scholarly journals Litter decomposition rate and soil organic matter quality in a patchwork heathland of Southern Norway

2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 267-294 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Certini ◽  
L. S. Vestgarden ◽  
C. Forte ◽  
L. Tau Strand

Abstract. Norwegian heathland soils, although scant and shallow, are major reservoirs of carbon (C). We aimed at assessing whether vegetation cover and, indirectly, its driving factor soil drainage are good proxies for soil organic matter (SOM) composition and dynamics in a typical heathland area of Southern Norway consisting in a patchwork of three different types of vegetation, dominated by Calluna, Molinia, or Sphagnum. Such vegetation covers were clearly associated to microtopographic differences, which in turn dictated differences in soil moisture regime, Calluna growing in the driest sites, Sphagnum in the wettest, and Molinia in sites with intermediate moisture. Litter decomposition was followed over a period of 1 year, by placing litterbags filled with biomass from each dominant species under each type of vegetation cover. The composition of the living biomass, the bulk SOM and some extractable fractions of SOM were investigated by chemical methods and solid-state 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Litter decomposition was faster for Molinia and Calluna, irrespective of the vegetation cover of the site where they were placed. Sphagnum litter decomposed very slowly, especially under Calluna, where the soil environment is by far more oxidising than under itself. In terms of SOM quality, Calluna covered areas showed the greatest differences from the others, in particular a much higher contribution from lipids and aliphatic biopolymers, apparently related to biomass composition. Our findings showed that in the studied environment litter decomposition rate and SOM composition are actually dependent on vegetation cover and/or soil drainage. On this basis, monitoring changes in the patchwork of vegetation types in boreal heathlands could be a reliable cost-effective way to account for modifications in the SOM potential to last induced by climate change.

SOIL ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 207-216 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Certini ◽  
L. S. Vestgarden ◽  
C. Forte ◽  
L. Tau Strand

Abstract. Norwegian heathland soils, although scant and shallow, are major reservoirs of carbon (C). We aimed at assessing whether vegetation cover and, indirectly, its driving factor soil drainage are good proxies for soil organic matter (SOM) composition and dynamics in a typical heathland area of southern Norway consisting in a patchwork of three different types of vegetation, dominated by Calluna vulgaris (L.) Hull., Molinia caerulea (L.) Moench, or Sphagnum capillifolium (Ehrh.) Hedw. Such vegetation covers were clearly associated to microtopographic differences, which in turn dictated differences in soil moisture regime, Calluna growing in the driest sites, Sphagnum in the wettest, and Molinia in sites with intermediate moisture. Litter decomposition was followed over a period of 1 year by placing litterbags filled with biomass from each dominant species in each type of vegetation cover. The composition of the plant material and SOM was investigated using chemical methods and solid-state 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Litter decomposition was faster for Molinia and Calluna, irrespective of the vegetation cover of the site where they were placed. Sphagnum litter decomposed very slowly, especially under Calluna, where the soil environment is by far more oxidising than under itself. In terms of SOM quality, Calluna covered areas showed the greatest differences from the others, in particular a much higher contribution from lipids and aliphatic biopolymers, apparently related to biomass composition. Our findings showed that, in the studied environment, litter decomposition rate and SOM composition are actually dependent on vegetation cover and/or soil drainage. On this basis, monitoring changes in the patchwork of vegetation types in boreal heathlands could be a reliable cost-effective way to account for climate-change-induced modifications to SOM and its potential to last.


2019 ◽  
Vol 135 ◽  
pp. 396-406 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bryony E.A. Dignam ◽  
Maureen O'Callaghan ◽  
Leo M. Condron ◽  
Jos M. Raaijmakers ◽  
George A. Kowalchuk ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
pp. 108302
Author(s):  
Gerrit Angst ◽  
Jan Pokorný ◽  
Carsten W. Mueller ◽  
Isabel Prater ◽  
Sebastian Preusser ◽  
...  

2016 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 213 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kajar Köster ◽  
Frank Berninger ◽  
Jussi Heinonsalo ◽  
Aki Lindén ◽  
Egle Köster ◽  
...  

In boreal forest ecosystems fire, fungi and bacteria, and their interactions, have a pronounced effect on soil carbon dynamics. In this study we measured enzymatic activities, litter decomposition rates, carbon stocks and fungal and microbial biomasses in a boreal subarctic coniferous forest on a four age classes of non-stand replacing fire chronosequence (2, 42, 60 and 152 years after the fire). The results show that microbial activity recovered slowly after fire and the decomposition of new litter was affected by the disturbance. The percent mass loss of Scots pine litter increased with time from the last fire. Slow litter decomposition during the first post-fire years accelerates soil organic matter accumulation that is essential for the recovery of soil biological activities. Fire reduced the enzymatic activity across all the enzyme types measured. Carbon-degrading, chitin-degrading and phosphorus-dissolving enzymes showed different responses with the time elapsed since the fire disturbance. Microbial and enzymatic activity took decades before recovering to the levels observed in old forest stands. Our study demonstrates that slower post-fire litter decomposition has a pronounced impact on the recovery of soil organic matter following forest fires in northern boreal coniferous forests.


Forests ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 338 ◽  
Author(s):  
Songze Wan ◽  
Zhanfeng Liu ◽  
Yuanqi Chen ◽  
Jie Zhao ◽  
Qin Ying ◽  
...  

Soil microorganisms play key roles in ecosystems and respond quickly to environmental changes. Liming and/or understory removal are important forest management practices and have been widely applied to planted forests in humid subtropical and tropical regions of the world. However, few studies have explored the impacts of lime application, understory removal, and their interactive effects on soil microbial communities. We conducted a lime application experiment combined with understory removal in a subtropical Eucalyptus L’Hér. plantation. Responses of soil microbial communities (indicated by phospholipid fatty acids, PLFAs), soil physico-chemical properties, and litter decomposition rate to lime and/or understory removal were measured. Lime application significantly decreased both fungal and bacterial PLFAs, causing declines in total PLFAs. Understory removal reduced the fungal PLFAs but had no effect on the bacterial PLFAs, leading to decreases in the total PLFAs and in the ratio of fungal to bacterial PLFAs. No interaction between lime application and understory removal on soil microbial community compositions was observed. Changes in soil microbial communities caused by lime application were mainly attributed to increases in soil pH and NO3–-N contents, while changes caused by understory removal were mainly due to the indirect effects on soil microclimate and the decreased soil dissolved carbon contents. Furthermore, both lime application and understory removal significantly reduced the litter decomposition rates, which indicates the lime application and understory removal may impact the microbe-mediated soil ecological process. Our results suggest that lime application may not be suitable for the management of subtropical Eucalyptus plantations. Likewise, understory vegetation helps to maintain soil microbial communities and litter decomposition rate; it should not be removed from Eucalyptus plantations.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Slamet Santosa ◽  
Muhamad Ruslan Umar ◽  
Dody Priosambodo ◽  
Rizki Amalia Puji Santosa

Teak Tectona grandis Linn is still used as the main product in the form of wood, while other products, especially environmental services have not received much attention. This study analyzed biomass, carbon stocks and decomposition rate of leaf litter in teak plantations in city forest of Hasanuudin University, Makassar. The individual biomass of teak plants is calculated using the allometric equation, Y=0.11x ρ x D2.62. Carbon stocks were analyzed using a formulation, C=0.47xB. The leaf litter decomposition rate is expressed as the ratio of the remaining litter dry weight, with the formulation, X= (A-B)/A. The number of teak plants in 5 sample plots were 239 trees with an average stem diameter of 20.6cm and an average height of 9.02m. Total biomass in 5 sample plots was 51,712.61g. Carbon stock in 5 sample plots was 24,304.92g. Decomposition rate average of leaf litter of 24.4g during 60 days incubation. The existence of teak plantations is able to reduce CO2 in the atmosphere by as much as 89,199.06gCO2 and resulting in a decomposition rate of teak leaf litter 0.4g per day


2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (8) ◽  
pp. 2748-2748 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriela Barančíková ◽  
Maria Jerzykiewicz ◽  
Erika Gömöryová ◽  
Erika Tobiašová ◽  
Tadeáš Litavec

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