Interaction between decomposing litter and soil fauna of the Betula ermanii forest floor of the Changbai Mountains, China

2014 ◽  
Vol 44 (12) ◽  
pp. 1507-1514 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaoqiang Li ◽  
Xiuqin Yin ◽  
Zhenhai Wang ◽  
Weihong Fan
Keyword(s):  
Mass Loss ◽  
Forest Floor ◽  
Loss Rate ◽  
Soil Fauna ◽  
Mass Loss Rate ◽  
Changbai Mountains ◽  
Mixed Species ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Litter Mass ◽  
Litter Mass Loss

Soil fauna play a key role in litter decomposition as they influence the litter mass loss rate in terrestrial ecosystems. However, the interaction between decomposing litter and soil fauna has not been adequately addressed. We examine the interaction between different types of decomposing litter and soil fauna on the Betula ermanii Cham. (BE) forest floor of the Changbai Mountains, China, by measuring the mass loss of six litter species groups using litterbags with two sizes of mesh (4 mm and 0.01 mm) during a yearlong experiment. Soil fauna were identified at the order level. We found that soil fauna have a limited effect on litter mass loss at the initial stage of the experiment. Its positive effect became apparent at month 12 of the experiment. After 1 year, soil fauna increased the litter mass loss rate of the high-quality litter of Parasenecio komarovianus (Pojark.) Y.L. Chen (PK) by 7.02% and of the low-quality litter of Rhododendron aureum Georgi (RA) by 25.26%. BE + PK litter was associated with a significantly higher abundance of soil fauna at months 8 and 10 of the experiment and also with a significantly higher richness of soil fauna at month 10 of the experiment. At the end of the experiment, however, the Shannon–Wiener diversity index of soil fauna was not necessarily higher in mixed-species litter. Litter mixing did promote the abundance, richness, and diversity of soil fauna during the warm season in the high-quality litter substrate of BE + PK. Our results illustrate that the impact of soil fauna on the litter mass loss of both single- and mixed-species litterbags ranges from a limited impact to a positive impact as litter mass loss advances. The soil fauna contribute more to the litter mass loss of the low-quality litter with higher C to N ratios than to those with a low C to N ratio. The promoting effect of litter mixing on the soil faunal community composition is only short term and is dependent on substrate quality.

Litter mass-loss rates and decomposition patterns in some needle and leaf litter types. Long-term decomposition in a Scots pine forest. VII

1991 ◽  
Vol 69 (7) ◽  
pp. 1449-1456 ◽  
Author(s):  
Björn Berg ◽  
Gunnar Ekbohm
Keyword(s):  
Mass Loss ◽  
Leaf Litter ◽  
Litter Decomposition ◽  
Loss Rate ◽  
Mass Loss Rate ◽  
Nitrogen Concentration ◽  
White Birch ◽  
Litter Mass ◽  
Mass Losses ◽  
Litter Mass Loss

The decomposition dynamics of four types of needle litter and three types of leaf litter were followed for 4 years. Mass losses and certain chemical changes were studied. Most of the nutrient-rich litters appeared to decompose relatively quickly during the first 12–18 months. After 3–4 years, however, their accumulated mass losses were lower compared with litter types that intially had lower rates. Thus the more nutrient-rich litters had considerably lower mass-loss rates in the later stages. This pattern was even more pronouced for extract-free lignocellulose: its mass-loss rate was negatively related to the lignin concentration, which increased progressively as litter decomposition proceeded. During late stages in litter with a high nitrogen content, there was also a clear negative relation between nitrogen concentration and lignin mass-loss rate, as well as between nitrogen concentration and litter mass-loss rate. By extrapolation of measured mass-loss values, maximum values for accumulated litter–mass loss were estimated. A nonlinear statistical model predicted that the proportion of mass lost through decomposition should be 50% for grey alder leaves, 54% for green leaves of white birch, and 57% for brown leaves of white birch. For Scots pine the predicted maximums for accumulated mass loss were 68% for green needles and 89% for brown needles, whereas corresponding values for lodgepole pine needles were 81% (green) and 100% (brown). Lodgepole pine is an introduced species in this system. Key words: litter, decomposition, lignin, nitrogen, maxium mass loss.

Litter mass-loss rates in late stages of decomposition at some climatically and nutritionally different pine sites. Long-term decomposition in a Scots pine forest. VIII

1993 ◽  
Vol 71 (5) ◽  
pp. 680-692 ◽  
Author(s):  
Björn Berg ◽  
Charles McClaugherty ◽  
Maj-Britt Johansson
Keyword(s):  
Mass Loss ◽  
Scots Pine ◽  
Loss Rate ◽  
Mass Loss Rate ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Initial Mass ◽  
Lignin Concentration ◽  
Litter Mass ◽  
Litter Mass Loss ◽  
Loss Rates

The patterns of some chemical changes and litter mass-loss rates were investigated for a variety of types of decomposing litter in pine forests under different climatic conditions and at sites with different nutrient status. A mixed deciduous forest was also compared. In initially chemically identical Scots pine needle litter incubated under different climatic conditions, the lignin concentration increased faster as a function of accumulated mass loss when the climatic conditions promoted a higher initial mass-loss rate. Also under artificially created conditions, e.g., after fertilization and irrigation, the same phenomenon occurred. Litter mass-loss rates decreased during decomposition as lignin concentrations increased. The relative decrease was significantly larger at sites with a climate that promoted an initially higher mass-loss rate. At the same lignin concentration, however, the mass-loss rate was significantly lower in drier and colder conditions, viz. climatic conditions that promote a lower initial mass-loss rate. Nevertheless, at very high lignin concentrations that lignin clearly dominated over climate as a rate-regulating factor. A possible consequence of this observation could be a higher rate of organic matter accumulation at sites that initially promote a high initial mass-loss rate for litter than at sites with conditions that give lower initial rates, at least for a given species of litter. Key words: litter, decomposition, lignin, chemical changes, climatic transect, effect of climate change.

scholarly journals Contribution of Soil Fauna to Foliar Litter-Mass Loss in Winter in an Ecotone between Dry Valley and Montane Forest in the Upper Reaches of the Minjiang River

PLoS ONE ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. e0124605 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Peng ◽  
Wanqin Yang ◽  
Jun Li ◽  
Bin Wang ◽  
Chuan Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mass Loss ◽  
Soil Fauna ◽  
Montane Forest ◽  
Litter Mass ◽  
Minjiang River ◽  
Litter Mass Loss ◽  
Dry Valley

scholarly journals Effect of Soil Fauna on Home-Field Advantages of Litter Mass Loss and Nutrient Release in Different Temperate Broad-Leaved Forests

Forests ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 1033 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaoqiang Li ◽  
Weihua Dong ◽  
Yang Song ◽  
Weijie Wang ◽  
Weiluan Zhan
Keyword(s):  
Mass Loss ◽  
Soil Fauna ◽  
Nutrient Release ◽  
Coarse Mesh ◽  
Litter Mass ◽  
Fine Mesh ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
N Release ◽  
Litter Mass Loss ◽  
At Home

The home-field advantage (HFA) of litter decomposition dynamics has been investigated intensively in different ecosystems with a wide variety of plant types. HFA mainly occurs due to the specialization of a soil organism. However, for the HFA, the linkages between litter mass loss, nutrient release, and soil faunal community are not fully understood. Thus, in this study, we performed a reciprocal litter transplant experiment using coarse and fine mesh litterbags in a Quercus mongolica Fisch. ex Ledeb. forest dominated by Q. mongolica (QM) and Acer pseudosieboldianum (Pax) Komarov (AP) and miscellaneous wood forests dominated by Juglans mandshurica Maxim. (JM) and Ulmus laciniata (Trautv.) Mayr. (UL). Results showed that the A. pseudosieboldianum litter displayed a significantly higher total abundance of Oribatida, Tomoceridae, and Entomobryidae at home than away from home after 7 months. However, all litters showed no significant difference in the HFA between the coarse mesh and fine mesh sizes during the 12-month experiment. A. pseudosieboldianum and J. mandshurica litters showed a significantly higher positive HFA for the C release in the coarse mesh than in the fine mesh litterbags after 7 months. Q. mongolica and J. mandshurica litters showed a significantly higher positive HFA for N release in the coarse mesh than in the fine mesh litterbags after 7 months. The A. pseudosieboldianum litter showed a significantly higher positive HFA for N release in the coarse mesh than in the fine mesh litterbags after 12 months. Q. mongolica and A. pseudosieboldianum litters showed a significantly higher positive HFA for S release in the coarse mesh than in the fine mesh litterbags after 7 and 12 months, respectively. However, A. pseudosieboldianum and Q. mongolica litters showed a significantly higher negative HFA for S release in the coarse mesh than in the fine mesh litterbags after 7 and 12 months, respectively. Our results illustrated that soil faunal specialization was found in the A. pseudosieboldianum litter only at home after 7 months. Soil fauna had a weak effect on the HFA of the litter mass losses during the 12-month experiment. Soil fauna drove the positive HFA for the N release of both the high- and low-quality litters. Soil fauna have a positive and negative HFA for S release in the low-quality litter.

Influence of canopy removal on oak forest floor decomposition

1989 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 204-214 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiwei Yin ◽  
James A. Perry ◽  
Robert K. Dixon
Keyword(s):  
Mass Loss ◽  
Forest Floor ◽  
Loss Rate ◽  
Mass Loss Rate ◽  
Clear Cut ◽  
Clear Cutting ◽  
Shelterwood Cut ◽  
Canopy Removal ◽  
Final Harvest ◽  
Loss Rates

We compared leaf and forest floor mass loss rates over 2 years on undisturbed (NC), shelterwood-cut (SC0), and clear-cut (CC) sites in a Quercus forest at the Hardie's Creek Forest, Wisconsin, U.S.A. Litterbag techniques and a budgetary approach based on forest floor surveys and litterfall estimations were used. SC0 and NC variables did not differ until final harvest on SC0 (creating SC1). Over a 6-month period, 19% of initial cellulose (filter disk) mass was lost from litterbags placed on SC1 compared with 71% on NC. Leaf mass loss from litterbags was consistently slower on CC than on NC. Rates of mass loss to the upper (01) and lower (02) forest floor horizons in 1985 and total forest floor mass loss rate in both years did not differ among sites; mass loss rate for 01 was lower on CC than on NC, but higher for 02 in 1986. Differences in mass loss rates between CC and NC were attributed to changes in environment (ambient temperature and water content of the soil and forest floor) that were induced by clear-cutting. We suggest that the effects of canopy removal on mass loss from leaf litter appear to vary with regional climatic variables, while the effects on overall forest floor mass loss rate may be buffered by compensation among various forest floor horizons in most areas.

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