Abstract
Background and aims
Litter decomposition is the main source of forest soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N), which is critical for maintaining ecosystem function and stability. Exploring the impact of litter diversity on soil C and N will provide the basis for afforestation tree species selection and forest management. However, the influences of leaf litter diversity, functional identity, and chemical properties on soil properties are less known. This study investigated their effects on soil C and N in boreal forest soil in Northeast China.
Methods
Fresh leaf litter from 8 dominant tree species in Northeast China was collected. The soil was mixed with litter from single species and all combinations of 2, 4, and 8 species (321 treatments). The soil C and N parameters were measured.
Results
Tree species richness and AM tree fraction of leaf litter promoted soil organic carbon (SOC) stability by decreasing soil respiration rate (Rs) and temperature sensitivity (Q10). The concentrations of SOC, total nitrogen (TN), microbial mass C and N (MBC and MBN) increased with the increase in tree species richness and AM tree fraction of leaf litter. Variance partitioning analysis showed that AM tree fraction of leaf litter explained 3.86 times more variation of soil C and N than tree species richness of leaf litter, which directly or indirectly influenced them via litter chemical properties.
Conclusions
This study provides the basis for understanding the importance of litter diversity, and chemical properties for soil C and N and highlights the importance of AM tree fraction of leaf litter for soil properties.
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Data availability
The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the correspondingauthor on reasonable request.
Abbreviations
- C:
-
Carbon
- N:
-
Nitrogen
- SOC:
-
Soil organic carbon
- Rs:
-
Soil respiration rate
- Q10 :
-
Soil respiration temperature sensitivity
- Hs:
-
Soil respiration humidity sensitivity
- TN:
-
Total nitrogen
- MBC:
-
Microbial biomass carbon
- MBN:
-
Microbial biomass nitrogen
- NH4-N:
-
Ammonia Nitrogen
- NO3-N:
-
Nitrate Nitrogen
- JuMa:
-
Juglans mandshurica
- PhAm:
-
Phellodendron amurense
- UlPu:
-
Ulmus pumila
- FrMa:
-
Fraxinus mandshurica
- PiTa:
-
Pinus tabuliformis
- PiSy:
-
Pinus sylvestris
- LaGm:
-
Larix gmelinii
- QuMo:
-
Quercus mongolica
- Cel:
-
Cellulose
- Lig:
-
Lignin
- CT:
-
Condensed tannins
- TPhen:
-
Total phenol
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Acknowledgements
The research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41730641), and Basic research funding for national universities from China's Ministry of Education (2572020AW25; 2572021DT03).
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Wenjie Wang and Huimei Wang conceived the ideas and designed methodology; Qianru Ji, Siru Guo, and **aochao Ji collected the data; Shengfang Wang, Shuting Zhao, and **ting Zhang analysed the data; Shengfang Wang, Qianru Ji, and YanboYang led the writing of the manuscript. All authors contributed critically to the drafts and gave final approval for publication.
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Wang, S., Ji, Q., Zhao, S. et al. Litter richness, functional identity, and chemical properties affect soil properties in boreal forest soil in Northeast China: a laboratory study. Plant Soil (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-024-06699-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-024-06699-3