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Responses of leaf litter decomposability to nitrogen and phosphorus additions are associated with cell wall carbohydrate composition in a subtropical plantation

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Abstract

Aims

The litter decomposition rate is strongly related to litter chemical quality, which is altered by increased nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) availability induced by global changes and human activity in plantation forest ecosystems. However, the effects of litter cell wall carbohydrate composition on litter decomposability after long-term N and P additions remain unclear.

Methods

A field nutrient manipulation experiment was conducted in a subtropical Cunninghamia lanceolata plantation. Leaf litter and green leaves were collected and divided into 1- and 2-year-old tissues after N and P additions for 5 years. Litter organic carbon (OC), N and P concentrations and their stoichiometries, and cell wall carbohydrate fractions were determined. The leaf litter decomposability was determined by 150 days of decomposition in the laboratory.

Results

Nitrogen addition decreased leaf litter C/N, whereas P addition decreased C/N and C/P. P addition decreased cell wall pectin, hemicellulose, total extractable carbohydrate (TEC) concentrations and their percentage relative to OC. Litter OC, N and P and their stoichiometries were unaffected by litter age, whereas TEC and TEC/OC increased with increasing litter age. Leaf litter decomposition rate increased by 7.3% with P addition, decreased by 16.8% with increasing litter age, and was unaffected by N addition given the negative correlation between TEC/OC and litter decomposition rate.

Conclusions

Cell wall carbohydrates constitute an effective indicator of litter quality to predict litter decomposability. Phosphorus but not N addition increases litter decomposability through alterations in carbohydrate composition. Tissue age should be considered when investigating N and P additions effects on litter decomposition in forest ecosystems.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31760200), Jiangxi Provincal “Double Thousand Plan” of Scientific and Technological Innovation for Youths (jxsq2019201080), Science and Technology Project of Jiangxi Provincial Department of Education (GJJ190173) and the Research Project of Jiangxi Provincial Department of Forestry (No.201806).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of National Forestry Administration On Forest Ecosystem Protection and Restoration of Poyang Lake Watershed, College of Forestry, Jiangxi Agricultural University, No. 1101, Zhiminda Road, Economic and Technological Development Zone, Nanchang, 330045, People’s Republic of China

    Xiang-Min Fang, Xiu-Lan Zhang, Ying-Ying Zong, Wen-Qing Li, Jian-Jun Li, Li-Ping Guo & Fu-Sheng Chen

  2. Jiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Silviculture, College of Forestry, Jiangxi Agricultural University, No. 1101, Zhiminda Road, Economic and Technological Development Zone, Nanchang, 330045, People’s Republic of China

    Xiang-Min Fang, Wen-Qing Li, Jian-Jun Li & Fu-Sheng Chen

  3. Qianyanzhou Ecological Station, Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, People’s Republic of China

    Huimin Wang

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  1. Xiang-Min Fang
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Fang, XM., Zhang, XL., Zong, YY. et al. Responses of leaf litter decomposability to nitrogen and phosphorus additions are associated with cell wall carbohydrate composition in a subtropical plantation. Plant Soil 467, 359–372 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-021-05099-1

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