Lignin Degradation in Foliar Litter of Two Shrub Species from the Gap Center to the Closed Canopy in an Alpine Fir Forest

He, Wei; Wu, Fuzhong; Yang, Wanqin; Tan, Bo; Zhao, Yeyi; Wu, Qing; He, Min

doi:10.1007/s10021-015-9921-6

Cited by 51 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 45 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…This result supports previous findings, demonstrating that snow cover can promote the loss of litter cellulose [19,26]. Cellulose is degraded by extracellular enzymes secreted by numerous species of bacteria and fungi [5].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

“…Finally, litter quality changes continuously over time, resulting in different chemical components that exhibit different levels of cellulose and lignin changes [23]. Previous studies have focused mainly on the mass loss, nutrient release and microbial biomass associated with winter litter decomposition in alpine forests [17,18,[24][25][26]. However, little information is available on how cellulose and lignin changes are influenced by ongoing climate change through changing snowfall patterns [27,28].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Effects of Forest Gaps on Litter Lignin and Cellulose Dynamics Vary Seasonally in an Alpine Forest

Han

Yang

et al. 2016

Forests

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract:To understand how forest gaps and the associated canopy control litter lignin and cellulose dynamics by redistributing the winter snow coverage and hydrothermal conditions in the growing season, a field litterbag trial was conducted in the alpine Minjiang fir (Abies faxoniana Rehder and E.H. Wilson) forest in a transitional area located in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River and the eastern Tibetan Plateau. Over the first year of litter decomposition, the litter exhibited absolute cellulose loss and absolute lignin accumulation except for the red birch litter. The changes in litter cellulose and lignin were significantly affected by the interactions among gap position, period and species. Litter cellulose exhibited a greater loss in the winter with the highest daily loss rate observed during the snow cover period. Both cellulose and lignin exhibited greater changes under the deep snow cover at the gap center in the winter, but the opposite pattern occurred under the closed canopy in the growing season. The results suggest that decreased snowpack seasonality due to winter warming may limit litter cellulose and lignin degradation in alpine forest ecosystems, which could further inhibit litter decomposition. As a result, the ongoing winter warming and gap vanishing would slow soil carbon sequestration from foliar litter in cold biomes.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Forest Gaps on Litter Lignin and Cellulose Dynamics Vary Seasonally in an Alpine Forest

Han

Yang

et al. 2016

Forests

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Total C concentration of litter was determined using the H 2 SO 4 ‐K 2 Cr 2 O 7 oxidation method, total N concentration was determined using the Kjeldahl acid‐digestion method, and total P concentration was determined using the phosphomolybdenum yellow spectrophotometry method (Zhu, He, Wu, Yang, & Tan, ). The lignin and cellulose concentrations were determined using a modified acid detergent solution method (He et al., ). For the concentrations of K, Ca, Mg and Mn, 1.00 g of litter material was first digested with an acid mixture of HNO 3 ‐HClO 4 (5:1, v/v) and heated at 160°C for 5 hr; following this first step, samples were tested using inductively coupled plasma spectroscopy (ICP‐MS, IRIS Advantage 1000; Thermo Elemental, Waltham, MA, USA) (Yue, Yang, Peng, Zhang, et al., ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the temporal dynamics of aquatic and terrestrial litter decomposition in an alpine forest

et al. 2018

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Litter decomposition supplies nutrients and energy within and among aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. It is driven by several biotic and abiotic factors, the relative importance of which may change during litter decay. However, to date, very few studies have addressed the temporal dynamics of such factors across aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, which limits our understanding of litter decomposition process. To assess the temporal dynamics of major abiotic and biotic litter decomposition drivers, we conducted a 2‐year field experiment to evaluate the losses of foliar litter carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) in alpine streams, riparian zones and forest floors. Environmental (soil, water and climatic) factors were continuously monitored, and incubated plant litter was sampled over time to assess temporal changes in litter chemistry and microbial diversity. We analysed sequential litter decomposition stages based on mass‐loss intervals and used structural equation modelling to disentangle the relative importance of each biotic and abiotic driver. Our results suggested that across the aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, litter C and N loss was generally controlled by a common hierarchy of drivers: (a) Environment and initial litter quality regulated C and N loss via both direct and indirect effects, and their total effects were mainly significant in the early and late decomposition stages, respectively; (b) changes in litter chemistry significantly influenced litter decomposition throughout the decomposition process, mainly via direct effects; and (c) microbial diversity per se showed minimal effects on litter C and N loss. The identified common hierarchy of biotic and abiotic drivers and their direct and indirect effects on C and N loss at different decomposition stages across aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems indicates the possibility of integrating aquatic and terrestrial decomposition into a single framework for future construction of models accounting for temporal dynamics of litter decomposition. A http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2435.13143/suppinfo is available for this article.

show abstract

“…The concentrations of C, N, and P were tested using the methods similar to those for the soil, and cellulose and lignin concentrations were analyzed using the widely used acid detergent solution method, which has been described in detail elsewhere [32,33]. Upon litterbag retrieval at each sampling event, litter materials were gently rinsed with deionized water for removing soil particles and animal feces, and then dried at 65 • C to constant mass and weighed.…”

Section: Measurements Of Litter Initial Traits and Cellulose Degradationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cellulose Dynamics during Foliar Litter Decomposition in an Alpine Forest Meta-Ecosystem

Yue

Yang

et al. 2016

Forests

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract:To investigate the dynamics and relative drivers of cellulose degradation during litter decomposition, a field experiment was conducted in three individual ecosystems (i.e., forest floor, stream, and riparian zone) of an alpine forest meta-ecosystem on the eastern Tibetan Plateau. Four litter species (i.e., willow: Salix paraplesia, azalea: Rhododendron lapponicum, cypress: Sabina saltuaria, and larch: Larix mastersiana) that had varying initial litter chemical traits were placed separately in litterbags and then incubated on the soil surface of forest floor plots or in the water of the stream and riparian zone plots. Litterbags were retrieved five times each year during the two-year experiment, with nine replicates each time for each treatment. The results suggested that foliar litter lost 32.2%-89.2% of the initial dry mass depending on litter species and ecosystem type after two-year's incubation. The cellulose lost 60.1%-96.8% of the initial mass with degradation rate in the order of stream > riparian zone > forest floor. Substantial cellulose degradation occurred at the very beginning (i.e., in the first pre-freezing period) of litter decomposition. Litter initial concentrations of phosphorus (P) and lignin were found to be the dominant chemical traits controlling cellulose degradation regardless of ecosystems type. The local-scale environmental factors such as temperature, pH, and nutrient availability were important moderators of cellulose degradation rate. Although the effects of common litter chemical traits (e.g., P and lignin concentrations) on cellulose degradation across different individual ecosystems were identified, local-scale environmental factors such as temperature and nutrient availability were found to be of great importance for cellulose degradation. These results indicated that local-scale environmental factors should be considered apart from litter quality for generating a reliable predictive framework for the drivers of cellulose degradation and further on litter decomposition at a global scale.

show abstract

Lignin Degradation in Foliar Litter of Two Shrub Species from the Gap Center to the Closed Canopy in an Alpine Fir Forest

Cited by 51 publications

References 45 publications

Effects of Forest Gaps on Litter Lignin and Cellulose Dynamics Vary Seasonally in an Alpine Forest

Effects of Forest Gaps on Litter Lignin and Cellulose Dynamics Vary Seasonally in an Alpine Forest

Assessing the temporal dynamics of aquatic and terrestrial litter decomposition in an alpine forest

Cellulose Dynamics during Foliar Litter Decomposition in an Alpine Forest Meta-Ecosystem

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About