Estimating the critical N:C from litter decomposition data and its relation to soil organic matter stoichiometry

Ågren, Göran I.; Hyvönen, Riitta; Berglund, Sten; Hobbie, Sarah E.

doi:10.1016/j.soilbio.2013.09.010

Cited by 63 publications

(51 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…However, soils and soil horizons of most interest to terrestrial ecologists and biogeochemists are often topsoils, including O horizons, with comparatively low mineral contents (see e.g. Å gren et al 2013;Hatton et al 2015;Hobbie 2015), and it is therefore appropriate to include such soils in a wider stoichiometric analysis. (2) The trends with depth in NP ratio shown by Walker and Adams (1958) contradict the conclusion of Yang and Post (2011) that N and P are decoupled, neither do they fit with the notion that SOM has near-constant elemental composition.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The C:N:P:S stoichiometry of soil organic matter

Tipping¹,

2016

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The formation and turnover of soil organic matter (SOM) includes the biogeochemical processing of the macronutrient elements nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and sulphur (S), which alters their stoichiometric relationships to carbon (C) and to each other. We sought patterns among soil organic C, N, P and S in data for c. 2000 globally distributed soil samples, covering all soil horizons. For non-peat soils, strong negative correlations (p \ 0.001) were found between N:C, P:C and S:C ratios and % organic carbon (OC), showing that SOM of soils with low OC concentrations (high in mineral matter) is rich in N, P and S. The results can be described approximately with a simple mixing model in which nutrient-poor SOM (NPSOM) has N:C, P:C and S:C ratios of 0.039, 0.0011 and 0.0054, while nutrient-rich SOM (NRSOM) has corresponding ratios of 0.12, 0.016 and 0.016, so that P is especially enriched in NRSOM compared to NPSOM. The trends hold across a range of ecosystems, for topsoils, including O horizons, and subsoils, and across different soil classes. The major exception is that tropical soils tend to have low P:C ratios especially at low N:C. We suggest that NRSOM comprises compounds selected by their strong adsorption to mineral matter. The stoichiometric patterns established here offer a new quantitative framework for SOM classification and characterisation, and provide important constraints to dynamic soil and ecosystem models of carbon turnover and nutrient dynamics.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The C:N:P:S stoichiometry of soil organic matter

Tipping¹,

2016

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“…Unfortunately, the roles played by decomposer elemental composition and CUE in the nutrient release curves employed here to estimate microbial traits are difficult to disentangle. In fact, either decreasing microbial biomass N:C or decreasing e reduces the nutrient demand per unit C consumed (as demonstrated analytically by Ågren et al, 2013, and as illustrated in Figure 1). In two studies where both parameters were fitted via nonlinear regression (Ågren et al, 2001; Nicolardot et al, 2001), contrasting results were found.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 57%

“…Nevertheless, microbial community traits have also been obtained by fitting models to soil incubation studies (Nicolardot et al, 2001; Pansu et al, 2004) and litter decomposition datasets (Wetterstedt and Ågren, 2011; Manzoni et al, 2012a). Here the same conceptual approach is applied, but instead of fitting model results as a function of time, analytical relations between two elements are obtained (Manzoni et al, 2008a; Ågren et al, 2013). This method focuses on stoichiometry rather than kinetics and reduces the degrees of freedom of the problem, thereby allowing more robust trait estimation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Bosatta and Ågren, 1985; Manzoni et al, 2008a, 2010; Ågren et al, 2013). With these assumptions, p ( x ) = −αln( x )/(1− e ), and after accounting for the initial condition y ( x = 1) = 1, the fraction of remaining nitrogen is found as (model I),

y (x) = x \frac{e}{α - 1 + e} \frac{r_{B}}{r_{0}} + (1 - \frac{e}{α - 1 + e} \frac{r_{B}}{r_{0}}) x^{\frac{α}{1 - e}},

recovering the equation derived by Manzoni et al (2010).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 96%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Flexible Carbon-Use Efficiency across Litter Types and during Decomposition Partly Compensates Nutrient Imbalances—Results from Analytical Stoichiometric Models

Manzoni

2017

Front. Microbiol.

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Mathematical models involving explicit representations of microbial processes have been developed to infer microbial community properties from laboratory and field measurements. While this approach has been used to estimate the kinetic constants related to microbial activity, it has not been fully exploited for inference of stoichiometric traits, such as carbon-use efficiency (CUE). Here, a hierarchy of analytically-solvable mass-balance models of litter carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) dynamics is developed, to infer decomposer CUE from measured C and N contents during litter decomposition. The models are solved in the phase space—expressing litter remaining N as a function of remaining C—rather than in time, thus focusing on the stoichiometric relations during decomposition rather than the kinetics of degradation. This approach leads to explicit formulas that depend on CUE and other microbial properties, which can then be treated as model parameters and retrieved via nonlinear regression. CUE is either assumed time-invariant or as a function of the fraction of remaining litter C as a substitute for time. In all models, CUE tends to increase with increasing litter N availability across a range of litter types. When temporal trends in CUE are considered, CUE increases during decomposition of N-poor litter cohorts, in which decomposers are initially N-limited, but decreases in N-rich litter possibly due to C-limitation. These patterns of flexible CUE that partly compensate stoichiometric imbalances are robust to moderate shifts in decomposer C:N ratio and hold across wide climatic gradients.

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“…Moreover, litter and soil C:N may interact to determine litter decomposition rates (Finn et al, 2015). Because N deposition will increase soil N availability this may alter soil C:N and hence the composition of litter decomposer communities and litter decomposition rates (Ågren et al, 2013;Finn et al, 2015). Therefore, elevated CO 2 and N deposition may alter litter decomposition rates via soil mediated effects that may vary among populations of plants.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interactive effects of elevated CO2 and nitrogen deposition accelerate litter decomposition cycles of invasive tree (Triadica sebifera)

Zhang

Zou

Siemann

2017

Forest Ecology and Management

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a b s t r a c tLitter decomposition is an important component of forest nutrient recycling potentially impacted by elevated CO 2 , nitrogen (N) deposition, and biological invasions. Each can affect decomposition indirectly via changes in litter quantity, litter quality, and soils, which may increase or offset direct effects of elevated CO 2 on decomposition. To date, no study has examined how elevated CO 2 and N deposition interact to determine exotic plant litter cycling or the importance of variation among native and invasive populations of exotic plants for these effects.In this study, we examine elevated CO 2 and N deposition effects on litter production and decomposition of native (China) and invasive (USA) populations of tallow tree (Triadica sebifera). First, we investigated litter production in greenhouse chambers. Then, we conducted three additional experiments using experimentally created litter and soils to examine CO 2 and N effects on litter decomposition via changes in litter quality, soils, and atmospheric environment. Elevated CO 2 and N deposition increased litter production with their combined effects more than additive. Nitrogen deposition increased litter production of native populations more than that of invasive populations. Litter produced in elevated CO 2 had higher C:N and decomposed more slowly than litter produced in ambient CO 2 but N deposition weakened these effects. Decomposition was slower in soils with histories of N deposition or plant association. Elevated CO 2 had no direct effects on litter decomposition.The net effect of elevated CO 2 alone on litter decomposition throughputs was negative for invasive populations due to strong reductions in litter decomposability. The net effect of elevated CO 2 and N deposition together on litter throughputs was positive, especially for native populations due to strong litter production increases.Results suggest that elevated CO 2 and N deposition impact litter cycling primarily through changes in litter quantity and quality with smaller effects via soils. Elevated CO 2 and N deposition had strong positive effects on litter throughputs together due to synergistic positive effects on litter production and offsetting effects on decomposability. Although elevated CO 2 and N deposition had consistent effects on native and invasive populations, the relative magnitudes of their effects on litter quantity and quality impacted litter cycling, suggesting the importance of considering plant trait variation in an overall estimation of global change effects on nutrient dynamics in forests and other ecosystems.

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Estimating the critical N:C from litter decomposition data and its relation to soil organic matter stoichiometry

Cited by 63 publications

References 21 publications

The C:N:P:S stoichiometry of soil organic matter

The C:N:P:S stoichiometry of soil organic matter

Flexible Carbon-Use Efficiency across Litter Types and during Decomposition Partly Compensates Nutrient Imbalances—Results from Analytical Stoichiometric Models

Interactive effects of elevated CO2 and nitrogen deposition accelerate litter decomposition cycles of invasive tree (Triadica sebifera)

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