Consistent effects of nitrogen fertilization on soil bacterial communities in contrasting systems

Ecosystems worldwide are receiving increasing amounts of reactive nitrogen (N) through anthropogenic activities. Although the effects of increased N inputs on plant communities have been reasonably well studied, few comparable studies have examined impacts on whole soil bacterial communities, though they play critical roles in ecosystem functioning. We sampled soils from two long-term ecological research (LTER) experimental N gradients, both of which have been amended with NH4NO3; a grassland at Cedar Creek (27 years of N additions) and an agricultural field at Kellogg Biological Station (8 years of N additions). By examining shifts in bacterial communities across these contrasting ecosystem types, we could test competing hypotheses about the direct and indirect factors that might drive bacterial responses to elevated N inputs. Bacterial community structure was highly responsive to N additions. We observed predictable and consistent changes in the structure of the bacterial communities across both ecosystem types. Our results suggest that bacterial communities across these gradients are more structured by N and/or soil carbon availability than by shifts in the plant community or soil pH associated with the elevated nitrogen inputs. In contrast to the pronounced shifts in bacterial community composition and in direct contrast to the patterns often observed in plant communities, increases in N availability did not have consistent effects on the richness and diversity of soil bacterial communities.     

Plant diversity, CO2, and N influence inorganic and organic N leaching in grasslands

In nitrogen (N)-limited systems, the potential to sequester carbon depends on the balance between N inputs and losses as well as on how efficiently N is used, yet little is known about responses of these processes to changes in plant species richness, atmospheric CO2 concentration ([CO2]), and N deposition. We examined how plant species richness (1 or 16 species), elevated [CO2] (ambient or 560 ppm), and inorganic N addition (0 or 4 g x m(-2) x yr(-1)) affected ecosystem N losses, specifically leaching of dissolved inorganic N (DIN) and organic N (DON) in a grassland field experiment in Minnesota, USA. We observed greater DIN leaching below 60 cm soil depth in the monoculture plots (on average 1.8 and 3.1 g N x m(-2) x yr(-1) for ambient N and N-fertilized plots respectively) than in the 16-species plots (0.2 g N x m(-2) x yr(-1) for both ambient N and N-fertilized plots), particularly when inorganic N was added. Most likely, loss of complementary resource use and reduced biological N demand in the monoculture plots caused the increase in DIN leaching relative to the high-diversity plots. Elevated [CO2] reduced DIN concentrations under conditions when DIN concentrations were high (i.e., in N-fertilized and monoculture plots). Contrary to the results for DIN, DON leaching was greater in the 16-species plots than in the monoculture plots (on average 0.4 g N x m(-2) x yr(-1) in 16-species plots and 0.2 g N x m(-2) x yr(-1) in monoculture plots). In fact, DON dominated N leaching in the 16-species plots (64% of total N leaching as DON), suggesting that, even with high biological demand for N, substantial amounts of N can be lost as DON. We found no significant main effects of elevated [CO2] on DIN or DON leaching; however, elevated [CO2] reduced the positive effect of inorganic N addition on DON leaching, especially during the second year of observation. Our results suggest that plant species richness, elevated [CO2], and N deposition alter DIN loss primarily through changes in biological N demand. DON losses can be as large as DIN loss but are more sensitive to organic matter production and turnover.     

Gastropod herbivory in response to elevated CO2 and N addition impacts plant community composition

In this study, the influence of elevated carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrogen (N) deposition on gastropod herbivory was investigated for six annual species in a California annual grassland community. These experimentally simulated global changes increased availability of important resources for plant growth, leading to the hypothesis that species with the most positive growth and foliar nutrient responses would experience the greatest increase in herbivory. Counter to the expectations, shifts in tissue N and growth rates caused by N deposition did not predict shifts in herbivore consumption rates. N deposition increased seedling N concentrations and growth rates but did not increase herbivore consumption overall, or for any individual species. Elevated CO2 did not influence growth rates nor have a statistically significant influence on seedling N concentrations. Elevated CO2 at ambient N levels caused a decline in the number of seedlings consumed, but the interaction between CO2 and N addition differed among species. The results of this study indicate that shifting patterns of herbivory will likely influence species composition as environmental conditions change in the future; however, a simple trade-off between shifting growth rates and palatability is not evident.     

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.     

Seed and establishment limitation contribute to long-term native forb declines in California grasslands

The effects of exotic species invasions on biodiversity vary with spatial scale, and documentation of local-scale changes in biodiversity following invasion is generally lacking. Coupling long-term observations of local community dynamics with experiments to determine the role played by exotic species in recruitment limitation of native species would inform both our understanding of exotic impacts on natives at local scales and regional-scale management efforts to promote native persistence. We used field experimentation to quantify propagule and establishment limitation in a suite of native annual forbs in a California reserve, and compared these findings to species abundance trends within the same sites over the past 48 years. Observations at 11 paired sites (inside and outside the reserve) indicated that exotic annual plants have continued to increase in abundance over the past 48 years. This trend suggests the system has not reached equilibrium > 250 years after exotic species began to spread, and 70 years after livestock grazing ceased within the reserve. Long-term monitoring observations also indicated that six native annual forb species went extinct from more local populations than were colonized. To determine the potential role of exotic species in these native plant declines, we added seed of these species into plots adjacent to monitoring sites where plant litter and live grass competition were removed. Experimental results suggest both propagule and establishment limitation have contributed to local declines observed for these native forbs. Recruitment was highest at sites that had current or historical occurrences of the seeded species, and in plots where litter was removed. Grazing history (i.e., location within or outside the reserve) interacted with exotic competition removal, such that removal of live grass competition increased recruitment in more recently grazed sites. Abundance of forbs was positively related to recruitment, while abundance of exotic forbs was negatively related. Thus, exotic competition is likely only one factor contributing to local declines of native species in invaded ecosystems, with a combination of propagule limitation, site quality, and land use history also playing important and interactive roles in native plant recruitment.     

Terrestrial vertebrates alter seedling composition and richness but not diversity in an Australian tropical rain forest

Although birds and mammals play important roles in several mechanisms hypothesized to maintain plant diversity in species-rich habitats, there have been few long-term, community-level tests of their importance. We excluded terrestrial birds and mammals from fourteen 6 x 7.5 m plots in Australian primary tropical rain forest and compared recruitment and survival of tree seedlings annually over the subsequent seven years to that on nearby open plots. We re-censused a subset of the plots after 13 years of vertebrate exclusion to test for longer-term effects. After two years of exclusion, seedling abundance was significantly higher (74%) on exclosure plots and remained so at each subsequent census. Richness was significantly higher on exclosure plots from 1998 to 2003, but in 2009 richness no longer differed, and rarefied species richness was higher in the presence of vertebrates. Shannon's diversity and Pielou's evenness did not differ in any year. Vertebrates marginally increased density-dependent mortality and recruitment limitation, but neither effect was great enough to increase richness or diversity on open plots relative to exclosure plots. Terrestrial vertebrates significantly altered seedling community composition, having particularly strong impacts on members of the Lauraceae. Overall, our results highlight that interactions between terrestrial vertebrates and tropical tree recruitment may not translate into strong community-level effects on diversity, especially over the short-term, despite significant impacts on individual species that result in altered species composition.     

Microbial nitrogen limitation increases decomposition

With anthropogenic nutrient inputs to ecosystems increasing globally, there are long-standing, fundamental questions about the role of nutrients in the decomposition of organic matter. We tested the effects of exogenous nitrogen and phosphorus inputs on litter decomposition across a broad suite of litter and soil types. In one experiment, C mineralization was compared across a wide array of plants individually added to a single soil, while in the second, C mineralization from a single substrate was compared across 50 soils. Counter to basic stoichiometric decomposition theory, low N availability can increase litter decomposition as microbes use labile substrates to acquire N from recalcitrant organic matter. This "microbial nitrogen mining" is consistently suppressed by high soil N supply or substrate N concentrations. There is no evidence for phosphorus mining as P fertilization increases short- and long-term mineralization. These results suggest that basic stoichiometric decomposition theory needs to be revised and ecosystem models restructured accordingly in order to predict ecosystem carbon storage responses to anthropogenic changes in nutrient availability.     

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.     

Predation,recruitment and the dynamics of communities of coral-reef fishes

I investigated the ability of predators to influence the patterns of species richness and abundance of non-piscivorous fishes on small, artificial reefs replenished by natural recruitment. Periodic removal of predators effectively reduced the species richness and abundance of predators on removal reefs. The difference between the number of predators on control and removal reefs was greatest immediately following the removal of predators and attenuated between removals. During periods of recruitment, species richness and total abundance of recently-recruited, non-piscivorous fishes were generally greater on predator-removal reefs than on control reefs. Species richness and total abundance of resident non-piscivorous fishes were not affected by the removal of predators in the first year of the experiment. Both abundance and species richness of residents, however, were greater on the removal reefs during the second year of the experiment. The difference in the responses of the two age classes to the removal of predators suggests that predators may affect community patterns of older age classes through time-lagged effects on the survivorship of younger age classes. At the end of the experiment, species richness was positively related to abundance for recruits and residents. The effects of removing piscivorous fishes on the abundance of non-piscivorous fishes were similar for species considered separately. A greater number of species of recruit and resident fishes were more abundant on reefs from which predators had been removed. These data suggest that predators can play an important role in structuring communities of fishes on coral reefs.     

Seaweed richness and herbivory increase rate of community recovery from disturbance

The importance of herbivores and of plant diversity for community succession and recovery from disturbance is well documented. However, few studies have assessed the relative magnitude of, or potential interactions between, these factors. To determine the combined effect of herbivory and surrounding algal species richness on the recovery of a rocky intertidal community, we conducted a 27-month field experiment assessing algal recruitment and succession in cleared patches that mimic naturally forming gaps in the ambient community. We crossed two herbivore treatments, ambient and reduced abundance, with monocultures and polycultures of the four most common algal species in a mid-high rocky intertidal zone of northern California. We found that both the presence of herbivores and high surrounding algal richness increased recovery rates, and the effect of algal richness was twice the magnitude of that of herbivores. The increased recovery rate of patches containing herbivores was due to the consumption of fast-growing, early colonist species that preempt space from perennial, late-successional species. Mechanisms linking algal richness and recovery are more numerous. In polycultures, herbivore abundance and species composition is altered, desiccation rates are lower, and propagule recruitment, survival, and growth are higher compared to monocultures, all of which could contribute the observed effect of surrounding species richness. Herbivory and species richness should jointly accelerate recovery wherever palatable species inhibit late-successional, herbivore-resistant species and recruitment and survival of new colonists is promoted by local species richness. These appear to be common features of rocky-shore seaweed, and perhaps other, communities.     

Nitrogen cycling during seven years of atmospheric CO2 enrichment in a scrub oak woodland

Experimentally increasing atmospheric CO2 often stimulates plant growth and ecosystem carbon (C) uptake. Biogeochemical theory predicts that these initial responses will immobilize nitrogen (N) in plant biomass and soil organic matter, causing N availability to plants to decline, and reducing the long-term CO2-stimulation of C storage in N limited ecosystems. While many experiments have examined changes in N cycling in response to elevated CO2, empirical tests of this theoretical prediction are scarce. During seven years of postfire recovery in a scrub oak ecosystem, elevated CO2 initially increased plant N accumulation and plant uptake of tracer 15N, peaking after four years of CO2 enrichment. Between years four and seven, these responses to CO2 declined. Elevated CO2 also increased N and tracer 15N accumulation in the O horizon, and reduced 15N recovery in underlying mineral soil. These responses are consistent with progressive N limitation: the initial CO2 stimulation of plant growth immobilized N in plant biomass and in the O horizon, progressively reducing N availability to plants. Litterfall production (one measure of aboveground primary productivity) increased initially in response to elevated CO2, but the CO2 stimulation declined during years five through seven, concurrent with the accumulation of N in the O horizon and the apparent restriction of plant N availability. Yet, at the level of aboveground plant biomass (estimated by allometry), progressive N limitation was less apparent, initially because of increased N acquisition from soil and later because of reduced N concentration in biomass as N availability declined. Over this seven-year period, elevated CO2 caused a redistribution of N within the ecosystem, from mineral soils, to plants, to surface organic matter. In N limited ecosystems, such changes in N cycling are likely to reduce the response of plant production to elevated CO2.     

Effects of Forest Fragmentation on Seed Dispersal and Seedling Establishment in Ornithochorous Trees

Abstract: Habitat fragmentation increases seed dispersal limitation across the landscape and may also affect subsequent demographic stages such as seedling establishment. Thus, the development of adequate plans for forest restoration requires an understanding of mechanisms by which fragmentation hampers seed delivery to deforested areas and knowledge of how fragmentation affects the relationship between seed‐deposition patterns and seedling establishment. We evaluated the dispersal and recruitment of two bird‐dispersed, fleshy‐fruited tree species (Crataegus monogyna and Ilex aquifolium) in fragmented secondary forests of northern Spain. Forest fragmentation reduced the probability of seed deposition for both trees because of decreased availability of woody perches and fruit‐rich neighborhoods for seed dispersers, rather than because of reductions in tree cover by itself. The effects of fragmentation went beyond effects on the dispersal stage in Crataegus because seedling establishment was proportional to the quantities of bird‐dispersed seeds arriving at microsites. In contrast, postdispersal mortality in Ilex was so high that it obscured the seed‐to‐seedling transition. These results suggest that the effects of fragmentation are not necessarily consistent across stages of recruitment across species. Habitat management seeking to overcome barriers to forest recovery must include the preservation, and even the planting, of fleshy‐fruited trees in the unforested matrix as a measure to encourage frugivorous birds to enter into open and degraded areas. An integrative management strategy should also explicitly consider seed‐survival expectancies at microhabitats to preserve plant‐population dynamics and community structure in fragmented landscapes.     

Volatile chemicals from leaf litter are associated with invasiveness of a neotropical weed in Asia

Some invasive plant species appear to strongly suppress neighbors in their nonnative ranges but much less so in their native range. We found that in the field in its native range in Mexico, the presence of Ageratina adenophora, an aggressive Neotropical invader, was correlated with higher plant species richness than found in surrounding plant communities where this species was absent, suggesting facilitation. However, in two nonnative ranges, China and India, A. adenophora canopies were correlated with much lower species richness than the surrounding communities, suggesting inhibition. Volatile organic compound (VOC) signals may contribute to this striking biogeographical difference and the invasive success of A. adenophora. In controlled experiments volatiles from A. adenophora litter caused higher mortality of species native to India and China, but not of species native to Mexico. The effects of A. adenophora VOCs on seedling germination and growth did not differ between species from the native range and species from the nonnative ranges of the invader. Litter from A. adenophora plants from nonnative populations also produced VOCs that differed quantitatively in the concentrations of some chemicals than litter from native populations, but there were no chemicals unique to one region. Biogeographic differences in the concentrations of some volatile compounds between ranges suggest that A. adenophora may be experiencing selection on biochemical composition in its nonnative ranges.     

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.     

Challenges to Introducing and Managing Disturbance Regimes for Holocarpha macradenia, an Endangered Annual Grassland Forb

Abstract:  Introducing rare plants to new sites for conservation to offset effects of habitat destruction requires detailed knowledge of habitat requirements, plant demography, and management needs. We conducted a factorial experiment replicated at three coastal prairie sites to test the effects of clipping frequency and litter accumulation on seed germination, seedling survival, reproduction, and seedling recruitment of introduced populations of the endangered, tall-stature, annual forb, Holocarpha macradenia (DC.) E. Greene. Clipping favored H. macradenia , primarily by enhancing seed germination and flower production. Litter accumulation had no effect on seed germination, even after 5 years of treatments. Seedling recruitment was highly site specific with large numbers of recruits recorded at only one of three sites. Although recruitment of seedlings was higher in clipped plots for 2–3 years, by 4–5 years after introduction very few seedlings survived to reproduction in any treatment. We attribute this result to a combination of poor habitat quality, small population size, and lack of a seed bank. We were unsuccessful in introducing this relatively well-studied species of concern to apparently suitable habitat at multiple sites in multiple years, which suggests that translocating rare plant populations to mitigate for habitat destruction is an expensive and highly uncertain endeavor.     

Seed arrival and ecological filters interact to assemble high-diversity plant communities

Two prominent mechanisms proposed to structure biodiversity are niche-based ecological filtering and chance arrival of propagules from the species pool. Seed arrival is hypothesized to play a particularly strong role in high-diversity plant communities with large potential species pools and many rare species, but few studies have explored how seed arrival and local ecological filters interactively assemble species-rich communities in space and time. We experimentally manipulated seed arrival and multiple ecological filters in high-diversity, herbaceous-dominated groundcover communities in longleaf pine savannas, which contain the highest small-scale species richness in North America (up to > 40 species/m2). We tested three hypotheses: (1) local communities constitute relatively open-membership assemblages, in which increased seed arrival from the species pool strongly increases species richness; (2) ecological filters imposed by local fire intensity and soil moisture influence recruitment and richness of immigrating species; and (3) ecological filters increase similarity in the composition of immigrating species. In a two-year factorial field experiment, we manipulated local fire intensity by increasing pre-fire fuel loads, soil moisture using rain shelters and irrigation, and seed arrival by adding seeds from the local species pool. Seed arrival increased species richness regardless of fire intensity and soil moisture but interacted with both ecological filters to influence community assembly. High-intensity fire decreased richness of resident species, suggesting an important abiotic filter. In contrast, high-intensity fire increased recruitment and richness of immigrating species, presumably by decreasing effects of other ecological filters (competition and resource limitation) in postfire environments. Drought decreased recruitment and richness of immigrating species, whereas wet soil conditions increased recruitment but decreased or had little effect on richness. Moreover, some ecological filters (wet soil conditions and, to a lesser extent, high-intensity fire) increased similarity in the composition of immigrating species, illustrating conditions that influence deterministic community assembly in species-rich communities. Our experiment provides insights into how dispersal-assembly mechanisms may interact with niche-assembly mechanisms in space (spatial variation in disturbance) and time (temporal variation in resource availability) to structure high-diversity communities and can help guide conservation of threatened longleaf pine ecosystems in the face of habitat fragmentation and environmental change.     

Elevated CO2 stimulates net accumulations of carbon and nitrogen in land ecosystems: a meta-analysis

The capability of terrestrial ecosystems to sequester carbon (C) plays a critical role in regulating future climatic change yet depends on nitrogen (N) availability. To predict long-term ecosystem C storage, it is essential to examine whether soil N becomes progressively limiting as C and N are sequestered in long-lived plant biomass and soil organic matter. A critical parameter to indicate the long-term progressive N limitation (PNL) is net change in ecosystem N content in association with C accumulation in plant and soil pools under elevated CO2. We compiled data from 104 published papers that study C and N dynamics at ambient and elevated CO2. The compiled database contains C contents, N contents, and C:N ratio in various plant and soil pools, and root:shoot ratio. Averaged C and N pool sizes in plant and soil all significantly increase at elevated CO2 in comparison to those at ambient CO2, ranging from a 5% increase in shoot N content to a 32% increase in root C content. The C and N contents in litter pools are consistently higher in elevated than ambient CO2 among all the surveyed studies whereas C and N contents in the other pools increase in some studies and decrease in other studies. The high variability in CO2-induced changes in C and N pool sizes results from diverse responses of various C and N processes to elevated CO2. Averaged C:N ratios are higher by 3% in litter and soil pools and 11% in root and shoot pools at elevated relative to ambient CO2. Elevated CO2 slightly increases root:shoot ratio. The net N accumulation in plant and soil pools at least helps prevent complete down-regulation of, and likely supports, long-term CO2 stimulation of C sequestration. The concomitant C and N accumulations in response to rising atmospheric CO2 may reflect intrinsic nature of ecosystem development as revealed before by studies of succession over hundreds to millions of years.     

森林凋落物分解研究进展

森林凋落物是指森林生态系统内由生物组分产生,然后归还到林地表面的所有有机物质的总称。森林凋落物在促进森林生态系统正常的物质循环和养分平衡,维持生态系统功能中具有重要作用,其分解受多因素影响,且各因素之间相互交错。不同情况下,各因子的重要性可能不同。温度和湿度被认为是影响凋落物分解主要的气候因子。凋落物随着温度升高分解速率加快,增加土壤湿度对凋落物分解有积极作用。凋落物的化学性质中,C、N比和木质素含量被认为是最重要的指标。凋落物分解前期的分解速率受到养分含量、水溶性碳化合物和结构碳化合物含量的强烈影响,而后期则更多地受到木质素及纤维素/木质素比值的支配。土壤动物可以粉碎凋落物,土壤微生物也是促进凋落物分解的重要因素,人为活动也影响凋落物分解。N沉降、全球变暖和臭氧层破坏等全球变化对森林凋落物分解的影响已逐渐成为研究热点。未来凋落物分解的研究方向是统一研究方法,开展长期定位监测,加强对分解过程中有机碳含量和释放量的研究,以及N沉降对凋落物分解作用机理的研究。     

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.