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Soil-litter mixing promotes decomposition and soil aggregate formation on contrasting geomorphic surfaces in a shrub-invaded Sonoran Desert grassland

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Abstract

Aims

Shrub encroachment into grasslands alters organic carbon pools and patterns of decomposition. Here, we quantify the influence of plant life-form patches occuring on contrasting geomorphic substrates on (1) soil-litter mixing (SLM) and litter decomposition and 2) the development of soil aggregates and soil-microbial films on litter.

Methods

A factorial experiment in a shrub-invaded arid grassland tested the hypotheses that SLM would promote decomposition, and that development of soil films and aggregates would be inversely related to grass cover and positively related to soil surface clay content. Litterbags containing shrub (Prosopis velutina) leaf litter were deployed on a sandy Holocene-age soil and on a clayey Pleistocene-age soil under and away from shrubs on areas with low and high grass cover.

Results

SLM accelerated decomposition, with highest rates on sandy soils in inter-shrub areas with low grass cover. Decomposition on clayey soils was slower, despite more rapid development of soil films. Soil-microbial film formation in bare ground placements exceeded that in shrub or grass placements and was greater on sandy Holocene-age soils compared to clayey Pleistocene-age soils.

Conclusions

Vegetation structure and geomorphology should be considered when modeling decomposition dynamics in systems with low plant cover and high rates of aeolian and fluvial soil movement.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported in part by NSF Ecosystems grants DEB 0816162 and DEB 0815808 and by Arizona Agricultural Experimentation Project ARZT-1360540-H12-199. M. Levi and K. Predick provided assistance with statistical analyses. M. Levi and A. Duerr provided valuable field assistance. S. Hernandez at the University of Arizona University Spectroscopy and Imaging Facilities provided SEM access and expertise. M. Meding and the Center for Environmental Physics and Mineralogy (UA ENVS Dept.) provided laboratory equipment and expertise for XRD analyses.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Arizona, Environment and Natural Resources, 1064 East Lowell Street, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA

    E.M. Levi & S.R. Archer

  2. School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, P.O. Box 876004, Tempe, AZ, 85287, USA

    H.L. Throop

  3. School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, P.O. Box 87450, Tempe, AZ, 85287, USA

    H.L. Throop

  4. Department of Environmental Science, University of Arizona, 1177 E. 4th Street, P.O. Box 210038, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA

    C. Rasmussen

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  1. E.M. Levi
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  2. S.R. Archer
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  3. H.L. Throop
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  4. C. Rasmussen
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Correspondence to E.M. Levi.

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Levi, E., Archer, S., Throop, H. et al. Soil-litter mixing promotes decomposition and soil aggregate formation on contrasting geomorphic surfaces in a shrub-invaded Sonoran Desert grassland. Plant Soil 450, 397–415 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-020-04508-1

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