A Decrease in Oak Litter Mass Changes Nutrient Dynamics in the Litter Layer of a Central Hardwood Forest

Piatek, K.; Munasinghe, Prinith; Peterjohn, William T.; Adams, Mary Beth; Cumming, Jonathan R.

doi:10.1093/njaf/27.3.97

Cited by 10 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…In the spring, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal colonization decreased with increasing ice storm severity and frequency, but in the fall, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal colonization increased with increasing ice storm severity and frequency. This suggests that, while reduced availability of belowground plant carbon for arbuscular mycorrhizae in the spring may have exacerbated ice storm impacts on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal colonization, later in the growing season, these same plants may have increased photosynthate allocation belowground and to arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal symbionts with increased ice storm severity and frequency, perhaps due to nutrient limitation resulting from the addition of ice storm‐produced woody debris (Homyak et al, 2008; Johnson & Gehring, 2007; Lajtha, 2020; Piatek, 2011). The positive response of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal colonization to ice storm severity and frequency in the fall could also be a response to enhanced root growth (Giovannetti et al, 1993; Rhoads et al, 2002), but, to date, there have been no significant differences in root growth among the ice storm treatments (T. J. Fahey, personal communication).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…First, lower photosynthesis following ice storms reduces carbon availability and thus may reduce mycorrhizal fungi colonization and development (Bücking & Heyser, 2003; Johnson & Gehring, 2007; van der Heyde et al, 2017). Alternatively, the pulse of carbon inputs to soil resulting from canopy damage may immobilize soil nutrients (e.g., within 1 year of wood addition in Homyak et al, 2008; Lajtha, 2020; Piatek, 2011), causing trees to allocate more carbon belowground to access scare nutrients, thereby increasing support for mycorrhizal fungal associations (Allen et al, 2003; Kivlin et al, 2013; Treseder, 2004). Finally, warmer soils under canopy gaps may increase mycorrhizal fungal colonization (Kivlin et al, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The impact of ice storms on mycorrhizal fungi varies by season and mycorrhizal type in a hardwood forest

et al. 2023

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Extreme weather events, such as ice storms, are increasing and have potentially large impacts on forests, including belowground structures such as fine roots and mycorrhizal fungi. Many forest trees rely on the mutualistic relationship between mycorrhizal fungi and plants; a relationship that, when disrupted, can negatively impact tree net primary productivity. We took advantage of a large‐scale ice storm manipulation in the northeastern United States to test the hypothesis that increasing ice storm intensity and frequency would reduce ectomycorrhizal fungal root tips per unit root length and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal structures per unit root length, hereafter colonization. We found that ice storm intensity reduced spring ectomycorrhizal fungal and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal colonization. However, these patterns changed in the fall, where ice storm intensity still reduced ectomycorrhizal fungal root tips, but arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal colonization was higher in ice storm treatments than controls. The amount of ectomycorrhizal fungal root tips and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal colonization differed seasonally: ectomycorrhizal fungal root tips were 1.7× higher in the spring than in the fall, while arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal colonization was 3× higher in the fall than in the spring. Our results indicate that mycorrhizal fungal colonization responses to ice storm severity vary temporally and by mycorrhizal fungal type. Further, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi may recover from ice storms relatively quickly, potentially aiding forests in their recovery, whereas ice storms may have a long lasting impact on ectomycorrhizal fungi.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of ice storms on mycorrhizal fungi varies by season and mycorrhizal type in a hardwood forest

et al. 2023

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“…For instance, Cornus (dogwood) and Quercus (oak) mass loss can range from 50–75% to 25–55%, respectively, between field studies after one year of decomposition (Blair, 1988; Blair et al, 1992; Carreiro et al, 2000; Knoepp et al, 2005; Piatek et al, 2010). Pinus (pine) litter displayed highly variable decay rates over time after 5 years of field decomposition over 28 sites throughout North America (Gholz et al, 2000).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Field and lab conditions alter microbial enzyme and biomass dynamics driving decomposition of the same leaf litter

Rinkes¹,

Sinsabaugh²,

Moorhead³

et al. 2013

Front. Microbiol.

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Fluctuations in climate and edaphic factors influence field decomposition rates and preclude a complete understanding of how microbial communities respond to plant litter quality. In contrast, laboratory microcosms isolate the intrinsic effects of litter chemistry and microbial community from extrinsic effects of environmental variation. Used together, these paired approaches provide mechanistic insights to decomposition processes. In order to elucidate the microbial mechanisms underlying how environmental conditions alter the trajectory of decay, we characterized microbial biomass, respiration, enzyme activities, and nutrient dynamics during early (<10% mass loss), mid- (10–40% mass loss), and late (>40% mass loss) decay in parallel field and laboratory litter bag incubations for deciduous tree litters with varying recalcitrance (dogwood < maple < maple-oak mixture < oak). In the field, mass loss was minimal (<10%) over the first 50 days (January–February), even for labile litter types, despite above-freezing soil temperatures and adequate moisture during these winter months. In contrast, microcosms displayed high C mineralization rates in the first week. During mid-decay, the labile dogwood and maple litters in the field had higher mass loss per unit enzyme activity than the lab, possibly due to leaching of soluble compounds. Microbial biomass to litter mass (B:C) ratios peaked in the field during late decay, but B:C ratios declined between mid- and late decay in the lab. Thus, microbial biomass did not have a consistent relationship with litter quality between studies. Higher oxidative enzyme activities in oak litters in the field, and higher nitrogen (N) accumulation in the lab microcosms occurred in late decay. We speculate that elevated N suppressed fungal activity and/or biomass in microcosms. Our results suggest that differences in microbial biomass and enzyme dynamics alter the decay trajectory of the same leaf litter under field and lab conditions.

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“…Many species in the microbial communities of anaerobic environments, such as soil and aquatic bottom sediments, can degrade the biomass produced by photosynthetic organisms. These species are currently used in material recycling, such as in the degradation of animal or plant remains , and as nitrogen-fixing agents for agricultural use . Thus, anaerobic digestion remains essential to the biogeochemical cycling of organic and inorganic matter.…”

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confidence: 99%

Metabolic dynamics analysis by massive data integration: application to tsunami-affected field soils in Japan

et al. 2015

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A new metabolic dynamics analysis approach has been developed in which massive data sets from time-series of (1)H and (13)C NMR spectra are integrated in combination with microbial variability to characterize the biomass degradation process using field soil microbial communities. On the basis of correlation analyses that revealed relationships between various metabolites and bacteria, we efficiently monitored the metabolic dynamics of saccharides, amino acids, and organic acids, by assessing time-course changes in the microbial and metabolic profiles during biomass degradation. Specific bacteria were found to support specific steps of metabolic pathways in the degradation process of biomass to short chain fatty acids. We evaluated samples from agricultural and abandoned fields contaminated by the tsunami that followed the Great East earthquake in Japan. Metabolic dynamics and activities in the biomass degradation process differed considerably between soil from agricultural and abandoned fields. In particular, production levels of short chain fatty acids, such as acetate and propionate, which were considered to be produced by soil bacteria such as Sedimentibacter sp. and Coprococcus sp., were higher in the soil from agricultural fields than from abandoned fields. Our approach could characterize soil activity based on the metabolic dynamics of microbial communities in the biomass degradation process and should therefore be useful in future investigations of the environmental effects of natural disasters on soils.

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A Decrease in Oak Litter Mass Changes Nutrient Dynamics in the Litter Layer of a Central Hardwood Forest

Cited by 10 publications

References 33 publications

The impact of ice storms on mycorrhizal fungi varies by season and mycorrhizal type in a hardwood forest

The impact of ice storms on mycorrhizal fungi varies by season and mycorrhizal type in a hardwood forest

Field and lab conditions alter microbial enzyme and biomass dynamics driving decomposition of the same leaf litter

Metabolic dynamics analysis by massive data integration: application to tsunami-affected field soils in Japan

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