Abstract
Context
The evaluation of changes in litter decomposition rate due to increasing trend in tropospheric ozone is an emerging field of investigation, providing relevant information on long-term forest ecosystem sustainability.
Aims
This research aims to clarify the effects of ozone exposure on Quercus ilex leaf chemical composition and decomposition slow down.
Methods
Young plants were fumigated in growth chambers at a cumulative dose of 17.15 ppm h. To assess the fumigation effectiveness, stomatal conductance and net photosynthesis were monitored. Leaves were analysed for C, N, S, Ca, Mg, K, Fe, Zn, Mn, total soluble sugars, starch, acid-detergent fibre (ADF), lignin and cellulose prior to the incubation in litter bags in mesocosms, and during decomposition along 395 days.
Results
Ozone-exposed leaves showed a significant reduction in net photosynthesis and stomatal conductance but did not differ from control leaves in all the chemical parameters analysed. Nevertheless, leaf decomposition rate was lower in treated leaves. The main differences between the models describing the mass loss in exposed and control leaves were played by ADF for exposed leaves and by lignin for control leaves, as well as by N, that showed a greater contribution in the model for the exposed leaves.
Conclusion
Ozone fumigation of Q. ilex results in leaf litter decomposition slowing down, mainly due to ADF joint dynamics with the other variables describing mass decay, even if no detectable changes in initial leaf composition occur.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Baldantoni D, Fagnano M, Alfani A (2011) Tropospheric ozone effects on chemical composition and decomposition rate of Quercus ilex L. leaves. Sci Total Environ 409:979–984
Barnes JD, Davison AW, Booth TA (1988) Ozone accelerates structural degradation of epicuticular wax on Norway spruce needles. New Phytol 110:309–318
Berg B, McClaugherty CA (2008) Plant litter: decomposition, humus formation, carbon sequestration, 2nd edn. Springer, Heidelberg
Booker FL, Prior SA, Torbert HA, Fiscus EL, Pursley WA, Hu S (2005) Decomposition of soybean grown under elevated concentrations of CO2 and O3. Glob Chang Biol 11:685–698
Bussotti F, Desotgiu R, Cascio C, Pollastrini M, Gravano E, Gerosa G, Marzuoli R, Nali C, Lorenzini G, Salvatori E, Manes F, Schaub M, Strasser RJ (2011) Ozone stress in woody plants assessed with chlorophyll a fluorescence. A critical reassessment of existing data. Environ Exp Bot 73:19–30
Calatayud V, Cerveró J, Calvo E, García-Breijo F-J, Reig-Armiñana J, Sanz MJ (2011) Responses of evergreen and deciduous Quercus species to enhanced ozone levels. Environ Pollut 159:55–63
Chow PS, Landhäusser SM (2004) A method for routine measurements of total sugar and starch content in woody plant tissues. Tree Physiol 24:1129–1136
Cotrufo MF, Virzo De Santo A, Alfani A, Bartoli G, De Cristofaro A (1995) Effects of urban heavy metal pollution on organic matter decomposition in Quercus ilex L. woods. Environ Poll 89:81–87
Fioretto A, Di Nardo C, Papa S, Fuggi A (2005) Lignin and cellulose degradation and nitrogen dynamics during decomposition of three leaf litter species in a Mediterranean ecosystem. Soil Biolol Biochem 37:1083–1091
Gratani L (1997) Canopy structure, vertical radiation profile and photosynthetic function in a Quercus ilex evergreen forest. Photosynthetica 33:139–149
Hofrichter M (2002) Review: lignin conversion by manganese peroxidase (MnP). Enzyme Microb Tech 30:454–466
Karnosky DF, Mankovska B, Percy K, Dickson RE, Podila GK, Sôber J, Noormets A, Hendrey G, Coleman MD, Kubiske M, Pregitzer KS, Isebrands JG (1999) Effects of tropospheric O3 on trembling aspen and interaction with CO2: results from an O3-gradient and a FACE experiment. Water Air Soil Poll 116:311–322
Kim JS, Chappelka AH, Miller-Goodman MS (1998) Decomposition of blackberry and broomsedge bluestem as influenced by ozone. J Environ Qual 27:953–960
Lindroth RL (2010) Impacts of elevated atmospheric CO2 and O3 on forests: phytochemistry, trophic interactions, and ecosystem dynamics. J Chem Ecol 36:2–21
Lindroth RL, Kopper BJ, Parsons WFJ, Bockheim JG, Karnosky DF, Hendrey GR, Pregitzer KS, Isebrands JG, Sober J (2001) Consequences of elevated carbon dioxide and ozone for foliar chemical composition and dynamics in trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides) and paper birch (Betula papyrifera). Environ Pollut 115:395–404
Liu L, King JS, Giardina CP (2005) Effects of elevated concentrations of atmospheric CO2 and tropospheric O3 on leaf litter production and chemistry in trembling aspen and paper birch communities. Tree Physiol 25:1511–1522
Liu L, King JS, Giardina CP, Booker FL (2009) The influence of chemistry, production and community composition on leaf litter decomposition under elevated atmospheric CO2 and tropospheric O3 in a northern hardwood ecosystem. Ecosystems 12:401–416
Loreto F, Pinelli P, Manes F, Kollist H (2004) Impact of ozone on monoterpene emissions and evidence for an isoprene-like antioxidant action of monoterpenes emitted by Quercus ilex leaves. Tree Physiol 24:361–367
Manes F, Vitale M, Donato E, Paoletti E (1998) O3 and O3 + CO2 effects on a Mediterranean evergreen broadleaf tree, holm oak (Quercus ilex L.). Chemosphere 36:801–806
Paoletti E (2006) Impact of ozone on Mediterranean forests: a review. Environ Pollut 144:463–474
Parsons WFJ, Bockheim JG, Lindroth RL (2008) Independent, interactive, and species-specific responses of leaf litter decomposition to elevated CO2 and O3 in a northern hardwood forest. Ecosystems 11:505–519
Piccolo A, Spaccini R, Haberhauer G, Gerzabek MH (1999) Increased sequestration of organic carbon in soil by hydrophobic protection. Naturwissenschaften 86:496–499
Pritsch K, Ernst D, Fleischmann F, Gayler S, Grams TEE, Göttlein A, Heller W, Koch N, Lang H, Matyssek R, Munch JC, Olbrich M, Scherb H, Stich S, Winkler JB, Schloter M (2008) Plant and soil system responses to ozone after 3 years in a lysimeter study with juvenile beech (Fagus sylvatica L.). Water Air Soil Poll Focus 8:139–154
Rencher AC (2002) Methods of multivariate analysis, 2nd edn. Wiley-Interscience
Sadaka-Laulan N, Ponge J-F (2000) Comparative leaf decomposition within the holm oak complex. Eur J Soil Biol 36:91–95
Talhelm AF, Pregitzer KS, Giardina CP (2012) Long-term leaf production response to elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide and tropospheric ozone. Ecosystems 15:71–82
Vitale M, Salvatori E, Loreto F, Fares S, Manes F (2008) Physiological responses of Quercus ilex leaves to water and acute ozone exposure under controlled conditions. Water Air Soil Poll 189:113–125
Williamson J, Mills G, Freeman C (2010) Species-specific effects of elevated ozone on wetland plants and decomposition processes. Environ Pollut 158:1197–1206
Wittig VE, Ainsworth EA, Long SP (2007) To what extent do the current and projected increases in surface ozone affect photosynthesis and stomatal conductance of trees? A meta-analytic review of the last 3 decades of experiments. Plant Cell Environ 30:1150–1162
Funding
This work was funded by the Ministero dell’Ambiente e Tutela del Territorio and the University of Salerno (Italy).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Handling Editor: Erwin Dreyer
Contribution of the co-authors
Daniela Baldantoni and Alessandro Bellino performed the analyses and wrote the paper.
Fausto Manes and Anna Alfani designed the experiment, coordinated and supervised the work.
Electronic supplementary material
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Online Resource 1
(PDF 4 kb)
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Baldantoni, D., Bellino, A., Manes, F. et al. Ozone fumigation of Quercus ilex L. slows down leaf litter decomposition with no detectable change in leaf composition. Annals of Forest Science 70, 571–578 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13595-013-0297-5
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13595-013-0297-5