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Relative contributions of leaf litter and fine roots to soil organic matter accumulation in mangrove forests

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Abstract

Aims

Mangrove above- and belowground litter contributes greatly to soil carbon (C) especially in systems with limited allochthonous input. This study aims to estimate the relative contributions of mangrove leaf litter vs. fine roots to the annually accumulated plant debris in the soil.

Methods

Annual production of leaf litter and fine roots in four mono-specific mangrove forests was combined with their mass remaining after one year of decomposition to make the estimation.

Results

Annual fine root production was 2.2–5.1 times greater than leaf litter production, which ranged between 266 and 814 g m−2. After 391 days of decomposition, 0–41% and 75–88% of leaf litter and fine root initial mass respectively remained. Only 5.9–69 months were expected for leaf litter to reach an approximately complete decomposition, in contrast to 111–655 months expected for fine roots. Annual plant detritus accumulation in the soil amounted to 405–2812 g m−2, with leaf litter and fine roots contributing 2.5–7.6% and 92.4–97.5%, respectively.

Conclusions

Fine roots are the dominant contributor to soil organic matter accumulation in mangroves due to high production and low decomposition rates. Management practices that foster fine root production are expected to accelerate soil C accumulation.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Dr. Faming Wang for an internal review of this manuscript. This study was funded by the Chinese Academy of Forestry (RITFYWZX2015-03), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41776103) and the State Forestry Administration of China (2017-LYPT-DW-127).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Institute of Subtropical Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Fuyang, 311400, China

    Xiu Liu

  2. Key Laboratory of State Forestry Administration on Tropical Forestry, Research Institute of Tropical Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Guangzhou, 510520, China

    Xiu Liu, Yanmei Xiong & Baowen Liao

  3. Guangxi Academy of Forestry, Nanning, 530002, China

    Xiu Liu

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  1. Xiu Liu
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  2. Yanmei Xiong
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Correspondence to Yanmei Xiong.

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Responsible Editor: Feike A. Dijkstra

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Liu, X., Xiong, Y. & Liao, B. Relative contributions of leaf litter and fine roots to soil organic matter accumulation in mangrove forests. Plant Soil 421, 493–503 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-017-3477-5

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