Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Colonization and decomposition of leaf litter by ligninolytic fungi in Acacia mangium plantations and adjacent secondary forests

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Journal of Forest Research

Abstract

Colonization of leaf litter by ligninolytic fungi and relationships between mass loss and chemical qualities of surface leaf litter were examined in Acacia mangium plantations and adjacent secondary forests in southern Sumatra Island, Indonesia. Leaves were collected from eight A. mangium plantations of different ages and three secondary forests. Partly decomposed leaves beneath the surface leaf litter were used to measure the bleached area which indicated colonization by ligninolytic fungi. Surface leaf litter was used to measure initial chemical content and subjected to the pure culture decomposition test. The bleached area was greater in secondary forests than in A. mangium plantations. Nitrogen content was higher in all the A. mangium plantations than in the secondary forests, and acid unhydrolyzable residue (AUR) content was generally higher in the A. mangium plantations than in the secondary forests. The bleached area of leaf litter was negatively correlated with nitrogen content of surface leaf litter at all sites, indicating an inhibition of the colonization by ligninolytic fungi of leaves with higher nitrogen content. In a pure culture decomposition test inoculating a ligninolytic fungus to surface leaf litter, mass loss of leaves was negatively correlated with AUR content of surface leaf litter. Mass loss of leaves and AUR was not significantly related to nitrogen content. These results suggested that higher nitrogen content in A. mangium leaf litter had a negative effect by colonization of ligninolytic fungi, but the effect of high N in A. mangium leaf litter on the decomposition of leaf litter and AUR remained unsolved.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aerts R (1997) Climate, leaf litter chemistry and leaf litter decomposition in terrestrial ecosystems: a triangular relationship. Oikos 79:439–449

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Akinnifesi FK, Tian G, Kang BT (2002) Tree performance, soil plant-litter characteristics and faunal activity in some tropical plantations. In: Reddy MV (ed) Management of tropical plantation forests and their soil litter system: litter, biota and soil-nutrient dynamics. Science Publishers, Enfield, pp 253–288

    Google Scholar 

  • Arai S, Ishizuka S, Ohta S, Ansori S, Tokuchi N, Tanaka N, Hardjono A (2008) Potential N2O emissions from leguminous tree plantation soil in the humid tropics. Glob Biogeochem Cycle 22:GB2028

    Google Scholar 

  • Berg B, Matzner E (1997) Effect of N deposition on decomposition of plant litter and soil organic matter in forest systems. Environ Rev 5:1–25

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Binkley D, Giardina C (1997) Nitrogen fixation in tropical forest plantations. In: Nambiar EKS, Brown AG (eds) Management of soil, nutrients and water in tropical plantation forests. ACAIR with CSIRO and CIFOR, Canberra, pp 297–337

    Google Scholar 

  • Fenn P, Choi S, Kirk TK (1981) Ligninolytic activity of Phanerochaete chrysosporium: physiology of suppression by NH4+ and l-Glutamate. Arch Microbiol 130:66–71

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fog K (1988) The effect of added nitrogen on the rate of decomposition of organic matter. Biol Rev 63:433–462

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hobbie SE (2008) Nitrogen effects on decomposition: a five-year experiment in eight temperate sites. Ecology 89:2633–2644

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Keyser P, Kirk TK, Zeikus JG (1978) Ligninolytic enzyme system of Phanerochaete chrysosporium: synthesized in the absence of lignin in response to nitrogen starvation. J Bacteriol 135:790–797

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • King HGC, Heath GW (1967) The chemical analysis of small samples of leaf material and the relationship between the disappearance and composition of leaves. Pedobiologia 7:192–197

    Google Scholar 

  • Knorr M, Frey SD, Curtis PS (2005) Nitrogen additions and litter decomposition: a meta-analysis. Ecology 86:3252–3257

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Koide K, Osono T (2003) Chemical composition and mycobiota of bleached portion of Camellia japonica leaf litter at two stands with the different nitrogen status. J Jpn For Soc 85:359–363

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Koide K, Osono T, Takeda H (2005) Fungal succession and decomposition of Camellia japonica leaf litter. Ecol Res 20:599–609

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Konda R, Ohta S, Ishizuka S, Arai S, Ansori S, Tanaka N, Hardjono A (2008) Spatial structures of N2O, CO2, and CH4 fluxes Acacia mangium plantation soils during a relatively dry season in Indonesia. Soil Biol Biochem 40:3021–3030

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Konda R, Ohta S, Ishizuka S, Heriyanto J, Wicaksono A (2010) Seasonal changes in the spatial structures of N2O, CO2, and CH4 fluxes from Acacia mangium plantation soils in Indonesia. Soil Biol Biochem 42:1512–1522

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kunhamu TK, Kumar BM, Viswanath S (2009) Does thinning affect litter fall, litter decomposition, and associated nutrient release in Acacia mangium stands of Kerala in peninsular India? Can J For Res 39:792–801

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kurokawa H, Nakashizuka T (2008) Leaf hervivory and decomposability in a Malaysian tropical rain forest. Ecology 89:2645–2656

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mellilo JM, Aber JD (1982) Nitrogen and lignin control of hardwood leaf litter decomposition dynamics. Ecology 63:621–626

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ngoran A, Zakra N, Ballo K, Kouamé C, Zapata F, Hofman G, van Cleemput O (2006) Litter decomposition of Acacia auriculiformis Cunn. Ex Benth. and Acacia mangium Willd. Under coconut trees on quaternary sandy soils in Ivory Coast. Biol Fertil Soils 43:102–106

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Osono T (2006) Fungal decomposition of lignin in leaf litter: comparison between tropical and temperate forests. In: Meyer W, Pearce C (eds) Proceedings of the 8th International Mycological Congress. Cairns, Australia, pp 111–117

  • Osono T (2007) Ecology of ligninolytic fungi associated with leaf litter decomposition. Ecol Res 22:955–974

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Osono T (2010) Decomposition of grass leaves by ligninolytic litter-decompostiong fungi. Grassland Sci 56:31–36

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Osono T, Takeda H (2001) Effects of organic chemical quality and mineral nitrogen addition on lignin and holocellulose decomposition of beech leaf litter by Xylaria sp. Eur J Soil Biol 37:17–23

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Osono T, Takeda H (2005) Decomposition of organic chemical components in relation to nitrogen dynamics in leaf litter of 14 tree species in a cool temperate forest. Ecol Res 20:41–49

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Osono T, Takeda H (2006) Fungal decomposition of Abies needle and Betula leaf litter. Mycologia 98:172–179

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Osono T, Hobara S, Fujiwara S, Koba K, Kameda K (2002) Abundance, diversity, and species composition of fungal communities in a temperate forest affected by excreta of the great cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo. Soil Biol Biochem 34:1537–1547

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Osono T, Fukasawa Y, Takeda H (2003) Roles of diverse fungi in larch needle-litter decomposition. Mycologia 95:820–826

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Osono T, Iwamoto S, Trofymow JA (2008) Colonization and decomposition of salal (Gaultheria shallon) leaf litter by saprobic fungi in successional forests on coastal British Columbia. Can J Microbiol 54:427–434

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Preston CM, Trofymow JA, Sayer BG, Niu J (1997) 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy with cross-ploarization and magic-angle spinning investigation of the proximate-analysis fractions used to ssess litter quality in decomposition studies. Can J Bot 75:1601–1613

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Reid ID (1991) Nutritional regulation of synthetic lignin (DHP) degradation by Phlebia (Merulius) tremellosa: effects of nitrogen. Can J Bot 69:156–160

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Siddique I, Engel VL, Parrotta JA, Lamb D, Nardoto GB, Ometto JPHB, Martinelli LA, Schmidt S (2008) Dominance of legume trees alters nutrient relations in mixed species forest restoration plantings within seven years. Biogeochemistry 88:89–101

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tilki F, Fisher RF (1998) Tropical leguminous species for acid soils: studies on plant form and growth in Costa Rica. For Ecol Manag 108:175–192

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xiong Y, Xia H, Li ZA, Cai XA, Fu S (2008) Impacts of litter and understory removal on soil properties in a subtropical Acacia mangium plantation in China. Plant Soil 304:179–188

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yamashita N, Ohta S, Hardjono A (2008) Soil changes induced by Acacia mangium plantation establishment: Comparison with secondary forest and Imperata cylindrica grassland soils in South Sumatora, Indonesia. For Ecol Manag 254:362–370

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We thank Dr. S. Hobara for helpful comments, the members of the Laboratory of Tropical Forest Resources and Environment and the members of the Laboratory of Forest Ecology, Kyoto University, for valuable discussions. We would like to acknowledge two anonymous reviewers for valuable comments and suggestions. This work was supported in part by Global COE Program A06 of Kyoto University, and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology, Japan (number 19255011).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Forest Ecology, Division of Environmental Science and Technology, Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Kitashirakawaoiwake-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, 606-8502, Japan

    Yusuke Hagiwara

  2. Center for Ecological Research, Kyoto University, Shiga, 520-2113, Japan

    Takashi Osono

  3. Laboratory of Tropical Forest Resources and Environment, Division of Forest and Biomaterial Science Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Kyoto, 606-8502, Japan

    Seiichi Ohta

  4. P.T. Musi Hutan Persada, Muara Enim, South Sumatra, Indonesia

    Agus Wicaksono & Arisman Hardjono

Authors
  1. Yusuke Hagiwara
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Takashi Osono
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Seiichi Ohta
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Agus Wicaksono
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Arisman Hardjono
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yusuke Hagiwara.

About this article

Cite this article

Hagiwara, Y., Osono, T., Ohta, S. et al. Colonization and decomposition of leaf litter by ligninolytic fungi in Acacia mangium plantations and adjacent secondary forests. J For Res 17, 51–57 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10310-011-0265-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10310-011-0265-6

Keywords

Search

Navigation