Resorption Efficiency of Four Cations in Different Tree Species in a Subtropical Common Garden

High rainfall in subtropical regions can leach cation elements from ecosystems,which may limit plant growth.Plants often develop efficient resorption patterns to recycle elements,but there is relatively little available information on this topic.In February 2012,a common garden was established in a subtropical forest by planting dominant trees from the area.Green and senescent leaves were sampled from 11 tree species.The concentrations of potassium(K),calcium(Ca),sodium(Na)and magnesium(Mg)were determined,and the resorption efficiencies were calculated.The results showed significant K,Na and Mg resorption in most of the investigated tree species,while Ca mainly displayed accumulation.Evergreen coniferous and evergreen broad-leaved trees(such as Cunninghamia lanceolata,Pinus massoniana,Cinnamomum camphora,and Michelia macclurei)exhibited relatively higher resorption efficiencies of K(39.0%-87.5%)and Na(18.3%-50.2%)than deciduous broad-leaved trees.Higher Mg resorption efficiencies(>50%)were detected in Liriodendron chinense,C.lanceolata and P.massoniana than in other trees.Overall,evergreen coniferous and evergreen broad-leaved trees could show higher cation resorption than deciduous broad-leaved trees.K and Mg resorption efficiencies and Ca accumulation decrease with increasing nutrient concentrations in green leaves.Our results emphasize that nutrient resorption patterns largely depend on elements and plant functions,which provides new insights into the nutrient use strategies of subtropical plants and a reference for the selection of suitable tree species in this region.

Gap edge canopy buffering of throughfall deposition in a subalpine natural forest

Base cation loads are rarely considered in forest gap edge canopies,but they can play critical roles in capturing or buffering atmospheric deposition in forests with frequent gap disturbances,such as subalpine forests.We selected an expanded gap edge canopy and a closed canopy in a subalpine natural forest on the eastern Tibetan Plateau.The throughfall deposition and canopy exchange processes of common base cations(K^(+),Ca^(2+),Na^(+),and Mg^(2+))were continuously studied over two years.The results showed that the enrichment ratio and fluxes had lower levels of base cations in the gap-edge canopy than in the closed canopy,which indicated that base cations were concentrated more in the closed canopy than in the gap-edge canopy.Although Ca^(2+)in the gap-edge canopy showed a higher net throughfall flux,the annual net throughfall fluxes of K^(+),Na^(+) and Mg^(2+) within the gap-edge canopy were 1.83,6.75 and 2.95 times lower than those in the closed canopy,respectively.Moreover,dry deposition fluxes of base cations significantly decreased in the gap edge canopy compared to those in the closed canopy,and the decreasing tendency was more significant during the snowy season than during the rainy season.Overall,these results suggest that the amount of base cations in subalpine natural forest ecosystems may be overestimated when the throughfall deposition of ions in gap edge canopies is ignored.

Increased microbial sequestration of soil organic carbon under nitrogen deposition over China’s terrestrial ecosystems

Background:China’s terrestrial ecosystems have been receiving increasing amounts of reactive nitrogen(N)over recent decades.External N inputs profoundly change microbially mediated soil carbon(C)dynamics,but how elevated N affects the soil organic C that is derived from microbial residues is not fully understood.Here,we evaluated the changes in soil microbial necromass C under N addition at 11 forest,grassland,and cropland sites over China’s terrestrial ecosystems through a meta-analysis based on available data from published articles.Results:Microbial necromass C accounted for an average of 49.5%of the total soil organic C across the studied sites,with higher values observed in croplands(53.0%)and lower values in forests(38.6%).Microbial necromass C was significantly increased by 9.5%after N addition,regardless of N forms,with greater stimulation observed for fungal(+11.2%)than bacterial(+4.5%)necromass C.This increase in microbial necromass C under elevated N was greater under longer experimental periods but showed little variation among different N application rates.The stimulation of soil microbial necromass C under elevated N was proportional to the change in soil organic C.Conclusions:The stimulation of microbial residues after biomass turnover is an important pathway for the observed increase in soil organic C under N deposition across China’s terrestrial ecosystems.

Changes in soil faunal density and microbial community under altered litter input in forests and grasslands

Root and foliar litter inputs are the primary sources of carbon and nutrients for soil fauna and microorganisms,yet we still lack a quantitative assessment to evaluate the effects of root and foliar litter on various groups of soil organisms across terrestrial ecosystems.Here,we compiled 978 paired observations from 68 experimental sites to assess the directions and magnitudes of adding and removing foliar and root litter on the soil faunal density and microbial biomass that was evaluated by phospholipid fatty acids(PLFAs)across forests and grasslands worldwide.We found that litter addition had only a marginal effect on soil faunal density but significantly increased the soil total microbial-,fungal-and bacterial-PLFAs by 13%,14%,and 10%,respectively,across ecosystems,suggesting that the soil microbial community is more sensitive to carbon source addition than soil fauna,particularly in soils with low carbon to nitrogen ratios.In contrast,removing litter significantly decreased the soil faunal density by 17%but had few effects on soil microorganisms.Compared with foliar litter,root litter input had a more positive effect on the development of soil fungal taxa.The effect of both litter addition and removal on soil faunal density and microbial biomass did not differ between humid and arid regions,but a greater influence was observed in grasslands than in forests for soil microbial community.Our results highlight that the increasing litter production under a global greening scenario would stimulate microbial activity in grasslands more than in forests,and this stimulation would be greater for soil microbes than soil fauna.

全球尺度上氮添加影响植物生物量分配但不影响不同器官间的异速生长关系

生物量在不同器官间的分配是植物对环境变化响应的一个关键生态生理学过程。然而,在全球尺度上有关不同陆地生态系统植物生物量分配对氮沉降响应的认识还比较欠缺。本文通过整合分析333篇己发表文章的5474个观测值,基于“最优分配假说”和“异速分配假说”,评估了全球尺度上氮添加对植物生物量及其在不同器官间分配的影响。结果表明:(1)氮添加显著增加了整株植物或不同器官的生物量,降低了根冠比和根质量分数,但对叶质量分数和茎质量分数无显著影响;(2)氮添加对不同器官质量分数的影响受实验条件、植物功能性状、纬度、氮添加率等因子单独或交互作用的调控;(3)氮添加对生物量在不同器官间的异速分配率无显著影响,表明氮添加导致的根冠比和根质量分数减少是在异速分配模式下由整株植物生物量增加而致。虽然氮添加改变了地上和地下部分的质量分数,但不同器官生物量间异速分配模式的稳定性表明“异速分配假说”能更好地描述植物生物量分配对氮添加的响应规律。该研究结果将有助于深入认识氮沉降环境下植物生物量的分配规律,同时表明将生物量分配纳入有关氮沉降对陆地生态系统影响的预测模型中的重要性。

白蚁活动对中亚热带次生林和人工林的危害差异

中亚热带地区是中国南方重要的木材生产基地,大量的地带性常绿阔叶林被转换成以杉木(Cunninghamia lanceolata)为代表的人工林。白蚁是森林中最主要的社会性昆虫之一,其取食行为既对森林类型转换后林中的树木产生危害,也对林间枯枝落叶的分解具有十分重要的意义,但对二者缺乏统一的认识。本文以中亚热带典型的米槠(Castanopsis carlesii)次生林、米槠人工林和杉木人工林为研究对象,调查了不同林分白蚁的活动特点及其范围。结果表明,米槠次生林与杉木、米槠人工林中均普遍存在白蚁取食现象,但白蚁对次生林的取食高度和面积均远低于人工林。白蚁对生物多样性较高的米槠次生林树干韧皮部的取食面积仅分别为米槠人工林的1.65%和杉木人工林的0.59‰,取食高度的11.1%和1.2%。同时,白蚁对杉木韧皮部的取食显著大于米槠,对杉木的取食面积和高度分别是米槠的27.7倍和9.2倍。每隔0.5 m为一个统计区间,白蚁对杉木树干2 m以下韧皮部取食面积比例由低往高为4:3:2:1,对米槠1 m以下高度部位的取食面积比为99:1。此外,白蚁对次生林地表覆盖的凋落枝和凋落叶的平均取食面积分别为51.7%和46.1%,而人工林对应均值分别为17.5%和29.4%,均表现为次生林高于人工林。这些结果表明白蚁对生物多样性较高的次生林危害小于杉木人工林,且在人工林中可见危害主要体现在白蚁对韧皮部的取食,在次生林主要体现在白蚁对凋落物残体的分解作用,这为区域森林经营管理提供理论支撑。