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Soil Phosphorus Fractionation and Phosphorus-Use Efficiency of a Bornean Tropical Montane Rain Forest During Soil Aging With Podozolization

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Abstract

We compared phosphorus (P) dynamics and plant productivity in two montane tropical rain forests (Mount Kinabalu, Borneo) that derived from similar parent materials (largely sedimentary rocks) and had similar climates but differed in terms of soil age. The younger site originated from Quaternary colluvial deposits, whereas the older site had Tertiary-age material. The older site had a distinctive spodic horizon, reduced levels of labile inorganic soil P, higher concentrations of recalcitrant organic soil P, and lower rates of net soil N mineralization. P fertilization led to soil nitrogen (N) immobilization in the P-deficient soil, indicating that soil N mineralization was limited by P at the P-deficient older site. Mean foliar nutrient concentration (on both a weight and an area basis) was similar at the two sites for all elements except P, which was lower at the older site. Aboveground net primary production (ANPP) was lower at the older site than at the younger one; this difference could be explained by the reduced availability of P and N (as down-regulated by P) at the older site. The relatively ample allocation of P and N to leaves, despite the reduced availability at the P-deficient old site, was attributable to its high resorption efficiency. High resorption resulted in lower concentrations of elements in leaf litter—that is, less decomposable low-quality litter. On the other hand, the concentration of leaf litter lignin was considerably lower at the older site; this appeared to be a de facto adaptive mechanism to avoid retarding litter decomposition.

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Acknowledgements

This research was funded by grants from the Japanese Environmental Agency and the Science and Technology Agency (K.K.) and supplemented by a Research Fellowship of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science for Young Scientists (S.A.) and by grant 08041148 from the Japanese MESSC to K. Kikuzawa, Kyoto U University. We are grateful to the following persons: Datuk L. Ali, F. Liew, J. Nais, and R. Repin of the Sabah Parks, for assisting in every aspect of the study; Y. L. Lee and J. Chew for assisting in soil analyses; and K. Kimura, T. Shumiya, and N. Nomura for assisting with fieldwork. This is a contribution to the TEMA, a Japanese core research of IGBP-GCTE.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Ecological Research, Kyoto University, 509-3 Ohtsuka, Kamitanakami Hirano-cho, Otsu, Shiga 520-2113, Japan

    Kanehiro Kitayama

  2. Faculty of Science, Kagoshima University, Korimoto, Kagoshima 890-0065, Japan

    Shin-Ichiro Aiba

  3. Japanese Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, P.O. Box 16, Tsukuba Norin Kenkyu Danchi, Ibaraki 305-8687, Japan

    Masaaki Takyu

  4. Forestry Research Centre, P.O. Box 1407, 90-715 Sandakan, Malaysia

    Noreen Majalap

  5. Ecology and Environmental Science Program, University of Maine, 193 Clarks Cove Rd., Walpole, Maine 04573, USA

    Rota Wagai

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  1. Kanehiro Kitayama
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  2. Shin-Ichiro Aiba
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  3. Masaaki Takyu
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  4. Noreen Majalap
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Correspondence to Kanehiro Kitayama.

Appendix

Appendix

Table A1 Species Used to Calculate Foliar Characteristics
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Kitayama, K., Aiba, SI., Takyu, M. et al. Soil Phosphorus Fractionation and Phosphorus-Use Efficiency of a Bornean Tropical Montane Rain Forest During Soil Aging With Podozolization. Ecosystems 7, 259–274 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-003-0229-6

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