Predicting litter decomposition rate for temperate forest tree species by the relative contribution of green leaf and litter traits in the Indian Himalayas region

Rawat, Monika; Arunachalam, A.; Arunachalam, A.; Alatalo, Juha M.; Pandey, Rajiv

doi:10.1016/j.ecolind.2020.106827

Cited by 28 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…This may have been related to litter decomposition; that is, higher values of the three leaf traits occurring at the same time represented the ecological strategy of high photosynthetic input, and a higher leaf biomass led to an increase in litter quantity on the surface. Similar to these conclusions, researchers have also reported that leaf traits are directly related to the litter amount, and leaf traits can also be used to predict litter decomposition rates [46][47][48]. Plant size factors (crown diameter and height) also showed similarity in environmental response, i.e., altitude and soil organic carbon were more affected.…”

Section: Factors Affecting Traitsmentioning

confidence: 56%

Multiscale Regulation of Leaf Traits in Woody Plants as an Adaptation to a Post-Earthquake Environment in Broadleaved Forests of Southwestern China

Kang

Yin

Liu

et al. 2022

Forests

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Functional traits are important indicators for examining ecological processes and after-effects of plant community restoration after large-scale geological disturbance. Sample sites with and without landslides in typical forest ecosystems within the region that experienced the highest intensity of the Wenchuan 8.0 earthquake in China were selected in this study, and the characteristics, variations, relationships and influencing factors of woody plant traits at the species, individual and functional type scales were studied. The total interspecific and intraspecific variation of woody plant functional traits was 62.02% and 14.86%, respectively. Differences in woody plant traits were observed at multiple ecological scales on landslides compared with those on nonlandslides. The differentiation of functional traits of recovering communities significantly decreased among woody plant functional types (WFTs) on landslides after the earthquake, indicating disruption and reorganization of the original functional structure. Woody plants on landslides adapted to the new environment by adjusting their leaf traits to improve light use efficiency and adopting rapid ecological strategies. In contrast, woody plants on nonlandslides were more inclined to accumulate material and support structures. Leaf thickness was sensitive to earthquakes. Leaf traits showed a high degree of synergy in their environmental response.

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Section: Factors Affecting Traitsmentioning

confidence: 56%

Multiscale Regulation of Leaf Traits in Woody Plants as an Adaptation to a Post-Earthquake Environment in Broadleaved Forests of Southwestern China

Kang

Yin

Liu

et al. 2022

Forests

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“…Present vegetation biomass N (346.77–4662.02 kg ha −1 ) and P (19.19–233.91 kg ha −1 ) stocks were higher than the values reported (577 kg ha −1 for N and 60.5 kg ha −1 for P) by Zhang et al (2018). Late successional forest stands showed higher vegetation biomass, nutrient concentrations and litter biomass leading to enhanced forest nutrient dynamics (Joshi & Garkoti, 2021b; Rawat, Arunachalam, Arunachalam, Alatalo, & Pandey, 2020). The higher values of C:P and N:P ratios and the low P stock in the soil in young stands (AER, ALR, and AYM) may affect the enzymatic and microbial activities that decompose organic matter, which may, in turn, limit forest growth during early stages of chronosequence (Richardson et al, 2004).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of forest chronosequence on ecological stoichiometry and nitrogen and phosphorus stocks in Alnus nepalensis forest stands, central Himalaya

Joshi

Garkoti

2023

Land Degrad Dev

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In the mid and high elevations of the central Himalaya, Nepalese alder (Alnus nepalensis D. Don) occurs in areas affected by landslides/landslips and is a nitrogen‐fixing species; it quickly improves soil physical and chemical properties and facilitates the restoration of degraded forests. In the present study, we evaluated the effect of A. nepalensis forest chronosequence on the carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) concentrations, N and P stocks, and stoichiometry in the soil, including microbial biomass C (MBC), microbial biomass N (MBN) and microbial biomass P (MBP), and in the plant components. Six naturally occurring forest stands were identified in a chronosequence of A. nepalensis (age 3–270 years old) forest stands, namely alder‐early regenerating (AER), alder‐late regenerating (ALR), alder young‐mixed (AYM), alder mature‐oak (Quercus leucotrichophora) mixed (AMOM), alder mature‐rhododendron (Rhododendron arboreum) mixed (AMR), and alder old‐oak (Q. leucotrichophora) mixed (AOOM) forests. The biomass of tree components was estimated using species‐specific allometric equations developed by previous workers for the region. Soil total N and total P stocks of each species were determined by the N and P concentrations and bulk density. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was performed to quantify the contribution of N and P pools to ecosystem nitrogen and phosphorus stocks. The results of this study revealed that the stoichiometry (C:N, N:P, and C:P ratios) of tree components (i.e., leaves, leaf litter, twig), soil and microbial biomass varied widely, and the presence of nitrogen‐fixing A. nepalensis in different succession stages significantly improved the soil and microbial biomass stoichiometry. Total vegetation (tree, herbs, shrubs, and litter) biomass N stock ranged from 346.77 to 4662.06 kg N ha−1, and soil N stock varied from 816.48 to 7334.24 kg N ha−1. Total ecosystem N and P stocks ranged from 1163.26 to 11,996.31 kg N ha−1 and 76.10 to 799.28 kg P ha−1, respectively, and positively increased with A. nepalensis total biomass. The soil P stock accounted for 63.49% to 74.80% of the total P stocks of the forest ecosystems. Overall, our findings suggest that A. nepalensis forest chronosequence enhanced the N and P stocks, and introducing this species in degraded forests appears to be an option for enhancing forest conservation and rehabilitation actions in the central Himalaya.

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“…Correlation analysis showed that leaf litter maximum water holding capacity was positively related to specific leaf area and negatively related to leaf C content (Figure S3), indicating that leaf litter water holding capacity may be an important plant trait that coordinates with leaf traits (Freschet et al, 2010). Leaf litter with a higher water holding capacity often has a faster decomposition rate (Liu et al, 2018; Rawat et al, 2020). Therefore, increasing leaf litter water availability may increase the labile plant C and nutrient input into the soil by affecting litter decomposition and thus the substrate supply to decomposers (Makkonen et al, 2013; Strukelj et al, 2021).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Litter and root traits control soil microbial composition and enzyme activities in 28 common subtropical tree species

Wan

Wang

et al. 2022

Journal of Ecology

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1. Plant trait-based approaches are frequently used to explore the linkages between above-ground plant communities and below-ground ecosystem functions. However, the role of plant leaf litter and living root traits in driving soil microbial biomass, community composition and enzyme activities has rarely been explored.2. Here, we measured the soil microbial biomass, community composition and enzyme activities related to carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) acquisition under 3-year-old monocultures of 28 common subtropical tree species in China.3. We found that plant leaf litter and absorptive root traits, including leaf litter C content, litter water holding capacity and root N content, were the three best predictors for soil microbial biomass and enzyme activities. In particular, resource-exploitative tree species with higher root N contents were associated with microbial communities with lower fungi to bacteria ratios and lower C-and P-acquisition enzyme activities. Tree species with higher leaf litter water holding capacity were associated with microbial resource acquisition strategies for C and P acquisition. 4. Synthesis: Our findings highlighted that plant leaf litter and root traits are important for mechanistically understanding the ecological linkage between the plant community and ecosystem functions.

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Predicting litter decomposition rate for temperate forest tree species by the relative contribution of green leaf and litter traits in the Indian Himalayas region

Cited by 28 publications

References 37 publications

Multiscale Regulation of Leaf Traits in Woody Plants as an Adaptation to a Post-Earthquake Environment in Broadleaved Forests of Southwestern China

Multiscale Regulation of Leaf Traits in Woody Plants as an Adaptation to a Post-Earthquake Environment in Broadleaved Forests of Southwestern China

Effect of forest chronosequence on ecological stoichiometry and nitrogen and phosphorus stocks in Alnus nepalensis forest stands, central Himalaya

Litter and root traits control soil microbial composition and enzyme activities in 28 common subtropical tree species

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