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Soil fertility promotes decomposition rate of nutrient poor, but not nutrient rich litter through nitrogen transfer

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Abstract

Background and aims

Litter decomposition is a critical process in terrestrial ecosystems and understanding the effects of soil fertility on the litter decay rate is of great ecological relevance. Here we test the hypothesis that N transfer from soil to litter will promote the decay rate of N poor but not N rich litter types.

Methods

Ten organic substrates, encompassing a wide range of biochemical quality in terms of C/N and lignin/N ratios, were decomposed in microcosms over three soil types with different N content, but inoculated with the same microbiome. Organic substrates were characterized for mass loss, C and N content to assess N transfer from soil to litter.

Results

The decay rate response to soil fertility was related to their initial N content: positive for substrates with little initial N content and not significant for N rich plant residues. A significant N transfer, generally larger from N rich soil to N poor substrates, was found. Litter C/N and lignin/N ratios showed variable relationships with the litter decay according with the soil fertility gradient, with positive and negative correlations in N rich and N poor soils, respectively.

Conclusions

Our study demonstrated that the decomposition of N rich litter proceeded irrespective of soil fertility while the decay rate of N poor substrates, either lignin poor or rich, was controlled by soil fertility likely as a result of N transfer. Litter C/N and lignin/N ratios were reliable indicators of litter quality to predict their decay rate in N poor soil, but not in N rich soils.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Marica Pascale and Adriano Stinca for their collaboration in the litter collection and laboratory experiments.

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Correspondence to Giuliano Bonanomi.

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Responsible Editor: Alfonso Escudero.

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Bonanomi, G., Cesarano, G., Gaglione, S.A. et al. Soil fertility promotes decomposition rate of nutrient poor, but not nutrient rich litter through nitrogen transfer. Plant Soil 412, 397–411 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-016-3072-1

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