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Litter decomposition along a primary post-mining chronosequence

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Abstract

The aim of this study was to describe the decomposition of litter along a successive series of sites developed at a post-mining overburden deposit over 12, 21 and 45 years, representing the early, mid and late stages of succession. Litter decomposition was largely dependent on the initial composition of the litters. The tree litter of the mid and late stages decomposed faster than the grass litter of the early stage, with 64, 60 and 35 % of mass lost over 2 years, respectively. The contents of hot-water-soluble C and N, which were the best predictors of litter decay rates, were relatively stable over time in all litters. Neither the nutrient content nor the plant biopolymer composition exhibited convergence during decay, indicating that the litter-derived soil organic matter most likely carries a legacy of the original vegetation. In contrast to the litter chemistry, the development of the microbial community was largely specific to the decay stage and consistent among the litters, showing decreasing fungal dominance in time. Extracellular enzymes were found to be of limited value in the prediction of litter decay rates, chemical transformation or microbial community composition.

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Acknowledgement

This work was supported by the Czech Science Foundation (P504/12/1288), the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic (LC06066) and the Research Concept of the Institute of Microbiology ASCR (RVO61388971). We also thank the Sokolovská Uhelná a.s. coal mining company for the research permit.

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  1. Institute of Microbiology of the ASCR, v.v.i., Vídeňská 1083, 14220, Praha 4, Czech Republic

    Michaela Urbanová, Jaroslav Šnajdr, Vendula Brabcová, Věra Merhautová, Petra Dobiášová, Tomáš Cajthaml & Petr Baldrian

  2. Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, 370 05, České Budějovice, Czech Republic

    Daniel Vaněk & Hana Šantrůčková

  3. Institute of Environmental Studies, Charles University in Prague, Benátská 2, 12800, Praha 2, Czech Republic

    Jan Frouz

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  1. Michaela Urbanová
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  2. Jaroslav Šnajdr
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  4. Věra Merhautová
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Correspondence to Petr Baldrian.

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Urbanová, M., Šnajdr, J., Brabcová, V. et al. Litter decomposition along a primary post-mining chronosequence. Biol Fertil Soils 50, 827–837 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00374-014-0905-z

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