Changes in Soil Biochemical Properties in a Cedar Plantation Invaded by Moso Bamboo

Abstract

Moso bamboo (Phyllostachys edulis) is one of the widely growing bamboo species in Asia. Because of its fast growth and aggressive rhizomes, it is reported to invade other forests and reduce the biodiversity of forest ecosystems. To determine the changes in soil nutrient conditions due to moso bamboo invasion, this research measured the difference in soil labile carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) contents in a Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica) forest invaded by moso bamboo in central Taiwan. The content of soluble organic C (S b OC), measured by both KCl and hot-water extraction methods, was lower in bamboo than cedar soils. This observation agreed with the finding that the more easily decomposed S b OC could be lost with bamboo invasion. In addition, both S b OC KCl and S b OC HW contents were positively correlated with microbial biomass C content, so the decreased labile organic C content in bamboo soils may reduce microbial biomass production. Principal component analysis revealed soil organic C content (total organic C, S b OC and acid-hydrolysable C) as the most important soil parameter affected by the bamboo invasion, followed by microbial biomass N and NO 3 − contents in soils. The soil quality index model also agreed with the degraded soil quality with bamboo invasion. In conclusion, the invasion of moso bamboo reduced the C and N pools in bamboo soil and degraded the overall soil quality.

Moso bamboo (Phyllostachys edulis (Carriere) J. Houzeau) invasion affects soil phosphorus dynamics in adjacent coniferous forests in subtropical China

“…2015). In addition, recent studies have also reported that moso bamboo invasion affected physical, chemical, and biological soil properties (Lin et al 2014;Fukushima et al 2015;Shinohara and Otsuki 2015;Chang and Chiu 2015;Xu et al 2015;Wang et al 2016b;Song et al 2017;Li et al 2017a;Qin et al 2017;Shiau and Chiu 2017).…”

Improvements in Soil C and N Compositions After 40 and 80 Years of Reforestation in Subtropical Low Mountain Forests

“…Soil soluble N from compounds like NH 4 + KCl , NO 3 − KCl , and TDN KCl was higher in CONIF‐40 than either BROAD‐Nat sites, and this could be linked to the fact that young forests have more young leaves than do old forests. Soil organic C is not polar and therefore dissolves better in HW than under ion exchange (Shiau et al, 2017; Shiau & Chiu, 2017). Therefore, S b OC HW concentrations were higher than those of S b OC KCl at all three studied sites, and S b OC HW is typically considered to reflect the labile portion of soil C better than S b OC KCl (Shiau & Chiu, 2017).…”

“…Research has shown that soil KCl‐ and hot water (HW)‐extractable C and N contents reflect the nutrients that can be readily metabolized by soil microorganisms, while acid‐hydrolyzable C is considered to be bioreactive C in soil (Xu et al, 1997). Extraction methods, such as KCl and HW, have been widely used to study various forest ecosystems and have proven that KCl‐ and HW‐extracted C and N contents are directly linked to microbial biomass (Huang et al, 2014; Shiau et al, 2017; Shiau & Chiu, 2017). In addition, acid‐hydrolyzable and recalcitrant C have been used to evaluate soil C quality under different types of plant cover (Wang, Chou, et al, 2016; Wang, Tian, et al, 2016).…”

Niche Differentiation of Active Methane-Oxidizing Bacteria in Estuarine Mangrove Forest Soils in Taiwan

“…Soil total organic C (TOC) and total N (TN) were evaluated by the combustion method with an elemental analyzer (Fisons NA1500, ThermoQuest Italia, Milan, Italy). Soil labile C and N (soluble organic C: S b OC; soluble organic N: S b ON; ammonium: NH 4 + ; nitrate: NO 3 − ; total dissolved N: TDN) were extracted using a 2 M KCl extraction method [ 28 , 29 ]. Briefly, extracts were filtered from 5 g of soil and soaked with 50 mL KCl for an hour at 150 rpm.…”

“…were extracted using a 2 M KCl extraction method [28,29]. Briefly, extracts were filtered from 5 g of soil and soaked with 50 mL KCl for an hour at 150 rpm.…”