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Interactions between leaf litter and soil organic matter on carbon and nitrogen mineralization in six forest litter-soil systems

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Abstract

Background and aims

Leaf litter decomposes on the surface of soil in natural systems and element transfers between litter and soil are commonly found. However, how litter and soil organic matter (SOM) interact to influence decomposition rate and nitrogen (N) release remains unclear.

Methods

Leaf litter and mineral soil of top 0–5 cm from six forests were incubated separately, or together with litter on soil surface at 25 °C for 346 days. Litter N remaining and soil respiration rate were repeatedly measured during incubation. Litter carbon (C) and mass losses and mineral N concentrations in litter and soil were measured at the end of incubation.

Results

Net N transfer from soil to litter was found in all litters when incubated with soil. Litter incubated with soil lost more C than litter incubated alone after 346 days. For litters with initial C: N ratios lower than 52, net Nmin after 346 days was 100 % higher when incubated with soil than when incubated alone. Litter net Nmin rate was negatively related to initial C: N ratio when incubated with soil but not when incubated alone. Soil respiration rate and net Nmin rate did not differ between soil incubated with litter and soil incubated alone.

Conclusions

We conclude that soils may enhance litter decomposition rate by net N transfer from soil to litter. Our results together with studies on litter mixture decomposition suggest that net N transfer between decomposing organic matter with different N status may be common and may significantly influence decomposition and N release. The low net Nmin rate during litter decomposition along with the small size of litter N pool compared to soil N pool suggest that SOM rather than decomposing litter is the major contributor to plant mineral N supply.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Dr. Mei Zhou for help in getting permissions for field sampling and thank Chengen Ma for assistance in the field. Thanks to Drs. Shenglei Fu, Xingliang Xu, Tim Seastedt and Fusheng Chen for constructive comments on an earlier draft of the manuscript. We also thank Dr. Stefano Manzoni and two anonymous reviewers for comments that greatly improved the manuscript. This research was funded by One-Hundred Talent Project of Chinese Academy of Sciences (No. KZZD-EW-TZ-11) and the Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC grants 31200405 and 31021001).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. 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, China

    Yanmei Xiong & Dali Guo

  2. Key Laboratory for Cyclic Economy, School of Urban Planning and Design, Shenzhen Graduate School, Peking University, Shenzhen, 518055, China

    Yanmei Xiong & Hui Zeng

  3. Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510650, China

    Hanping Xia

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  1. Yanmei Xiong
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  2. Hui Zeng
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Correspondence to Hui Zeng or Dali Guo.

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Responsible Editor: Stefano Manzoni.

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Xiong, Y., Zeng, H., Xia, H. et al. Interactions between leaf litter and soil organic matter on carbon and nitrogen mineralization in six forest litter-soil systems. Plant Soil 379, 217–229 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-014-2033-9

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