Abstract
We measured changes in carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) concentrations and mass of 10 foliar litters decomposing over 12 years at 21 sites across Canada, ranging from subarctic to temperate, to evaluate the influence of litter quality (nature) and forest floor (nurture) on N and P dynamics. Most litters lost P faster than N, relative to C, except in one litter which had a high initial C:P quotient (2,122). Net N loss occurred at mass C:N quotients of between 33 and 68, positively correlated with the C:N quotient in the original litter, and net P loss likely occurred at C:P quotients between 800 and 1,200. Forest floor properties also influenced N and P dynamics: the higher the C:N or C:P quotient in the surface soil organic matter, the smaller the proportion of initial N or P left in the decomposing litter, relative to C. There was a convergence of C:N and C:P quotients as the litters decomposed, with an overall mass ratio of 427:17:1 when the litters reached 20% original C remaining. These results, covering a wide range of sites and litters and thus decomposition rates, showed that the C:N:P quotients followed similar trajectories and converged as the litters decomposed. The relative loss of N and P was affected by both the initial litter nutrient concentration and the chemistry of the site forest floor, with the former being more important than the latter, resulting in spatial variations in nutrient content of the forest floor.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Cleveland CC, Liptzin D (2007) C:N:P stoichiometry in soil: is there a “Redfield ratio” for the microbial biomass? Biogeochemistry 85:235–252
Güsewell S, Freeman C (2005) Nutrient limitation and enzyme activities during litter decomposition of nine wetland species in relation to litter N:P ratios. Funct Ecol 19:582–593
Güsewell S, Verhoeven JTA (2006) Litter N:P ratios indicate whether N or P limits the decomposability of graminoid leaf litter. Plant Soil 287:131–143
Hobbie SE (1992) Effects of plant species on nutrient cycling. Trends Ecol Evol 7:336–339
McGroddy ME, Daufresne T, Hedin LO (2004) Scaling of C:N:P stoichiometry in forests worldwide: implications of terrestrial Redfield-type ratios. Ecology 85:2390–2401
Melillo JM, Aber JD, Linkins AE, Ricca A, Fry B, Nadelhoffer KJ (1989) Carbon and nitrogen dynamics along the decay continuum: plant litter to soil organic matter. Plant Soil 115:189–198
Moore TR, Trofymow AJ, Prescott CE, Fyles J, Titus BD, CIDET Working Group (2006) Patterns of C, N and P dynamics in decomposing foliar litter in Canadian forests. Ecosystems 9:46–62
Parkinson JA, Allen SE (1975) A wet oxidation procedure for the determination of nitrogen and mineral nutrients in biological material. Comm Soil Sci Plant Anal 6:1–11
Parton W, Silver WL, Burke IC, Grassens L, Harmon ME, Currie WC, King YJ, Adair EC, Brandt LA, Hart SC, Fasth B (2007) Global-scale similarities in nitrogen release patterns during long-term decomposition. Science 315:361–364
Prescott CE (2006) Decomposition and mineralization of nutrients from litter and humus. In: BassiriRad H (ed) Nutrient acquisition by plants: an ecological perspective. Springer-Verlag, pp 15–41, Ecological Studies Series vol. 181
Preston CM, Nault JR, Trofymow JA, Smyth C, CIDET Working Group (2009) Chemical changes during 6 years of decomposition of 11 litters in some Canadian forest sites. Part 1. Elemental Composition, Tannins, Phenolics, and Proximate Fractions. Ecosystems 12:1053–1077
Reiners W (1986) Complementary models for ecosystems. Am Nat 127:59–73
Sterner RW, Elser JJ (2002) Ecological stoichiometry. Princeton University Press, Princeton
Trofymow JA, Preston C, Prescott C (1995) Litter quality and its potential effect on decay rates of materials from Canadian forests. Water Air Soil Pollut 82:215–226
Trofymow JA, CIDET Working Group (1998) CIDET—The Canadian intersite decomposition experiment: project and site establishment report. Victoria: Inf. Rep. BC-X-378, Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service
Trofymow JA, Moore TR, Titus B, Prescott C, Morrison I, Siltanen M, Smith S, Fyles J, Wein R, Camiré C, Duschene L, Kozak L, Kranabetter M, Visser S (2002) Rates of litter decomposition over 6 years in Canadian forests: influence of litter quality and climate. Can J For Res 32:789–804
Yuan Z, Chen HYH (2009a) Global-scale patterns of nutrient resorption associated with latitude, temperature and precipitation. Glob Ecol Biogeogr 18:11–18
Yuan Z, Chen HYH (2009b) Global trends in senesced-leaf nitrogen and phosphorus. Glob Ecol Biogeogr 18:532–542
Wright IJ et al (2004) The worldwide leaf economics spectrum. Nature 428:821–827
Wright IJ et al (2005) Assessing the generality of global leaf trait relationships. New Phytol 166:485–496
Acknowledgements
Funding from the Climate Change and Ecosystems Processes Networks of the Canadian Forest Service supported this experiment. In addition to the lead authors, the CIDET Working Group includes C. Camiré, L. Duschene, J. Fyles, L. Kozak, M. Kranabetter, I. Morrison, S. Smith, B. Titus, S. Visser, R. Wein and D. White. Technical support was provided by R. Ferris, A. Harris and L. Kutny. We gratefully acknowledge the late S. Zoltai for establishing five of the six sites used in this study. Further information on CIDET is available online from http://www.pfc.cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/subsite/cidet. We thank several reviewers for their comments.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Consortia
Corresponding author
Additional information
Responsible Editor: Hans Lambers.
Electronic supplementary material
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
ESM 1
(DOC 82 kb)
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Moore, T.R., Trofymow, J.A., Prescott, C.E. et al. Nature and nurture in the dynamics of C, N and P during litter decomposition in Canadian forests. Plant Soil 339, 163–175 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-010-0563-3
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-010-0563-3