A test of the mycorrhizal-associated nutrient economy framework in two types of tropical rainforests under nutrient enrichments

Shifts in tree species and their mycorrhizal associations driven by global change play key roles in biogeochemical cycles. In this paper, we proposed a framework of the mycorrhizal-associated nutrient economy(MANE), and tested it using nutrient addition experiments conducted in two tropical rainforests. We selected two tropical rainforests dominated by arbuscular mycorrhizal(AM) and ectomycorrhizal(ECM) trees, and established eighteen20 m×20 m plots in each rainforest. Six nitrogen(N) and phosphorus(P) addition treatments were randomly distributed in each rainforest with three replicates. We examined the differences in soil carbon(C) and nutrient cycling, plant and litter productivity between the two rainforests and their responses to 10-year inorganic N and P additions. We also quantified the P pools of plants, roots, litter, soil and microbes in the two rainforests. Overall,distinct MANE frameworks were applicable for tropical rainforests, in which soil C, N and P were cycled primarily in an inorganic form in the AM-dominated rainforest, whereas they were cycled in an organic form in the ECMdominated rainforest. Notably, the effects of mycorrhizal types on soil P cycling were stronger than those on C and N cycling. The intensified N and P deposition benefited the growth of AM-dominated rainforests instead of ECMdominated rainforests. Our findings underpin the key role of mycorrhizal types in regulating biogeochemical processes, and have important implications for predicting the ecological consequences of global changes.

Soil respiration and its partitioning in different components in tropical primary and secondary mountain rain forests in Hainan Island,china

Aims Soil respiration is one of the most important components in the car-bon(c)cycle in terrestrial ecosystems.to investigate the contribution of each component of c cycle to the total soil c efflux,we quantified the rates of litter,root,and other mineral soil respiration from 2012 to 2014 in the primary and secondary tropical mountain rain forests in Hainan Island,china.Methods the seasonal dynamics of soil(Rs),non-litter(RNL)and non-root(RNR)respiration rates were measured using an automatic chamber system(Li-8100).Litter removal and root removal treatments were used to assess the contribution of litter and roots to belowground c production.We estimated the annual c efflux of each compo-nent of soil respiration in primary and secondary forests using a temperature-based exponential model and analyzed the impact of each component in each forest type.Important Findingsthe annual total soil c efflux was significantly higher in the primary rain forest(1567±205 g c m^(−2)yr^(−1))than that in the secondary forest(1300±70 g c m^(−2)yr^(−1),P<0.05).the litter,root,and mineral soils contributed 22%(349±185 g c m^(−2)yr^(−1)),38%(589±100 g c m^(−2)yr^(−1)),and 40%(628±128 g c m^(−2)yr^(−1))to the total soil c efflux in primary rain forest,respectively.In secondary forest,these three components contributed 11%(148±35 g c m^(−2)yr^(−1)),45%(572±259 g c m^(−2)yr^(−1)),and 44%(580±226 g c m^(−2)yr^(−1)),respectively.the temperature sensitivity(Q10)of Rs(2.70±0.14)in the primary forest was significantly higher than that in the secondary forest(2.34±0.12),with the Q10 values for respiration decreasing in the order of RNR>Rs>RNL.these results show that the difference in litter respiration between primary and secondary forest caused the major difference in annual soil respiration efflux between these two forest types.In addition,the litter respiration is more sensitive to the soil temperature than the other soil respiration components.

Aboveground biomass and its biotic and abiotic modulators of a main food bamboo of the giant panda in a subalpine spruce-fir forest in southwestern China

As one of the main food bamboo species of the giant panda(Ailuropoda melanoleuca),Fargesia denudata is widely distributed in the understory of spruce-fir forests in the mountainous area of southwestern China.However,the driving factors of its biomass and distribution in the forests are still unclear.We conducted a systematic investigation of the tree and shrub layers(including bamboos)of 209 subplots(20 m×20 m)in a Forest Global Earth Observatory plot,the Wanglang Plot(25.2 ha),to explore the effects of abiotic(topographic and soil characteristics)and biotic(tree density,total basal area(TBA),shrub coverage,etc.)factors on the aboveground biomass of F.denudata(bamboo biomass hereafter).Bamboo biomass averaged 1.17 ton/ha,with a large variation from 0 to 4.88 ton/ha(95%confidence interval)among the 209 subplots.Bamboo biomass increased significantly with elevation,slope and mean diameter at breast height of trees,and decreased significantly with tree density,shrub coverage and soil pH.However,bamboo biomass was not significantly correlated with tree TBA,aspect,soil organic matter or total nitrogen content.The random forest model indicated that topographic factors and biotic factors had greater influences on the bamboo biomass than soil characteristics in general.Specifically,topographic factors mainly affected the bamboo biomass by changing tree density and soil characteristics.Our results can provide valuable guidance for the protection of giant pandas and the management of subalpine spruce-fir forests.

Family-level leaf nitrogen and phosphorus stoichiometry of global terrestrial plants

Leaf nitrogen(N) and phosphorus(P) concentrations are critical for photosynthesis, growth, reproduction and other ecological processes of plants. Previous studies on large-scale biogeographic patterns of leaf N and P stoichiometric relationships were mostly conducted using data pooled across taxa, while family/genus-level analyses are rarely reported. Here, we examined global patterns of family-specific leaf N and P stoichiometry using a global data set of 12,716 paired leaf N and P records which includes 204 families, 1,305 genera, and 3,420 species. After determining the minimum size of samples(i.e., 35 records), we analyzed leaf N and P concentrations, N:P ratios and N^P scaling relationships of plants for 62 families with 11,440 records. The numeric values of leaf N and P stoichiometry varied significantly across families and showed diverse trends along gradients of mean annual temperature(MAT) and mean annual precipitation(MAP). The leaf N and P concentrations and N:P ratios of 62 families ranged from 6.11 to 30.30 mg g–1, 0.27 to 2.17 mg g–1, and 10.20 to 35.40, respectively. Approximately 1/3–1/2 of the families(22–35 of 62) showed a decrease in leaf N and P concentrations and N:P ratios with increasing MAT or MAP, while the remainder either did not show a significant trend or presented the opposite pattern. Family-specific leaf N^P scaling exponents did not converge to a certain empirical value, with a range of 0.307–0.991 for 54 out of 62 families which indicated a significant N^P scaling relationship. Our results for the first time revealed large variation in the family-level leaf N and P stoichiometry of global terrestrial plants and that the stoichiometric relationships for at least one-third of the families were not consistent with the global trends reported previously. The numeric values of the family-specific leaf N and P stoichiometry documented in the current study provide critical synthetic parameters for biogeographic modeling and for further studies on the physiological and ecological mechanisms underlying the nutrient use strategies of plants from different phylogenetic taxa.