Effects of mixed leaf litter from predominant afforestation tree species on decomposition rates in the Three Gorges Reservoir, China

Zeng, Lixiong; He, Wei; Teng, Mingjun; Luo, Xin; Yan, Zhaogui; Huang, Zhilin; Zhou, Zhixiang; Wang, Pengcheng; Xiao, Wei

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.05.208

Cited by 41 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 50 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The aim of this study was to assess the potential nonadditive effects of tree species mixing on litter lignin and cellulose degradation during decomposition. The full descriptive details of the study site were published in Zeng et al [25], and the experiments were performed in three replicate plots (5 × 5 m) that were located at least 200 m from one another within the Masson pine forest ( Figure 1).…”

Section: Study Site and Experimental Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On 6 December 2014, a total of 378 plastic pots with litterbags (7 litter treatments × 3 plots × 3 replicates × 6 sampling events) were randomly placed in the established experimental plots (prepared litter bags containing air-dried litter were randomly placed on the topsoil in plastic pots at one bag per pot). To exclude litterfall from the standing forest, we placed nylon gauze over the experimental plots (a detailed report can be found in the Zeng et al [25]).…”

Section: Litter Processingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…where C (t−1) and C t represent the lignin or cellulose content on the current and previous sampling dates, respectively, and C t0 is the initial lignin or cellulose content. The cumulative lignin or cellulose loss with the decomposition time was the sum of the corresponding values in the different phases [25].…”

Section: Analyses and Calculationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Forest managers practically implement mixed planting with two of the three species or with all three species to ensure sustainable development of plantations [23]. Relevant research in this area has documented the characteristics of the mass loss rate and nutrient release (i.e., carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus) from monospecific and mixed litters among these species [23][24][25]. These studies revealed slow decomposition of cypress and Masson pine litter because of their low litter quality and further declared that mixed afforestation of the three predominant tree species facilitated litter decomposition for each species.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, the simultaneous degradation process of recalcitrant materials has not been addressed to date, which may preclude generalizations. In this paper, we report the mixing effects on lignin and cellulose degradation based on a whole-year field litter decomposition experiment (published in Zeng et al [25]) using the three species under seven treatments (with equal mass proportions of single-, pair-, and tri-species combinations of Masson pine, cypress, and oak litter). Given the superior characteristics of the litter quality of oak species, we hypothesized that oak species would facilitate lignin and cellulose degradation in the litter mixtures.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Effects of Predominant Tree Species Mixing on Lignin and Cellulose Degradation during Leaf Litter Decomposition in the Three Gorges Reservoir, China

Pei

et al. 2019

Forests

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The aim of this study was to investigate the potential mixing effects on degradation of lignin and cellulose in mixed leaf litter from Pinus massoniana Lamb., Cupressus funebris Endl., and/or Quercus variabilis Bl., and elucidate the interactions with abiotic factors. The litter bag method was used in the field experiment, and the three predominant species in the Three Gorges Reservoir region were treated as single-, pair-, and tri-species combinations with equal proportions of litter mass. Lignin and cellulose losses in the litter treatments were measured, and the mixing effects were evaluated based on the sampling phase and decomposition period. At the end of the one-year decomposition period, mixing species increased lignin loss by 3.3% for the cypress + oak combination and cellulose loss by 3.9%, 1.8%, and 0.8% for the pine + oak, cypress + oak, and pine + cypress + oak combinations, respectively. The pine + oak and cypress + oak combinations exhibited greater lignin and cellulose loss than the tri-species mixture. Accelerated lignin degradation also apparently occurred in the pine + cypress combination as decomposition proceeded. Generalized linear models suggested that the investigated environmental factors (in terms of average temperature and cumulative precipitation) and changing litter quality (lignin, cellulose, and lignin/cellulose) had significant effects on nonadditive lignin loss, whereas only the changing litter quality factors significantly affected nonadditive cellulose loss. In summary, mixing two or three of the studied species alters cycling of recalcitrant substrates in plantations, and mixed planting with Quercus appears to strengthen both the lignin and cellulose degradation processes.

show abstract

Section: Study Site and Experimental Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Litter Processingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Analyses and Calculationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Effects of Predominant Tree Species Mixing on Lignin and Cellulose Degradation during Leaf Litter Decomposition in the Three Gorges Reservoir, China

Pei

et al. 2019

Forests

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Leaf litter lignin degradation in response to understory vegetation removal in a Masson pine plantation

Keyhani

et al. 2020

Land Degrad Dev

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Understory vegetation changes, caused by forestry management, can alter the litter species composition and microclimate in situ, which while profoundly influence litter lignin degradation processes, is seldom investigated. To reveal the effects of these changes, understory vegetation in plots was treated as follows: no understory vegetation removal; only shrub removal; only herb removal; and, both shrub and herb removal. Single‐ and mixed‐species litterbags (1.0 mm mesh with uncut leaf litter) matching the treated vegetation characteristics (complied with a 7:2:1 air‐dried mass ratio for the litter form trees, shrubs, and herbs) were placed on the floor. After 2 years, 5.9% (single‐tree litter in the plots with shrub removal) to 41.4% (mixture in the plots with no understory vegetation removal) of the initial lignin content was degraded among litterbag types and plot treatments. Incidence of nonadditive effects was reduced, and the nonadditive lignin degradation rate varied but remained low among plot treatments when understory vegetation was removed. In all plot treatments, lignin degradation rate was higher in single‐shrub or single‐herb litter than in single‐tree litter (at least 9.7% ± 1.2% for the deviation). Mixtures in the plots, with no understory vegetation removal, exhibited a greater lignin degradation rate than that of the litter mixtures in the other plots. Path analysis indicated that microbial biomass nitrogen, average temperature, and lignin concentration were positively correlated with lignin degradation rate. Therefore, in addition to the litter species composition, alterations in microclimate as a result of understory vegetation changes can be a key factor that influence lignin degradation rate.

show abstract

Combined addition of plant litter altered remediating effects on petroleum‐contaminated soil in Northern Shaanxi, China

Zhang

Tian

et al. 2023

Land Degrad Dev

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In the present study, we assessed whether the nonadditive effects of mixed litter decomposition on soil biological and chemical properties, which was usually recognized in clean soils, could be used to enhance the efficiency of petroleum‐contaminated soil necrophytoremediation. In particular, six common plant species from the petroleum production region of Northern Shaanxi, China were collected, forming nine mixture types. The single and mixed litters were used to treat petroleum‐contaminated soil with a proportion of 45 g kg−1 at 25°C and a constant humidity for 150 days. The possible nonadditive effects on the efficiency of removing contaminants and recovering the damaged soil traits caused by the mixed litter addition were then investigated. The results indicate that monospecific litter treatments significantly increased the degradation rates of petroleum contaminants, the available N and P contents, and the catalase and dehydrogenase activities by 36%–74%, 28%–455%, and 8%–102%, respectively (p < 0.05). The mixed addition of the litters from Lespedeza davurica and Artemisia scoparia or those from Agropyron cristatum and Bromus inermis caused significant synergistic effects, enhancing the overall petroleum component removal, replenishing nutrients (particularly nitrogen) or stimulating enzymatic activities (especially for sucrase, phosphatase, catalase, and urease). The observed values of the corresponding indicators following mixed litter treatment were observed to significantly increase by 12%–18%, 23%–58%, and 9%–24% (p < 0.05), relative to their predicted values, which were calculated based on the observed values from the monospecific litter treatments and the proportion of the litter in the mixture. However, other litter combinations may weaken the remediation effects of the litter addition. In general, a high content of nutrients, primary metabolites (e.g., soluble sugars and amino acids), and the potential bio‐surfactants and co‐metabolized substrates (including terpenoids and flavonoids) of mixed litters enhanced the remediation efficiency of mixed litters. Notably, an increase in the chemical diversity of mixed litter may weaken its synergistic effects on the degradation of petroleum components and the simulation of soil polyphenol oxidase activity. Our results demonstrate that appropriate litter mixing combinations can effectively enhance the efficiency of necrophytoremediation, thus providing new approaches for the more convenient and economical remediation of petroleum‐contaminated soil.

show abstract

Effects of mixed leaf litter from predominant afforestation tree species on decomposition rates in the Three Gorges Reservoir, China

Cited by 41 publications

References 50 publications

Effects of Predominant Tree Species Mixing on Lignin and Cellulose Degradation during Leaf Litter Decomposition in the Three Gorges Reservoir, China

Effects of Predominant Tree Species Mixing on Lignin and Cellulose Degradation during Leaf Litter Decomposition in the Three Gorges Reservoir, China

Leaf litter lignin degradation in response to understory vegetation removal in a Masson pine plantation

Combined addition of plant litter altered remediating effects on petroleum‐contaminated soil in Northern Shaanxi, China

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About