Nutrient return through decomposing Coriaria nepalensis litter in degraded hills of Kumaun Himalaya, India

Abstract

Coriaria nepalensis, a nitrogen-fixing actinorhizal shrub, is a prominent and successful colonizer of bare rocks and landslide affected degraded lands. Field experiments were conducted to determine the differences in biomass decomposition and nutrient release pattern of different plant parts of C. nepalensis using litter bag technique. Results showed that the leaves decomposed completely within 6 months while only 46.55% of the lateral roots were decomposed with slowest decomposition rate of 0.14% day–1. The decomposition rate was in the order: Leaves > Reproductive parts > Twigs (< 5 mm) > Twigs (> 5 mm) > Bark > Fine roots > Lateral roots. The decay rate coefficient was highest (0.003–0.014) for leaves and lowest (0.001–0.002) for lateral roots. During the decomposition cycle (364 days), overall increase was reported in nitrogen and phosphorus concentration, while potassium concentration decreased continuously in residual litters. The nutrient mobility was in the order: K > P > N. Climatic factors like temperature, relative humidity and rainfall significantly affected the decomposition process and among these factors, rainfall pattern emerged as a most effective environmental driver. Thus, taking into account initial nutrient content, nutrient release and decay rates, the leaves and reproductive parts of C. nepalensis proved to be more important as nutrient source than other components.

Impact of Cropping Systems on Macronutrient Distribution and Microbial Biomass in Drought Affected Soils

“…The highest sand percentage has been observed in LWA, silt in CP, and clay in PCM. When we look at bulk density, it was seen higher in OL with 2.01 g/cm 3 when compared to CP with 1.65 g/cm 3 , indicating that it is more than 10% higher in open lands due to cropping systems. A significant variation has been observed in the WHC parameter, where PCM was identified at 51.2% with the highest and CP with the lowest at 33.24%.…”

Plant diversity drives soil carbon sequestration: evidence from 150 years of vegetation restoration in the temperate zone

“…Herbaceous plants may also influence SOC accumulation through the three pathways described above ( Yang et al., 2019b ). In summary, vegetation plays a significant role in the formation of soil organic matter and influences fundamental soil forming processes such as aggregation or podzolization ( Awasthi et al., 2022b ; Awasthi et al., 2022c ). Notably, soil aggregates are known to be the main sites of SOC fixation ( Shankar and Suresha, 2006 ; Bai et al., 2020 ).…”

Litter dynamics of forest ecosystem in an urban and pristine area of West Bengal, India

“…The ecosystem functions and services like primary productivity, nutrient cycling, and carbon fixation can be altered through potential forest losses (Ziegler et al, 2009;Gibson et al, 2011;Domec et al, 2015;van Straaten et al, 2015;Singh et al, 2021). The heterogeneous association of soil organic matter, characterizing the end products of several stabilizing processes, is responsible for nutrient cycling and the flow of energy (Bargali, 1994(Bargali, , 1996Awasthi et al, 2022c). The change in plant species diversity demonstrates how adaptable a forest ecosystem is to climate change.…”