Winter climate change, plant traits and nutrient and carbon cycling in cold biomes

Cornelissen, Johannes H. C.; Makoto, Kobayashi

doi:10.1007/s11284-013-1106-1

Cited by 27 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 84 publications

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“…Lower or stable aboveground biomass and lower AT % 15 N values combined are a clear hint for reduced N uptake by the affected plant species. Such differences among species in frost susceptibility could have important consequences for competitive balances and shifts in community composition over the long term (Joseph and Henry, 2008;Cornelissen and Makoto, 2014).…”

Section: 05mentioning

confidence: 99%

Increased winter soil temperature variability enhances nitrogen cycling and soil biotic activity in temperate heathland and grassland mesocosms

et al. 2014

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Abstract. Winter air temperatures are projected to increase in the temperate zone, whereas snow cover is projected to decrease, leading to increased soil temperature variability, and potentially to changes in nutrient cycling. Here, we experimentally evaluated the effects of increased winter soil temperature variability on selected aspects of the N-cycle in mesocosms containing different plant community compositions. The experiment was replicated at two sites, a colder mountainous upland site with high snow accumulation and a warmer and drier lowland site.Increased soil temperature variability enhanced soil biotic activity for both sites during winter, as indicated by 35 % higher nitrogen (N) availability in the soil solution, 40 % higher belowground decomposition and a 25 % increase in the potential activity of the enzyme cellobiohydrolase. The mobilization of N differed between sites, and the 15 N signal in leaves was reduced by 31 % in response to winter warming pulses, but only at the cold site, with significant reductions occurring for three of four tested plant species at this site. Furthermore, there was a trend of increased N leaching in response to the recurrent winter warming pulses.Overall, projected winter climate change in the temperate zone, with less snow and more variable soil temperatures, appears important for shifts in ecosystem functioning (i.e. nutrient cycling). While the effects of warming pulses on plant N mobilization did not differ among sites, reduced plant 15 N incorporation at the colder temperate site suggests that frost damage may reduce plant N uptake in a warmer world, with important implications for nitrogen cycling and nitrogen losses from ecosystems.

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Section: 05mentioning

confidence: 99%

Increased winter soil temperature variability enhances nitrogen cycling and soil biotic activity in temperate heathland and grassland mesocosms

et al. 2014

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“…Furthermore, seasonal snow cover is particularly critical in arid regions and can greatly affect regional ecological processes (Paudel et al 2015, He et al 2015. Under global warming, winter snow cover is declining in extent and thickness, which will also greatly affect the key ecological process of litter decomposition (Aerts 2006, Carbognani et al 2014, Cornelissen and Makoto 2014. Therefore, studies of the effects of seasonal snow cover on litter decomposition and soil processes are crucial for understanding how changes in snow cover may impact soil nutrient cycling and stability.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The ecological stoichiometry and interrelationship between litter and soil under seasonal snowfall in Tianshan Mountain

2018

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Changes in snow cover caused by global climate change will profoundly affect the process of litter decomposition and soil nutrient cycling in terrestrial ecosystems. The presence of seasonal snow cover during the winter has a significant impact on forest ecosystems. The goals of this study were to explore how seasonal snow cover modulates litter decomposition dynamics and elemental cycling in forest ecosystems, and to characterize the ecological stoichiometry of nutrients in the leaf litter and soils over time. Seasonal snowfall leads to different snow depths on the ground, especially when comparing forest gaps to closed canopy. Snow cover in this study was categorized as absent, thin, intermediate, and thick according to depth (n = 4 treatments). Leaf litter and underlying soils were sampled in plots from each category of snow cover over the course of multiple seasons (i.e., the freeze–thaw period, deep‐freeze period, thaw period, pre‐growth season, and late growth season). The carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus concentration of leaf litter and soils were determined at each stage. The litter decomposition rate and nutrient concentration were largely dependent on the thickness of the snowpack formed by seasonal snowfall. Overall, variability in the ecological stoichiometry of elements in the leaf litter and soils was small. However, in the leaf litter, carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus concentrations and their stoichiometric ratios differed across the snow cover gradient during the winter when snow was present, but not when snow was absent in the warmer months. Thicker snowpacks better maintained litter decomposition and kept nutrient levels stable. Furthermore, correlations between leaf litter and soil ecological stoichiometry were affected by seasonal snow cover, with element concentration also varying over time.

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“…An expansion of shrubs might also modify tundra decomposition rates by causing a shift in community-weighted plant functional traits (Cornelissen and Makoto 2013), for example, by increasing leaf lignin content, which might reduce decomposition rates (Cornelissen and others 2007) and ecosystem C and N cycling (Freschet and others 2012). However, the sensitivity of litter decomposition to warming has been shown to be inversely related to litter quality, with high-quality litter exhibiting a smaller decomposition response to temperature than lowquality litter because of microbial enzyme kinetics (Fierer and others 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Initial Stages of Tundra Shrub Litter Decomposition May Be Accelerated by Deeper Winter Snow But Slowed Down by Spring Warming

2015

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The Arctic climate is projected to change during the coming century, with expected higher air temperatures and increased winter snowfall. These climatic changes might alter litter decomposition rates, which in turn could affect carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycling rates in tundra ecosystems. However, little is known of seasonal climate change effects on plant litter decomposition rates and N dynamics, hampering predictions of future arctic vegetation composition and the tundra C balance. We tested the effects of snow addition (snow fences), warming (open top chambers), and shrub removal (clipping), using a full-factorial experiment, on mass loss and N dynamics of two shrub tissue types with contrasting quality: deciduous shrub leaf litter (Salix glauca) and evergreen shrub shoots (Cassiope tetragona). We performed a 10.5-month decomposition experiment in a low-arctic shrub tundra heath in WestGreenland. Field incubations started in late fall, with harvests made after 249, 273, and 319 days of field incubation during early spring, summer and fall of the next year, respectively. We observed a positive effect of deeper snow on winter mass loss which is considered a result of observed higher soil winter temperatures and corresponding increased winter microbial litter decomposition in deep-snow plots. In contrast, warming reduced litter mass loss during spring, possibly because the dry spring conditions might have dried out the litter layer and thereby limited microbial litter decomposition. Shrub removal had a small positive effect on litter mass loss for C. tetragona during summer, but not for S. glauca. Nitrogen dynamics in decomposing leaves and shoots were not affected by the treatments but did show differences in temporal patterns between tissue types: there was a net immobilization of N by C. tetragona shoots after the winter incubation, while S. glauca leaf N-pools were unaltered over time. Our results support the widely hypothesized positive linkage between winter snow depth and litter decomposition rates in tundra ecosystems, but our results do not reveal changes in N dynamics during initial decomposition stages. Our study also shows contrasting impacts of spring warming and snow

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Winter climate change, plant traits and nutrient and carbon cycling in cold biomes

Cited by 27 publications

References 84 publications

Increased winter soil temperature variability enhances nitrogen cycling and soil biotic activity in temperate heathland and grassland mesocosms

Increased winter soil temperature variability enhances nitrogen cycling and soil biotic activity in temperate heathland and grassland mesocosms

The ecological stoichiometry and interrelationship between litter and soil under seasonal snowfall in Tianshan Mountain

Initial Stages of Tundra Shrub Litter Decomposition May Be Accelerated by Deeper Winter Snow But Slowed Down by Spring Warming

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