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Effects of litter quality and quantity on chemical changes during eucalyptus litter decomposition in subtropical Australia

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Abstract

Aims

Litter inputs are closely related to both forest productivity and nutrient cycling under climate change and local management. This study investigated the effect of litter inputs on litter decomposition, changes in litter chemistry and nitrogen (N) dynamics during eucalyptus leaf litter decomposition.

Methods

Two parallel in situ litter decomposition experiments were conducted at two sites with high-quality (HQ) and low-quality (LQ) litters in a eucalyptus-dominated forest of southeast Queensland, Australia. At each site, leaf litters with either a single (SL) or double mass load (DL) of litter inputs were decomposed for 15 months. Litter mass loss, chemical composition and N content of decomposing litters were measured seasonally during the decomposition period. The chemical composition of the collected litters was determined by solid-state 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy.

Results

The HQ litters decomposed faster than the LQ litter, with a decomposition constant of 0.53 and 0.33 y−1 at the HQ and LQ site, respectively. Litter addition rates had no effect on litter decomposition, changes in chemical composition and N content during decomposition regardless of differences in initial litter quality. The HQ and LQ litters showed the same pattern of chemical changes during decomposition, with an increase in alkyl C and a decrease in di-O-alkyl C and aryl C. The relative intensity of O-aryl C and carboxyl C converged, while the relative intensity of di-O-alkyl C and δ15N diverged as the decomposition progressed. N immobilization during decomposition depended on litter quality, with N consistently immobilized in LQ litters over the whole decomposition period.

Conclusions

In subtropical eucalyptus-dominated forests, the dynamics of organic C and N during litter decomposition were resistant to the increased inputs of aboveground litters. Litter chemistry of different initial qualities converged at the early stages of decomposition, and the implications of chemical convergence on the formation and stabilization of soil organic matter need to be assessed in the future.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Kadum M. Abdullah, Geoffery Lambert, Yan Xu, Vaeno Vigulu, Ming Zhong, and Yan Zhao for the field assistance, as well as Geoffrey Lambert, Rene Diocares, Radoslaw Bak and Marijke Heenan for their help in laboratory analyses.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Forestry, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, 350002, China

    Yuzhe Wang

  2. Environmental Futures Research Institute and School of Environment and Science, Griffith University, Brisbane, Queensland, 4111, Australia

    Yuzhe Wang, Sue E. Boyd & Zhihong Xu

  3. School of Life Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng, 475000, China

    Junqiang Zheng

  4. School of Geographical Sciences, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, 350002, China

    Zhihong Xu

  5. Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071, China

    Qixing Zhou

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  1. Yuzhe Wang
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Correspondence to Zhihong Xu.

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Wang, Y., Zheng, J., Boyd, S.E. et al. Effects of litter quality and quantity on chemical changes during eucalyptus litter decomposition in subtropical Australia. Plant Soil 442, 65–78 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-019-04162-2

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