species removals never resulted in altered stable N isotope ratios (delta(15)N), suggesting that the niche breadth of the three shrubs was unaffected by the presence of neighboring shrub species. In the functional group removal experiment, we found positive effects of feather moss removal on V. myrtillus biomass and biomass N, and negative effects on E. hermaphrotium N concentration and V. vitis-idaea biomass and biomass N. Tree root removal also caused a significant shift in foliar delta(15)N of V. myrtillus and altered the delta(15)N, biomass, and biomass N of E. hermaphroditum. Collectively, these results show that the resource acquisition and niche breadth of the three shrub species are often affected by neighbors, and further that both the identity of neighbors and site fertility strongly determine whether these interactions are positive, negative, or neutral. These findings have implications for understanding species coexistence and the reciprocal relationships between productivity and species diversity in this ecosystem.     

Riparian forest composition affects stream litter decomposition despite similar microbial and invertebrate communities

Cross-boundary flows of energy and nutrients link biodiversity and functioning in adjacent ecosystems. The composition of forest tree species can affect the structure and functioning of stream ecosystems due to physical and chemical attributes, as well as changes in terrestrial resource subsidies. We examined how variation in riparian canopy composition (coniferous, deciduous, mixed) affects adjacent trophic levels (invertebrate and microbial consumers) and decomposition of organic matter in small, coastal rainforest streams in southwestern British Columbia. Breakdown rates of higher-quality red alder (Alnus rubra) litter were faster in streams with a greater percentage of deciduous than coniferous riparian canopy, whereas breakdown rates of lower-quality western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla) litter were independent of riparian forest composition. When invertebrates were excluded using fine mesh, breakdown rates of both litter species were an order of magnitude less and were not significantly affected by riparian forest composition. Stream invertebrate and microbial communities were similar among riparian forest composition, with most variation attributed to leaf litter species. Invertebrate taxa richness and shredder biomass were higher in A. rubra litter; however, taxa evenness was greatest for T. heterophylla litter and both litter species in coniferous streams. Microbial community diversity (determined from terminal restriction fragment length polymorphisms) was unaffected by riparian forest or litter species. Fungal allele richness was higher than bacterial allele richness, and microbial communities associated with lower-quality T. heterophylla litter had higher diversity (allele uniqueness and richness) than those associated with higher-quality A. rubra litter. Percent variation in breakdown rates was mostly attributed to riparian forest composition in the presence of invertebrates and microbes; however, stream consumer biodiversity at adjacent trophic levels did not explain these patterns. Riparian and stream ecosystems and their biotic communities are linked through exchange and decomposition of detrital resources, and we provide evidence that riparian forest composition affects stream ecosystem catabolism despite similarities in microbial and invertebrate communities.     

三江源区不同建植年代人工草地群落演替与土壤养分变化

研究了了三源区不同建植期人工修复草地在不同演替阶段毒杂草[主要是甘肃马先蒿(Pedicularis kansuensis)]的入侵规律、数量特征,植物群落物种组成、生物苗和草地质最以及土壤养分、微生物活性的变化规律.结果表明,不同建植期人工修复草地植物群落的种类组成、植物功能群组成和群落数量特征存在显著差异.随着演替时间的推移,人工草地群落盖度、高度、物种数、生物最和多样性指数均表现出"V"字型变化规律,杂类草--甘肃马先蒿的数量特征变化尤为明显,在4 a的人工草地群落中开始局部入侵,在5～6 a的人工草地群落中大面积入侵,其入侵速度、入侵面积达到高峰期.土壤的含水量、容重、土壤中有机质、氮素和磷素在演替过程(7 a、9 a草地)中逐渐降低,到一定时期又逐步增加;随着演替的进行,不同建植期人工草地的土壤微牛物生物量碳和酶活性均呈"V"字型,变化.对于退化生态系统的恢复首先是植被恢复,其次是土壤肥力的恢复.土壤有机质等养分的积累、微生物活性的改善不仅能使土壤-植物复合系统的功能得以恢复,同时也能促进物种多样性的形成,有利于人工草地群落稳定性的提高.在试验区尽管植被恢复演替进行得比较缓慢,但从土壤发展的角度看,仍属进展演替.所以,在退化高寒草甸的恢复过程中,若降低和有效控制外界的干扰(如围栏封育),可为退化草地恢复提供繁殖体与土壤环境,实现人工草地逐步向恢复(正向)演替进行.图3表6参34     

Potential nitrogen constraints on soil carbon sequestration under low and elevated atmospheric CO2

The interaction between nitrogen cycling and carbon sequestration is critical in predicting the consequences of anthropogenic increases in atmospheric CO2 (hereafter, Ca). The progressive N limitation (PNL) theory predicts that carbon sequestration in plants and soils with rising Ca may be constrained by the availability of nitrogen in many ecosystems. Here we report on the interaction between C and N dynamics during a four-year field experiment in which an intact C3/C4 grassland was exposed to a gradient in Ca from 200 to 560 micromol/mol. There were strong species effects on decomposition dynamics, with C loss positively correlated and N mineralization negatively correlated with Ca for litter of the C3 forb Solanum dimidiatum, whereas decomposition of litter from the C4 grass Bothriochloa ischaemum was unresponsive to Ca. Both soil microbial biomass and soil respiration rates exhibited a nonlinear response to Ca, reaching a maximum at approximately 440 micromol/mol Ca. We found a general movement of N out of soil organic matter and into aboveground plant biomass with increased Ca. Within soils we found evidence of C loss from recalcitrant soil C fractions with narrow C:N ratios to more labile soil fractions with broader C:N ratios, potentially due to decreases in N availability. The observed reallocation of N from soil to plants over the last three years of the experiment supports the PNL theory that reductions in N availability with rising Ca could initially be overcome by a transfer of N from low C:N ratio fractions to those with higher C:N ratios. Although the transfer of N allowed plant production to increase with increasing Ca, there was no net soil C sequestration at elevated Ca, presumably because relatively stable C is being decomposed to meet microbial and plant N requirements. Ultimately, if the C gained by increased plant production is rapidly lost through decomposition, the shift in N from older soil organic matter to rapidly decomposing plant tissue may limit net C sequestration with increased plant production.     

Responses of soil microbial communities to water stress: results from a meta-analysis

Soil heterotrophic respiration and nutrient mineralization are strongly affected by environmental conditions, in particular by moisture fluctuations triggered by rainfall events. When soil moisture decreases, so does decomposers' activity, with microfauna generally undergoing stress sooner than bacteria and fungi. Despite differences in the responses of individual decomposer groups to moisture availability (e.g., bacteria are typically more sensitive than fungi to water stress), we show that responses of decomposers at the community level are different in soils and surface litter, but similar across biomes and climates. This results in a nearly constant soil-moisture threshold corresponding to the point when biological activity ceases, at a water potential of about -14 MPa in mineral soils and -36 MPa in surface litter. This threshold is shown to be comparable to the soil moisture value where solute diffusion becomes strongly inhibited in soil, while in litter it is dehydration rather than diffusion that likely limits biological activity around the stress point. Because of these intrinsic constraints and lack of adaptation to different hydro-climatic regimes, changes in rainfall patterns (primary drivers of the soil moisture balance) may have dramatic impacts on soil carbon and nutrient cycling.     

渝北不同模式水源涵养林植物多样性及其与土壤特征的关系

以重庆缙云山8种不同构建模式的水源涵养林及林地土壤为研究对象,用物种多样性指数(simpson指数、Shannon-Wiener指数)、均匀度指数(Pieiou指数)和物种丰富度指数(Margalef指数)以及用土壤容重、毛管孔隙度、非毛管孔隙度、pH值、有机质、全氮、全磷、全钾、速效氮、有效磷、速效钾和阳离子交换量12个指标表征土壤的物理性状和养分特征,分析了8种群落的植物多样性、土壤特征及二者的相互关系.结果表明:物种多样性以广东山胡椒(Lindera kwangtungensis)×杉木((7unninghamia anceolata)混交林最高.马尾松(Pinus massoniana)×广东山胡椒混交林次之,马尾松×柳杉(Cryptomeria fortunei Hooibrenk)混交林和毛竹(Phyllostachys pubescens)纯林最低.各模式林地土壤特征差异显著,以毛竹纯林土壤质量最差.在该地区针阔混交林对提高物种多样性和改良土壤作用显著,针叶林及纯林则较差.物种多样性指数与土壤特征因子的相关性分析表明,不同模式水源林群落植物多样性与土壤特征因子存在一定相关性,其中与土壤物理性状特征关系不显著,与养分特征关系显著.全N与全K与四个多样性指数呈显著或极显著的正相关,Shannon-Wiener指数、Simpson指数和有机质、阳离子交换量、速效P呈显著的正相关,特别是有机质和全N两因子与物种多样性关系最密切.     

Aboveground and belowground effects of single-tree removals in New Zealand rain forest

There has been considerable recent interest in how human-induced species loss affects community and ecosystem properties. These effects are particularly apparent when a commercially valuable species is harvested from an ecosystem, such as occurs through single-tree harvesting or selective logging of desired timber species in natural forests. In New Zealand mixed-species rain forests, single-tree harvesting of the emergent gymnosperm Dacrydium cupressinum, or rimu, has been widespread. This harvesting has been contentious in part because of possible ecological impacts of Dacrydium removal on the remainder of the forest, but many of these effects remain unexplored. We identified an area where an unintended 40-year "removal experiment" had been set up that involved selective extraction of individual Dacrydium trees. We measured aboveground and belowground variables at set distances from both individual live trees and stumps of trees harvested 40 years ago. Live trees had effects both above and below ground by affecting diversity and cover of several components of the vegetation (usually negatively), promoting soil C sequestration, enhancing ratios of soil C:P and N:P, and affecting community structure of soil microflora. These effects extended to 8 m from the tree base and were likely caused by poor-quality litter and humus produced by the trees. Measurements for the stumps revealed strong legacy effects of prior presence of trees on some properties (e.g., cover by understory herbs and ferns, soil C sequestration, soil C:P and N:P ratios), but not others (e.g., soil fungal biomass, soil N concentration). These results suggest that the legacy of prior presence of Dacrydium may remain for several decades or centuries, and certainly well over 40 years. They also demonstrate that, while large Dacrydium individuals (and their removal) may have important effects in their immediate proximity, within a forest, these effects should only be important in localized patches containing high densities of large trees. Finally, this study emphasizes that deliberate extraction of a particular tree species from a forest can exert influences both above and below ground if the removed species has a different functional role than that of the other plant species present.