Abstract
We studied the effects of mycorrhizal pitch pine (Pinus rigida) roots on litter decomposition, microbial biomass, nematode abundance and inorganic nutrients in the E horizon material of a spodosolic soil, using field microcosms created in a regenerating pitch pine stand in the New Jersey Pinelands. Pine roots stimulated litter decomposition by 18.7% by the end of the 29 month study. Both mass loss and N and P release from the litter were always higher in the presence of roots than in their absence. Nutrient concentrations in decomposing litter were similar, however, in the presence and absence of roots, which suggests that the roots present in the with-root treatment did not withdraw nutrients directly from the litter. The soil was slightly drier in the presence of roots, but there was no discernible effect on soil microbial biomass. The effects of roots on soil extractable inorganic nutrients were inconsistent. Roots, however, were consistently associated with higher numbers of soil nematodes. These results suggest that, in soils with low total C and N contents, roots stimulate greater activity of the soil biota, which contribute, in turn, to faster litter decomposition and nutrient release.
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Contribution No. 95-22 from the Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences.
Contribution No. 95-22 from the Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences.
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Zhu, W., Ehrenfeld, J.G. The effects of mycorrhizal roots on litter decomposition, soil biota, and nutrients in a spodosolic soil. Plant Soil 179, 109–118 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00011648
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00011648