Plant uptake of inorganic and organic nitrogen: neighbor identity matters

The importance of interspecific competition as a cause of resource partitioning among species has been widely assumed but rarely tested. Using neighbor removals in combination with 15N tracer additions in the field, we examined variation among three alpine species in the uptake of 15N-NH4+, 15N-NO3-, and 15N-13C-[2]-glycine in intact neighborhoods, when paired with a specific neighbor, and when all neighbors were removed. Species varied in the capacity to take up 15N-labeled NH4+, NO3-, and glycine in intact neighborhoods and in interspecific pairs. When interspecific neighbor pairs were compared with no neighbor controls, neighbors reduced 15N uptake in target species by as much as 50%, indicating competition for N. Furthermore, neighbor identity influenced the capacity of species to take up different forms of N. Thus, competition within interspecific neighbor pairs often caused reduced uptake of a particular form of N, as well as shifts to uptake of an alternative form of N. Such shifts in resource use as a result of competition are an implicit assumption in studies of resource partitioning but have rarely been documented. Our study suggests that plasticity in the uptake of different forms of N may be a mechanism by which cooccurring plants reduce competition for N.     

Direct and indirect effects of CO2, nitrogen, and community diversity on plant-enemy interactions

Resource abundance and plant diversity are two predominant factors hypothesized to influence the amount of damage plants receive from natural enemies. Many impacts of these environmental variables on plant damage are likely indirect and result because both resource availability and diversity can influence plant traits associated with attractiveness to herbivores or susceptibility to pathogens. We used a long-term, manipulative field experiment to investigate how carbon dioxide (CO2) enrichment, nitrogen (N) fertilization, and plant community diversity affect plant traits and the amount of herbivore and pathogen damage experienced by the common prairie legume Lespedeza capitata. We detected little evidence that CO2 or N affected plant traits; however, plants growing in high-diversity treatments (polycultures) were taller, were less pubescent, and produced thinner leaves (higher specific leaf area). Interestingly, we also detected little evidence that CO2 or N affect damage. Plants growing in polycultures compared to monocultures, however, experienced a fivefold increase in damage from generalist herbivores, 64% less damage from specialist herbivores, and 91% less damage from pathogens. Moreover, within diversity treatments, damage by generalist herbivores was negatively correlated with pubescence and often was positively correlated with plant height, while damage by specialist herbivores typically was positively correlated with pubescence and negatively associated with height. These patterns are consistent with changes in plant traits driving differences in herbivory between diversity treatments. In contrast, changes in measured plant traits did not explain the difference in disease incidence between monocultures and polycultures. In summary, our data provide little evidence that CO2 or N supply alter damage from natural enemies. By contrast, plants grown in monocultures experienced greater specialist herbivore and pathogen damage but less generalist herbivore damage than plants grown in diverse communities. Part of this diversity effect was mediated by changes in plant traits, many of which likely are plastic responses to diversity treatments, but some of which may be the result of evolutionary changes in response to these long-term experimental manipulations.     

Variation of salts and available nutrients in salt-affected soil during leaching process under the influence of organic ameliorators

ABSTRACT

This study investigated the potential influence of three organic ameliorators (peat, biochar and leonardite) on salts and nutrients in salt-affected soils during intermittent leaching. Results showed that nearly 90% of salt was removed from columns in the leaching process and sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) of the soil after leaching was reduced by 67.3% (control, CK), 62.9% (peat), 70.1% (biochar) and 55.0% (leonardite). Total N loss declined by 26.2% (peat), 11.7% (biochar) and 55.5% (leonardite) compared with CK in the process of leaching. The maintaining N (NH₄⁺ and NO₃^?) of soil after leaching was 8.25, 7.31, 11.31 and 14.48?mg/kg for CK, peat, biochar and leonardite treatments. Final P loss was 0.47, 0.31, 0.54, 0.27?mg/column in leaching for CK, peat, biochar and leonardite treatments. Soluble P of soil after leaching was measured as 6.95 (CK), 5.62 (peat), 8.52 (biochar) and 3.33 (leonardite) mg/kg. Leaching could remove the salt effectively but with nutrient loss in the process. The findings of this study suggest that organic ameliorators (biochar, peat or leonardite) play an important role in retaining nutrients during leaching as well as supplying nutrients after leaching to offer practical assistance for the amendment of salt-affected soil in the Yellow River Delta.     

Soil organic matter dynamics in Portuguese natural and sown rainfed grasslands

Soil organic matter (SOM) is a particularly important parameter in soil management, especially in mineral soils in Mediterranean and semi-arid countries where its concentration is low. In these conditions, increasing SOM concentration has several agronomic and environmental benefits, ranging from increase in water holding capacity to soil protection and carbon sequestration. We develop a model to express the short-term trend of SOM increase in grasslands as the balance between input and mineralization. This model is calibrated using five years of soil analyses from eight locations. In each location there were either two or three plots with the different grassland systems considered: sown biodiverse permanent pastures rich in legumes (SBPPRLs), fertilized natural grasslands (FNGs), and (un-improved) natural grasslands (NGs). SBPPRL are a new system consisting in the use of plant biodiversity to increase pasture productivity and resilience. So far, they exist mostly in Portugal.We use statistical calibration to adjust an asymptotic curve to the data and obtain the model parameters. Under the assumption of equal mineralization rates across grassland systems, we find that the expected steady-state long term SOM concentration in undisturbed SBPPRL is higher than in NG and FNG. Fertilization does not significantly increase SOM input, and so the trend in SOM is equal for NG and FNG. In 10 years, there is an average increase of 0.21 percentage points per year in SBPPRL. In turn, SOM increases in FNG and NG are 0.08 percentage points per year.     

Woody encroachment decreases diversity across North American grasslands and savannas

Woody encroachment is a widespread and acute phenomenon affecting grasslands and savannas worldwide. We performed a meta-analysis of 29 studies from 13 different grassland/savanna communities in North America to determine the consequences of woody encroachment on plant species richness. In all 13 communities, species richness declined with woody plant encroachment (average decline = 45%). Species richness declined more in communities with higher precipitation (r2 = 0.81) and where encroachment was associated with a greater change in annual net primary productivity (ANPP; r2 = 0.69). Based on the strong positive correlation between precipitation and ANPP following encroachment (r2 = 0.87), we hypothesize that these relationships occur because water-limited woody plants experience a greater physiological and demographic release as precipitation increases. The observed relationship between species richness and ANPP provides support for the theoretical expectation that a trade-off occurs between richness and productivity in herbaceous communities. We conclude that woody plant encroachment leads to significant declines in species richness in North American grassland/savanna communities.     

Janzen-Connell effects are widespread and strong enough to maintain diversity in grasslands

Crop rotation schemes are believed to work by preventing specialist soil-borne pests from depressing the future yields of similar crops. In ecology, such negative plant-soil feedbacks may be viewed as a type of Janzen-Connell effect, which promotes species coexistence and diversity by preventing the same species from repeatedly occupying a particular site. In a controlled greenhouse experiment with 24 plant species and using soils from established field monocultures, we reveal community-wide soil-based Janzen-Connell effects between the three major functional groups of plants in temperate European grasslands. The effects are much stronger and more prevalent if plants are grown in interspecific competition. Using several soil treatments (gamma irradiation, activated carbon, fungicide, fertilizer) we show that the mechanism of the negative feedback is the buildup of soil pathogens which reduce the competitive ability of nearly all species when grown on soils they have formerly occupied. We further show that the magnitude of the change in competitive outcome is sufficient to stabilize observed fitness differences between functional groups in reasonably large communities. The generality and strength of this negative feedback suggests that Janzen-Connell effects have been underestimated as drivers of plant diversity in temperate ecosystems.     

Decomposers (Lumbricidae, Collembola) affect plant performance in model grasslands of different diversity

Decomposer invertebrates influence soil structure and nutrient mineralization as well as the activity and composition of the microbial community in soil and therefore likely affect plant performance and plant competition. We established model grassland communities in a greenhouse to study the interrelationship between two different functional groups of decomposer invertebrates, Lumbricidae and Collembola, and their effect on plant performance and plant nitrogen uptake in a plant diversity gradient. Common plant species of Central European Arrhenatherion grasslands were transplanted into microcosms with numbers of plant species varying from one to eight and plant functional groups varying from one to four. Separate and combined treatments with earthworms and collembolans were set up. Microcosms contained 15N labeled litter to track N fluxes into plant shoots. Presence of decomposers strongly increased total plant and plant shoot biomass. Root biomass decreased in the presence of collembolans and even more in the presence of earthworms. However, it increased when both animal groups were present. Also, presence of decomposers increased total N concentration and 15N enrichment of grasses, legumes, and small herbs. Small herbs were at a maximum in the combined treatment with earthworms and collembolans. The impact of earthworms and collembolans on plant performance strongly varied with plant functional group identity and plant species diversity and was modified when both decomposers were present. Both decomposer groups generally increased aboveground plant productivity through effects on litter decomposition and nutrient mineralization leading to an increased plant nutrient acquisition. The non-uniform effects of earthworms and collembolans suggest that functional diversity of soil decomposer animals matters and that the interactions between soil animal functional groups affect the structure of plant communities.     

大气CO2与植物氮素营养的关系

大气CO2浓度升高对植物吸收氮素,以及对植物和土壤中的氮浓度、C/N比和氮循环都存在着影响。大气CO2浓度与植物氮素营养之间存在着交互作用。大气CO2浓度升高对植物氮素营养影响的结果与氮浓度、氮形态等因素有关。     

油菜地CO2、N2O排放及其影响因素

2005年11月至2006年5月采用静态箱法对成都平原典型水稻 - 油菜轮作区油菜地CO2、N2O排放通量进行原位测定.结果表明,CO2排放通量为121.4～1 585.8 mg·m-2·h-1,平均656.8 mg·m-2·h-1;N2O排放通量为18.0～521.0 μg·m-2·h-1,平均168.0 μg·m-2·h-1.在整个油菜生长期内,地下5 cm土壤温度与CO2、N2O排放通量之间呈指数函数关系.3种不同处理油菜地CO2、N2O排放通量均为常规处理＞无氮处理＞裸地处理.土壤温度、施氮和植物生长是影响油菜地CO2、N2O排放的主要因素.     

鼎湖山自然保护区土壤有机碳、微生物生物量碳和土壤CO2浓度垂直分布

选取鼎湖山3种植被类型(季风常绿阔叶林,针阔叶混交林和马尾松林),按0～15,15～30,30～45cm土层取样,测量了各土层土壤有机碳(SOC)质量分数,熏蒸培养法测量了微生物生物量碳(Cmic),同时用气象色谱法测量了地表和土壤15、30、45、60cm处CO2体积分数,并用静态箱/碱石灰吸收法测量了土壤呼吸速率。结果如下:(1)随土层的加深,SOC质量分数降低,0～15cmSOC显著高于其他两层,季风常绿阔叶林SOC显著高于其他两种植被类型;(2)土壤碳密度和土壤有机碳含量垂直分布规律一致,0～15cm土壤碳密度显著高于其他两层;(3)0～30cm土层微生物生物量占总土壤微生物生物量的81%～92%,随土层加深微生物生物量迅速降低。微生物生物量和土壤有机碳的比值表明,三种植被类型土壤均处于土壤碳积累中,深层土壤碳积累程度高于表层;(4)土壤CO2浓度随土层的加深迅速升高,主要与土壤透气性有关。     

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.     

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.     

Growth of marine planktonic diatoms on inorganic and organic nitrogen

A study was conducted to determine if coastal diatoms from eutrophic waters (Werribee, Port Phillip Bay, Australia) are able to grow better than diatoms from oligotrophic waters (Bass Strait, Australia) on organic nitrogen compounds as their principal nitrogen sources. Eight clones of marine planktonic diatoms, belonging to 5 species (Skeletonema costatum, Asterionella japonica, Nitzschia closterium, Coscinodiscus sp., and Fragilaria sp.), were incubated with inorganic (either nitrate or ammonia) or organic (either urea, uric acid, alanine, aspartic acid, glutamic acid, glycine, serine, threonine, or valine) nitrogen sources and growth response was measured under high and low light intensities. All clones grew well on the organic as well as thorganic nitrogen compounds under both light regimes. Intraspecific differences were not great, as no appreciable difference was noted between clones from oligotrophic and eutrophic waters. The two negatively-charged amino acids, aspartic and glutamic acids, were somewhat less effective in supporting growth of some clones than were the other amino acids. Virtually all of the dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) compounds tested were utilizable for algal growth. Further, all clones appeared able to utilize at least some natural DON (uncharacterized) for cell division; in 1980, DON represented 97% of total nitrogen in Bass Strait and 83% of total nitrogen in Werribee waters. The results are consistent with previous findings on algal utilization of certain DON compounds and indicate comparable abilities of cells from oligotrophic and eutrophic coastal waters to assimilate these nutrients.Publication No. 307 in the Ministry for Conservation, Victoria, Environmental Studies Series     

Sorption of heavy metals on organic and inorganic soil constituents

Sorption of heavy metals to organic matter and mineral soil constituents can hardly be separated experimentally. Here we studied the retention capacity of organic matter and minerals from soils in a long-term field experiment in which the organic carbon content had been altered, but the mineral phase had remained constant over time. The sorption of Cu, Cd and Zn showed a non-additive contribution of soil organic matter and minerals to the sorption capacity of soil. Sorption on organic matter exceeded mineral sorption from 6 to 13 times. This is the first time that sorption to soil organic matter is quantified in bulk soils.     

中国水稻土有机和无机碳的空间分布特征

农业土壤碳库对陆地生态系统碳循环的研究具有重要意义。水稻土是中国主要的耕作土壤,在土壤碳固定研究中具有现实意义。文章根据最近建成的中国1∶100万数字化土壤图和全国1490个水稻土剖面数据,估算我国水稻土碳密度和储量,并进一步分亚类和区域研究了水稻土碳库的分布特征。结果表明,中国水稻土面积为45.69×104km2,占我国土壤总面积的4.92%。中国水稻土无机碳的分布面积为5.93×104km2,仅占水稻土总面积的13%。水稻土碳密度具有高度的空间变异性,水稻土剖面0~100cm有机碳密度介于0.53kg·m-2~446.2kg·m-2之间,无机碳密度介于0.05kg·m-2~90.03kg·m-2。水稻土表层0~20cm有机碳密度介于0.17kg·m-2~55.38kg·m-2之间,无机碳密度介于0.01kg·m-2~21.85kg·m-2。中国水稻土剖面0~100cm和表层0~20cm碳总储量分别为5.39Pg和1.79Pg。水稻土碳储量以有机碳为主,约占水稻土碳总储量的95%,水稻土剖面0~100cm和表层0~20cm有机碳储量分别为5.09Pg和1.72Pg。水稻土无机碳储量较低,仅占水稻土碳总储量的5%左右,水稻土剖面0~100cm和表层0~20cm无机碳储量分别为0.30Pg和0.07Pg。     

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.     

植物物候对模拟CO2浓度和温度升高的响应研究进展

以大气二氧化碳(CO2)浓度升高和全球变暖为主要特征的全球变化引起了各国政府和科学家的普遍关注.植物物候节律与气候等环境因子密切相关,已有大量研究表明,植物物候已经发生并正在发生着改变.植物物候与区域乃至全球气候变化之间存在密切关联,且其在全球碳循环中扮演着重要的角色.植物物候变化可能引起一系列生态效应.CO2浓度升高对植物物候的影响没有统一的规律,而温度升高一般加速植物物候过程,且在也同一功能群内,响应的方式有一定的趋同性,两者交互作用对植物物候影响的研究仍然匮乏.     

施肥与不施肥措施下小麦田的CO2、CH4、N2O排放日变化特征

二氧化碳（CO2）、甲烷（CH4）、氧化亚氮（N2O）是对全球气候变化影响最大的温室气体。由于土壤与大气之间的水热交换需要一定的传导平衡时间,因此土壤温室气体与温湿度之间的关系存在不同的表现形式。目前,有关温室气体研究多集中于季节性排放特征,而关于CO2、CH4、N2O的日变化研究却少见报道。以北京小麦（Triticum aestivuml）农田土壤为研究对象,对施肥和不施肥条件下CO2、CH4、N2O交换通量和气温、土壤温度进行连续观测,来探讨3种温室气体的日变化特征。采用人工静态暗箱法对小麦田土壤进行连续48 h原位观测,每2 h测定1次,每次盖箱时间为30 min。气体样品中的CO2、CH4、N2O用气相色谱仪（Agilent 6890A,FID/ECD）测定。结果表明：施肥与不施肥条件下小麦生育后期麦田土壤CO2、CH4、N2O交换通量具有明显的日变化特征。土壤表现为CH4的吸收汇、CO2和N2O的排放源。CH4的吸收通量、CO2和N2O的排放通量均表现为施肥区＞对照区。CO2、CH4的交换通量的70%以上出现在白天,而施肥区和对照区的N2O白天排放通量分别达到全天的81.8%、91.1%。另外,相关性分析表明,CO2、N2O交换通量的日变化与气温和5 cm地温呈极显著（P＜0.01）或显著（P＜0.05）的正相关关系,且N2O交换通量日变化与10 cm地温呈现极显著的正相关关系,说明温度是影响CO2、N2O交换通量日变化的重要因素;而气温、5 cm地温、10 cm地温对CH4交换通量日变化不存在显著性影响。