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Warming and ozone exposure effects on silver birch (Betula pendula Roth) leaf litter quality, microbial growth and decomposition

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Abstract

Background and aims

Climate warming is expected to accelerate decomposition in boreal forests, but the concomitant effects of tropospheric ozone (O3), a phytotoxic greenhouse gas, alone and in combination with warming, are poorly understood. We studied how these two climatic factors affect leaf litter decomposition of two silver birch genotypes.

Methods

We used field exposure for growing saplings and native and reciprocal transplant experiments for litter incubation to disentangle environmental and litter quality mediated effects of temperature and O3 on litter mass loss. We analysed litter C% and N% and microbial biomass (using qPCR) in fresh litter and after 217 and 257 days of incubation.

Results

Warming decreased fresh litter C% and N% and bacterial DNA, whereas elevated O3 increased N% and bacterial and fungal DNA, equally for both genotypes. In contrast, most effects on microbes during litter incubation varied between the two genotypes. Warming effects on microbes were mainly environmental, but despite having effects on litter quality and microbial growth, warming and O3 both had only weak or no effects on litter mass loss.

Conclusions

Litter quality and microbial growth in northern birch stands are likely to change due to warming and O3 exposures, but effects on litter decomposition rate may remain weak.

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Acknowledgements

We thank laboratory technicians Virpi Tiihonen and Jaana Rissanen for their help in the establishment and sampling of litter bag studies, and technician Timo Oksanen for providing the ozone exposure data.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental and Biological Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, P.O. Box 1627, FI-70211, Kuopio, Finland

    Anne Kasurinen

  2. Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Niemenkatu 73, FI-15140, Lahti, Finland

    Tarja Silfver & Juha Mikola

  3. Vantaa Research Unit, Natural Resources Institute Finland, FI-01301, Vantaa, Finland

    Matti Rousi

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  1. Anne Kasurinen
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  2. Tarja Silfver
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  3. Matti Rousi
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  4. Juha Mikola
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Correspondence to Anne Kasurinen.

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Funding

This study was financially supported by the Academy of Finland (projects 122297, 122444 and 1285030).

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Responsible Editor: Gera Hol.

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Kasurinen, A., Silfver, T., Rousi, M. et al. Warming and ozone exposure effects on silver birch (Betula pendula Roth) leaf litter quality, microbial growth and decomposition. Plant Soil 414, 127–142 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-016-3122-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-016-3122-8

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