Abstract
Coastal wetlands are among the most carbon-rich ecosystems in the world. Litter decomposition is a major process controlling soil carbon input. Non-additive effect of litter mixture on decomposition has been observed in many terrestrial plants but rarely tested in coastal species. We selected three common mangrove species and one saltmarsh species co-occurring in subtropical coasts to test whether the non-additive effect occurs when their litters mixed together, and how the nutrients release into water are impacted consequently. A litter-bag experiment was carried out in a glasshouse with single and mixed leaf litters. Non-additive effects were observed in the litter mixtures of mangrove species Aegiceras corniculatum vs. Kandelia obovata (antagonistic) and A. corniculatum vs. Avicennia marina (synergistic), but not in the litter mixtures of A. corniculatum (mangrove species) vs. Spartina alterniflora (saltmarsh species). The strength of the non-additive effect was unrelated to the initial trait dissimilarity of litters. Instead, the decomposition rate and mass remaining of litter mixtures were strongly related to the carbon concentrations in litter mixtures. Nutrient content in waters was dependent on the decomposition rate of litter mixtures but not on the initial nutrient concentrations in litters. Despite the behind mechanisms were not yet revealed by the current study, our findings have improved the understanding of the litter decomposition of coastal species and the consequent nutrient release.
摘要
滨海湿地是世界上碳密度最高的生态系统之一。凋落物分解是植物向土壤输入有机碳的重要过程。陆生植物混合凋落物的分解常显示出非叠加效应, 但关于滨海湿地植物混合凋落物的分解鲜有报道。我们对亚热带常见滨海湿地植物开展了混合凋落物分解实验, 以验证非叠加效应是否存在, 并尝试探讨凋落物性状对凋落物分解的调控机理, 以及凋落物分解是否会影响水中的养分含量。我们利用凋落袋法, 在温室中开展了模拟实验, 凋落袋置于土壤表面, 并覆盖水层。凋落物由四种植物的凋落叶单独或两两混合构成。桐花树与秋茄的混合凋落物表现出拮抗的非叠加效应, 桐花树与白骨壤的混合凋落物表现出协同的非叠加效应。然而, 桐花树与互花米草的混合凋落物并未显示出非叠加效应。非叠加效应的强度与凋落物性状的相异度无关, 而混合凋落物的分解速率 (或质量剩余量) 与其平均碳含量密切相关。释放到水中的养分含量与凋落物的分解速率密切相关, 而与凋落物的养分含量无关。尽管本研究尚未揭示凋落物非叠加效应的内在机理, 但研究结果加深了我们对滨海湿地植物混合凋落物分解及其养分释放的理解。
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data Availability
The datasets used and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
References
Berglund SL, Ågren GI, Ekblad A (2013) Carbon and nitrogen transfer in leaf litter mixtures. Soil Biol Biochem 57:341–348. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2012.09.015
Cao X, Han RM, Zhang TX et al (2015) Decomposition of aquatic plants during winter and its influence on water quality. J Agro Environ Sci 34:361–369 (In Chinese)
Chanda A, Akhand A, Manna S et al (2016) Mangrove associates versus true mangroves: a comparative analysis of leaf litter decomposition in Sundarban. Wetlands Ecol Manage 24:293–315. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11273-015-9456-9
Chapman SK, Koch GW (2007) What type of diversity yields synergy during mixed litter decomposition in a natural forest ecosystem? Plant Soil 299:153–162. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-007-9372-8
Chomel M, Guittonny-Larchevêque M, Fernandez C, Gallet C, DesRochers A, Paré D, Jackson BG, Baldy V (2016) Plant secondary metabolites: a key driver of litter decomposition and soil nutrient cycling. J Ecol 104(6):1527–1541. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.12644
Coleman BR, Martin AR, Thevathasan NV, Gordon AM, Isaac ME (2020) Leaf trait variation and decomposition in short-rotation woody biomass crops under agroforestry management. Agr Ecosyst Environ 298. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2020.106971
Cornwell WK, Cornelissen JH, Amatangelo K et al (2008) Plant species traits are the predominant control on litter decomposition rates within biomes worldwide. Ecol Lett 11:1065–1071. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1461-0248.2008.01219.x
Feller IC, McKee KL, Whigham DF, O'neill JP (2003) Nitrogen vs. phosphorus limitation across an ecotonal gradient in a mangrove forest. Biogeochemistry 62(2):145–75. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1021166010892
Finerty GE, de Bello F, Bílá K, Berg MP, Dias AT, Pezzatti GB, Moretti M (2016) Exotic or not, leaf trait dissimilarity modulates the effect of dominant species on mixed litter decomposition. J Ecol 104:1400–1409. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.12602
Fortunel C, Garnier E, Joffre R et al (2009) Leaf traits capture the effects of land use changes and climate on litter decomposability of grasslands across Europe. Ecology 90:598–611. https://doi.org/10.1890/08-0418.1
Frainer A, Moretti MS, Xu W, Gessner MO (2015) No evidence for leaf-trait dissimilarity effects on litter decomposition, fungal decomposers, and nutrient dynamics. Ecology 96:550–561. https://doi.org/10.1890/14-1151.1
García-Palacios P, Shaw EA, Wall DH, Hättenschwiler S (2017) Contrasting mass-ratio vs. niche complementarity effects on litter C and N loss during decomposition along a regional climatic gradient. J Ecol 105:968–978. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.12730
Guo C, Cornelissen JH, Tuo B, Ci H, Yan ER (2020) Non-negligible contribution of subordinates in community-level litter decomposition: Deciduous trees in an evergreen world. J Ecol 108:1713–1724. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.13341
Handa IT, Aerts R, Berendse F (2014) Consequences of biodiversity loss for litter decomposition across biomes. Nature 509:218–221. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature13247
Hu G, Yu R, Zhao J, Chen L (2011) Distribution and enrichment of acid-leachable heavy metals in the intertidal sediments from Quanzhou Bay, southeast coast of China. Environ Monit Assess 173:107–116. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-010-1374-y
Keuskamp JA, Dingemans BJ, Lehtinen T, Sarneel JM, Hefting MM (2013) Tea Bag Index: a novel approach to collect uniform decomposition data across ecosystems. Methods Ecol Evol 4:1070–1075. https://doi.org/10.1111/2041-210X.12097
Kraus TE, Dahlgren RA, Zasoski RJ (2003) Tannins in nutrient dynamics of forest ecosystems-a review. Plant Soil 256:41–66. https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1026206511084
Kuebbing SE, Bradford MA (2019) The potential for mass ratio and trait divergence effects to explain idiosyncratic impacts of non-native invasive plants on carbon mineralization of decomposing leaf litter. Funct Ecol 33:1156–1171. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.13316
Lecerf A, Marie G, Kominoski JS, LeRoy CJ, Bernadet C, Swan CM (2011) Incubation time, functional litter diversity, and habitat characteristics predict litter-mixing effects on decomposition. Ecology 92:160–169. https://doi.org/10.1890/10-0315.1
Lin YM, Liu JW, Xiang P, Lin P, Ding ZH, Sternberg LDSL (2007) Tannins and nitrogen dynamics in mangrove leaves at different age and decay stages (Jiulong River Estuary, China). Hydrobiologia 583:285–295. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-006-0568-3
Lin YM, Liu JW, Xiang P, Lin P, Ye GF, Da Sternberg LSL (2006) Tannin dynamics of propagules and leaves of Kandelia candel and Bruguiera gymnorrhiza in the Jiulong River Estuary, Fujian, China. Biogeochemistry 78:343–359. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-005-4427-5
Lin YM, Liu XW, Zhang H, Fan HQ, Lin GH (2010) Nutrient conservation strategies of a mangrove species Rhizophora stylosa under nutrient limitation. Plant Soil 326:469–479. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-009-0026-x
Liu P, Huang J, Sun OJ, Han X (2010) Litter decomposition and nutrient release as affected by soil nitrogen availability and litter quality in a semiarid grassland ecosystem. Oecologia 162:771–780. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-009-1506-7
Lu C, Liu J, Jia M et al (2018) Dynamic analysis of mangrove forests based on an optimal segmentation scale model and multi-seasonal images in Quanzhou Bay, China. Remote Sens 10:2020. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs10122020
Macy A, Sharma S, Sparks E, Goff J, Heck KL, Johnson MW, Harper P, Cebrian J (2019) Tropicalization of the barrier islands of the northern Gulf of Mexico: A comparison of herbivory and decomposition rates between smooth cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora) and black mangrove (Avicennia germinans). PLoS ONE 14(1)
Marchand C, Disnar JR, Lallier-Vergès E, Lottier N (2005) Early diagenesis of carbohydrates and lignin in mangrove sediments subject to variable redox conditions (French Guiana). Geochim Cosmochim Acta 69:131–142. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2004.06.016
McClaugherty CA, Pastor J, Aber JD, Melillo JM (1985) Forest litter decomposition in relation to soil nitrogen dynamics and litter quality. Ecology 66:266–275. https://doi.org/10.2307/1941327
Ndayambaje P, Wei L, Zhang T, Li Y, Liu L, Huang X, Liu C (2021) Niche separation and weak interactions in the high tidal zone of saltmarsh-mangrove mixing communities. Ecol Evol 11:3871–3883. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.7263
Nordhaus I, Salewski T, Jennerjahn TC (2017) Interspecific variations in mangrove leaf litter decomposition are related to labile nitrogenous compounds. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 192:137–148. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2017.04.029
Osland MJ, Gabler CA, Grace JB, Day RH, McCoy ML, McLeod JL, From AS, Enwright NM, Feher LC, Stagg CL, Hartley SB (2018) Climate and plant controls on soil organic matter in coastal wetlands. Glob Chang Biol 24(11):5361–5379. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.14376
Osono T, Takeda H (2004) Accumulation and release of nitrogen and phosphorus in relation to lignin decomposition in leaf litter of 14 tree species. Ecol Res 19:593–602. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1440-1703.2004.00675.x
Prescott CE (2010) Litter decomposition: what controls it and how can we alter it to sequester more carbon in forest soils? Biogeochemistry 101:133–149. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-010-9439-0
Rajendran N, Kathiresan K (2000) Biochemical changes in decomposing leaves of mangroves. Chem Ecol 17(2):91–102. https://doi.org/10.1080/02757540008037664
Roscher C, Schumacher J, Gubsch M (2018) Interspecific trait differences rather than intraspecific trait variation increase the extent and filling of community trait space with increasing plant diversity in experimental grasslands. Perspect Plant Ecol Evol Syst 33:42–50. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ppees.2018.05.001
Schimel JP, Hättenschwiler S (2007) Nitrogen transfer between decomposing leaves of different N status. Soil Biol Biochem 39:1428–1436. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2006.12.037
Simpson LT, Cherry JA, Smith RS et al (2021) Mangrove encroachment alters decomposition rate in saltmarsh through changes in litter quality. Ecosystems 24:840–854. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-020-00554-z
Tardif A, Shipley B (2013) Using the biomass-ratio and idiosyncratic hypotheses to predict mixed-species litter decomposition. Ann Bot 111:135–141. https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcs241
Treplin M, Pennings SC, Zimmer M (2013) Decomposition of leaf litter in a US saltmarsh is driven by dominant species, not species complementarity. Wetlands 33:83–89. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-012-0353-1
Wang Y, Zhu H, Tam NFY (2014) Polyphenols, tannins and antioxidant activities of eight true mangrove plant species in South China. Plant Soil 374:549–563. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-013-1912-9
Wei FS, Qi WQ, Sun ZG, Huang YR, Shen YW (2002) Water and wastewater monitoring and analysis method. China Environmental Science Press, Beijing, pp 211–284 (In Chinese)
Wickings K, Grandy AS, Reed SC, Cleveland CC (2012) The origin of litter chemical complexity during decomposition. Ecol Lett 15:1180–1188. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1461-0248.2012.01837.x
Wu D, Li T, Wan S (2013) Time and litter species composition affect litter-mixing effects on decomposition rates. Plant Soil 371:355–366. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-013-1697-x
Wu S, He S, Huang J, Gu J, Zhou W, Gao L (2017) Decomposition of emergent aquatic plant (cattail) litter under different conditions and the influence on water quality. Water, Air, Soil Pollut 228:70. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-017-3257-0
Wang X et al (2002) Water and Wastewater Monitoring and Analysis Methods, 4th edn. China Environmental Science Press, Beijing
Zhai J, Cong L, Yan G, Wu Y, Liu J, Wang Y, Zhang Z, Zhang M (2019) Influence of fungi and bag mesh size on litter decomposition and water quality. Environ Sci Pollut Res 26:18304–18315. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-04988-4
Zhang C, Li S, Zhang L, Xin X, Liu X (2014) Litter mixing significantly affects decomposition in the Hulun Buir meadow steppe of Inner Mongolia, China. J Plant Ecol 7:56–67. https://doi.org/10.1093/jpe/rtt022
Zhang Y, Huang G, Wang W, Chen L, Lin G (2012) Interactions between mangroves and exotic Spartina in an anthropogenically disturbed estuary in southern China. Ecology 93:588–597. https://doi.org/10.1890/11-1302.1
Zhou HC, Tam NFY, Lin YM, Wei SD, Li YY (2012) Changes of condensed tannins during decomposition of leaves of Kandelia obovata in a subtropical mangrove swamp in China. Soil Biol Biochem 44:113–121. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2011.09.015
Zhou HC, Wei SD, Zeng Q, Zhang LH, Tam NFY, Lin YM (2010) Nutrient and caloric dynamics in Avicennia marina leaves at different developmental and decay stages in Zhangjiang River Estuary, China. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 87:21–26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2009.12.005
Acknowledgements
We sincerely thank Mr. Jingjiang Chen for field assistant.
Funding
This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31570400).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
LLW conceived and designed the experiments. PN, TZ and LLW performed the experiments, analysed the data, and wrote the manuscript. LL, XH, YX, JL, ST, XS, CL give useful comments on the manuscript and were major contributors in writing the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Ethical approval
Not required for this study.
Consent to Participate
Not applicable.
Consent for publication
Not applicable.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Supplementary Information
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ndayambaje, P., Zhang, T., Wei, L. et al. Decomposition and Nutrient Release into Water from Litter Mixtures of Coastal Wetland Species. Wetlands 42, 45 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-022-01563-5
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-022-01563-5