Accumulation and release of plant nutrients in decomposing Scots pine needle litter. Long-term decomposition in a Scots pine forest II

Abstract

Plant nutrient dynamics in decomposing needle litter were measured during a 5-year period in a Scots pine forest in central Sweden. As seen over the whole 5-year period, the nutrients were retained (to a litter weight loss of about 75%) in the order Mn < Ca < K < Mg < S < N < P. During the first 1.5 years there was a net increase of N and P whereafter a net release took place. A similar but less pronounced development could be seen for S, whereas Ca, K, Mn, and Mg were released from the start of the incubation. It is suggested that P was the most limiting element for microbial activity during this first phase. There appeared to be only little initial leaching from the litter and the different behaviours of the elements could largely be explained by their concentration in litter in relation to the needs of microorganisms and to their solubility. K and Mg were the elements that were released at rates most similar to organic matter weight loss.

Dynamics of multiple metallic elements during foliar litter decomposition in an alpine forest river

“…Our finding that the metal dynamics during litter decomposition in a lotic ecosystem are similar to previous observations on forest floors (Staaf and Berg 1982;Lomander and Johansson 2001) suggests that a general pattern may exist for the fate of metallic elements in decomposing litter in both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. However, litter mass loss was much higher in the river compared with the results observed in our previous study on the forest floor for a comparable period, and metallic elements in decomposing river litter showed some unique release patterns that could be affected by multiple factors.…”

“…With constant moisture, temperature in lotic ecosystems is likely to be one of the primary factors controlling microbial and decomposer activities (Martínez et al 2014), thereby modulating the litter decomposition process and the simultaneous process of element release. The dynamics of metallic elements are related to chemical characteristics, such as solubility and mobility (Staaf and Berg 1982), and thus, metallic elements with higher mobility (e.g., Ca and Na) may be less influenced by water flow velocity. Similarly, because pH typically influences the solubility and mobility of metallic elements during litter decomposition, changes in pH may have little influence on Na or Fe but can significantly influence some other metallic elements.…”

“…Rates of litter decomposition in running water and the simultaneous release of elements are much higher than those in upland ecosystems because of stronger leaching and flushing effects (Perakis and Hedin 2002) and that the process of element release could be affected by multiple factors, such as an element's chemical characteristics (Staaf and Berg 1982), litter quality (Leroy and Marks 2006), microenvironments, and water characteristics (Rueda-Delgado et al 2006;Martínez et al 2014). Major elements, such as K, Ca, and Mg, were reported to release during litter decomposition on forest floors (Staaf and Berg 1982;Edmonds and Tuttle 2010), whereas trace elements, such as sodium (Na), manganese (Mn), Zn, and Cu, preferentially retain and show increasing concentrations during the early stages of litter decomposition on forest floors (Edmonds and Tuttle 2010;Jonczak et al 2014;He et al 2015).…”

“…Major elements, such as K, Ca, and Mg, were reported to release during litter decomposition on forest floors (Staaf and Berg 1982;Edmonds and Tuttle 2010), whereas trace elements, such as sodium (Na), manganese (Mn), Zn, and Cu, preferentially retain and show increasing concentrations during the early stages of litter decomposition on forest floors (Edmonds and Tuttle 2010;Jonczak et al 2014;He et al 2015). Plant litter species and plant functional traits are the predominant factors controlling litter decomposition at both local and global scales (Cornwell et al 2008;Makkonen et al 2012); litter quality should thus significantly influence the dynamics of elements in decomposing litter.…”

Litterfall and nutrient return in moist evergreen broad-leaved primary forest and mixed subtropical secondary deciduous broad-leaved forest in China

“…The spatiotemporal variability of litterfall strongly depends on forest stand species (Binkley 1996) and nutritional condition during the growing season (Diaz-Maroto and Vila-Lameiro 2005). A previous study has confirmed that the nutrient of twigs and leaves can be from soil via roots and from the atmosphere through stomata (Staaf and Berg 1981). For different forest stand species, seasonal fluctuations of N concentrations in green litterfall, with the maximum values in fresh leaves and the minimum values in old ones, have been reported in the literatures (Martínez-Alonso et al 2007;Hansen et al 2009;Fife et al 2008).…”