Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Effects of nitrogen addition on litter decomposition and nutrient release in two tropical plantations with N2-fixing vs. non-N2-fixing tree species

  • Published:
Plant and Soil Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Background and Aims

Atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition has elevated rapidly in tropical regions where N2-fixing tree species are widespread. However, the effect of N deposition on litter decomposition in forests with N2-fixing tree species remains unclear. We examined the effect of N addition on litter decomposition and nutrient release in two tropical plantations with Acacia auriculiformis (AA, N2-fixing) and Eucalyptus urophylla (EU, non-N2-fixing) in South China.

Methods

Three levels of N additions were conducted: control, medium-N (50 kg N ha−1 yr.−1) and high-N (100 kg N ha−1 yr.−1) in each plantation.

Results

Initial decomposition rate (k a ) for the control plots was faster in the AA plantation than in the EU plantation, but later in decomposition, larger fraction of slowly decomposing litter (A) remained in the former. N addition increased the slow fraction (A), decreasing soil microbial biomass and reducing acid-unhydrolyzable residue (AUR) degradation in the AA plantation. In the EU plantation, however, N additions significantly increased initial decomposition rate (k a ) and soil N availability. Furthermore, N addition decreased litter carbon and N release (in the AA plantation), while litter phosphorus release also decreased in both plantations.

Conclusions

With ongoing N deposition in future, tropical plantations with N2-fixing tree species would potentially increase carbon accumulation and nutrient retention in forest floor by slowing litter decomposition.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Allison SD, Vitousek PM (2005) Responses of extracellular enzymes to simple and complex nutrient input. Soil Biol Biochem 36:285–296

    Google Scholar 

  • Anderson JM, Ingram JSI (1989) Tropical soil biology and fertility: a handbook of methods. CAB Int, Wallingford

    Google Scholar 

  • Berg B (2000) Litter decomposition and organic matter turnover in northern forest soils. For Ecol Manag 133:13--22

  • Berg B, Ekbohm G (1991) Litter mass-loss rates and decomposition patterms in smoe needle and leaf litter types. Long-term decomposition in a Scots pine forest VII. Can J Bot 69(7):1449--1456

  • Berg B, Matzner (1997) Effect of N deposition on decomposition of plant litter and soil organic matter in forest ecosystem. Environ Rev 5(1):1–25

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Berg B, McClaugherty C (2008) Plant litter decomposition, humus formation, carbon sequestration. Springer, Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

    Google Scholar 

  • Berg B, Davey M, De MA, Emmett B (2010) Factors influencing limit values for pine needle litter decomposition: a synthesis for boreal and temperate pine forest systems. Biogeochemistry 100(1–3):57–73

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Brookes PC, Landman A, Pruden G, Jenkinson DS (1985) Chloroform fumigation and the release of soil nitrogen: a rapid direct extraction method to measure microbial biomass nitrogen in soil. Soil Biol Biochem 17(6):837–842

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Carreiro MM, Sinsabaugh RL, Repert DA, Parkhurst DF (2000) Microbial enzyme shifts explain litter decay responses to simulated nitrogen deposition. Ecology 81(9):2359–2365

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cleveland CC, Reed SC, Townsend AR (2006) Nutrient regulation of organic matter decomposition in a tropical rain forest. Ecology 87(2):492–503

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cornwell WK et al (2008) Plant species traits are the predominant control on litter decomposition rates within biomes worldwide. Ecol Lett 11(10):1065–1071

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cusack DF, Silver WL, Torn MS, Burton SD, Firestone MK (2011) Changes in microbial community characteristics and soil organic matter with nitrogen additions in two tropical forests. Eology 92(3):621–632

    Google Scholar 

  • Davey M, Berg B, Emmett B, Rowland P (2007) Controls of foliar litter decomposition and implications for C sequestration in oak woodlands. Can J For Bot 85:16–24

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davidson EA, Chorover J, Dail DB (2003) A mechanism of abiotic immobilization of nitrate in forest ecosystems: the ferrous wheel hypothesis. Glob Chang Biol 9:228–236

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Edwards IP, Zak DR, Kellner H, Eisenlord SD, Pregitzer KS (2011) Simulated atmospheric N deposition alters fungal community composition and suppresses ligninolytic gene expression in a northern hardwood forest. PLoS ONE 6(6):e20421

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Fang YT, Gundersen P, Vogt RD, Koba K, Chen FS, Chen XY, Yoh MK (2011) Atmospheric deposition and leaching of nitrogen in Chinese forest ecosystems. J For Res 16(5):341–350

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fog K (1988) The effect of added nitrogen on the rate of decomposition of organic-matter. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 63:433e462

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAOUN) (2006) World reference base for soil resources: a framework for international classification, correlation and communication, world soil resources report, vol. 103. Food and Agric. Org. of the U. N, Rome

    Google Scholar 

  • Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAOUN) (2010) Global forest resources assessment 2010: main report, FAO forestry paper, vol. 163. Food and Agric. Org. of the U. N, Rome

    Google Scholar 

  • Forrester DI, Bauhus J, Cowie AL (2005) Nutrient cycling in a mixed-species plantation of Eucaluptus globulus and Acacia mearnsii. Can J For Res 35(12):2942–2950

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frey SD, Knorr M, Parrent JL, Simpson RT (2004) Chronic nitrogen enrichment affects the structure and function of the soil microbial community in temperate hardwood and pine forests. For Ecol Manag 196:159–171

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Galloway JN, Dentener FJ, Capone DG, Boyer EW, Howarth SP, Asner CC, Cleveland PP, Green PA, Holland EA, Kari DM, Michaels AF, Porter JH, Townsend AR, Vöosmarty CJ (2004) Nitrogen cycles: past, present, and future. Biogeochemistry 70:153–226

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Galloway JN, Townsend AR, Erisman JW, Bekunda M, Cai Z, Freney JR, Martinelli LA, Seitzinger SP, Sutton MA (2008) Transformation of the nitrogen cycle: recent trends, questions, and potential solutions. Science 320:889–892

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gei MG, Powers JS (2013) Do legumes and non-legumes tree species affect soil properties in unmanaged forests and plantations in costa Rican dry forests? Soil Biol Biochem 57:264–272

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gerber S, Hedin LO, Oppenheimer M, Pacala SW, Shevliakova E (2010) Nitrogen cycling and feedbacks in a global dynamic land model. Glob Biogeochem Cycles 24: GB1001

  • Hagiwara Y, Osono T, Ohta S (2012) Colonization and decomposition of leaf litter by ligninolytic fungi in Acacia mangium plantations and adjacent secondary forests. J For Res 17:51–57

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hall S, Matson P (2003) Nutrient status of tropical rain forests influences soil N dynamics after N additions. Ecol Monogr 73(1):107–129

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hatakka A, Hammel KE (2010) Fungal biodegradation of lignocelluloses. In: Hofrichter M (ed) Industrial applications, 2nd edn. The Mycota X. Springer-Verlag Berlin, Heidelberg

    Google Scholar 

  • Hobbie SE (2000) Interactions between litter lignin and soil nitrogen availability during leaf litter decomposition in a Hawaiian montane forest. Ecosystems 3(5):484–494

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hobbie SE (2005) Contrasting effect of substrate and fertilizer nitrogen on the early stages of decomposition. Ecosyst 8(6):644–656

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hobbie SE (2008) Nitrogen effects on decomposition: a five-year experiment in eight temperate sites. Ecology 89(9):2633–2644

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hobbie SE, Vitousek PM (2000) Nutrient limitation of decomposition in Hawaiian forests. Ecology 81(7):1867–1877

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hobbie SE, Eddy WC, Buyarski CR, Adair EC, Ogdahl ML, Weisenhorn P (2012) Response of decomposing litter and its microbial community to multiple forms of nitrogen enrichment. Ecol Monogr 82(3):389–405

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Högberg MN, Högberg P, Myrold DD (2007) Is microbial community composition in boreal forest soils determined by pH, C-to-N ratio, the trees, or all Three? Oecologia 150:590–601

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Huang J, Zhang W, Zhu XM, Gilliam FS, Chen H, Lu XK, Mo JM (2014) Urbanization in China changes the composition and main sources of wet inorganic nitrogen deposition. Environ Sci Pollut Res. doi:10.1007/s11356-014-3786-7

    Google Scholar 

  • Jenkinson DS, Brookes PC, Powlson DS (2004) Measuring soil microbial biomass. Soil Biol Biochem 36(1):5–7

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jensen LE, Nybroe O (1999) Nitrogen availability to Pseudomonas fluorescens DF57 is limited during decomposition of barley straw in bulk soil and in the barley rhizosphere. Appl Environ Microbiol 65(10):4320–4328

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Kaspari M, Garcia MN, Harms KE, Santana M, Wright SJ, Yavitt JB (2008) Multiple nutrients limit litterfall and decomposition in a tropical forest. Ecol Lett 11:35–43

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Keeler BL, Hobbie SE, Kellogg LE (2009) Effects of long-term nitrogen addition on microbial enzyme activity in eight forested and grassland sites: implications for litter and soil organic matter decomposition. Ecosystems 12(1):1–15

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Keyser P, Kirk TK, Zeikus JG (1978) Ligninolytic enzyme system of phanaerochaete chrysosporium: synthesized in the absence of lignin in response to nitrogen starvation. J Bacteriol 35(3):790–797

    Google Scholar 

  • King HGC, Heath GW (1967) The chemical analysis of small samples of leaf material and the relationship between the disappearance and composition of leaves. Pedobiologia 7:192–197

    Google Scholar 

  • Knorr M, Frey SD, Curtis PS (2005) Nitrogen additions and litter decomposition: a meta-analysis. Ecology 86(12):3252–3257

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu GS, Jiang NH, Zhang LD, Liu ZL (1996) Soil physical and chemical analysis and description of soil profiles. Standards Press of China, Beijing

    Google Scholar 

  • Manning P, Saunders M, Bardgett RD, Bonkowski M, Bradford MA, Ellis RJ, Kandeler E, Marhan S, Tscherko D (2008) Direct and indirect effects of nitrogen deposition on litter decomposition. Soil Biol Biochem 40(3):688–698

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mo JM, Brown S, Xue JH, Fang YT, Li ZA (2006) Response of litter decomposition to simulated N deposition in disturbed, rehabilitated and mature forests in subtropical China. Plant Soil 282(1–2):135–151

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mo JM, Fang H, Zhu WX, Zhou GY (2008) Decomposition response of pine (Pinus massoniana) needles with two different nutrient-status to N deposition in a tropical pine plantation in southern China. Ann For Sci 65:405

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moore TR, Trofymow JA, Prescott CE, Fyles J, Titus BD (2006) Pattern of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorous dynamics in decomposing foliar litter in Canadian forests. Ecosystems 9(1):46–62

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Norris M, Avis P, Reich P, Hobbie S (2013) Positive feedbacks between decomposition and soil nitrogen availability along fertility gradients. Plant Soil 367(1–2):347–361

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Oberson A, Friesen DK, Morel C, Tiessen H (1997) Determination of phosphorus released by chloroform fumigation from microbial biomass in high P sorbing tropical soils. Soil Biol Biochem 29:1579–1583

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Olson JS (1963) Energy storage and the balance of producers and decomposers in ecological systems. Ecology 44(2):322–331

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Osono T, Takeda H (2004) Accumulation and release of nitrogen and phosphorous in relation to lignin decomposition in leaf litter of 14 tree species. Ecol Res 19(6):593–602

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parton WA, Silver WL, Burke IC, Grassens L, Harmon ME, Currie WS, King JY, Adair EC, Brandt LA, Hart SC, Fasth B (2007) Global-scale similarities in nitrogen release patterns during long-term decomposition. Science 315(5810):361–364

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Peng SL, Hou YP, Chen BM (2009) Vegetation restoration and its effects on carbon balance in Guangdong province, China. Restor Ecol 17(4):487–494

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Perakis SS, Matkins JJ, Hibbs DE (2012) N2-fixing red alder indirectly accelerates ecosystem nitrogen cycling. Ecosystems 15(7):1182–1193

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Preston CM, Nault JR, Trofymow JA (2009) Chemical changes during 6 years of decomposition of 11 litters in some Canadian forest sites. Part 2. 13C abundance, solid-state 13C NMR spectroscopy and the meaning of “lignin”. Ecosystems 12(7):1078–1102

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ramirez KS, Craine JM, Fierer N (2012) Consistent effects of nitrogen amendments on soil microbial communities and processes across biomes. Glob Chang Biol 18(6):1918–1927

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ren H, Yang L, Liu N (2008) Nurse plant theory and its application in ecological restoration in lower subtropics of China. Prog Nat Sci 18(2):137–142

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sinsabaugh RL, Carreiro MM, Repert DA (2002) Allocation of extracellular enzymatic activity in relation to litter composition, N deposition, and mass loss. Biogeochemistry 60:1–24

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Smolander A. Kurka A, Kitunen V, Mälkönen E (1994) Microbial biomass C and N, and respiratory activity in soil of repeatedly limed and N-and P-fertilized Norway spruce stands. Soil Biol Biochem 26(8): 957–962.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Treseder KK (2008) Nitrogen additions and microbial biomass: a meta-analysis of ecosystem studies. Ecol Lett 11(10):1111–1120

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Trofymow J, Moore T (2002) Rates of litter decomposition over 6 years in Canadian forests: influence of litter quality and climate. Can J For Res 32(5):789–804

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vance ED, Brookes PC, Jenkinson DS (1987) An extraction method for measuring soil microbial biomass C. Soil Biol Biochem 19(6):703–707

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wardle DA (2002) Communities and ecosystem: linking the aboveground and belowground components. (Vol. 34). Princeton University Press, New Jersey

    Google Scholar 

  • Weider RK, Lang GE (1982) A critique of the analytical methods used in examining decomposition data obtained from litter bags. Ecology 63:1636–1642

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Whittinghill K, Currie W, Zak D (2012) Anthropogenic N deposition increases soil C storage by decreasing the extent of litter decay: analysis of field observations with an ecosystem model. Ecosystems 15(3):450–461

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wu J, He ZL, Wei WX, O’Donnell (2000) Quantifying microbial biomass phosphorus in acid soil. Biol Fertil Soils 32:500–507

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wu JP, Liu ZF, Wang XL, Sun YX, Zhou LX, Lin YB, Fu SL (2011) Effects of understory removal and tree girdling on soil microbial community composition and litter decomposition in two eucalyptus plantations in south China. Funct Ecol 25(4):921–931

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xu XF, Thornton PE, Post WM (2013) A global analysis of soil microbial biomass carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus in terrestrial ecosystems. Glob Ecol Biogeogr 22(6):737–749

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yuan ZY, Chen HYH (2009) Global trends in senesced-leaf nitrogen and phosphorus. Glob Ecol Biogeogr 18(5):532–542

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zak DR, Holmes WE, Burton AJ, Pregitzer KS, Talhelm AF (2008) Simulated atmospheric NO3 − deposition increases soil organic matter by slowing decomposition. Ecol Appl 18(8):2016–2027

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang W, Zhu XM, Liu L, Fu SL, Chen H, Huang J, Lu XK, Liu ZF, Mo JM (2012) Large difference of inhibitive effect of nitrogen deposition on soil methane oxidation between plantations with N-fixing species and non-N-fixing tree species. J Geophys Res 117:G00N16

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This study was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NO: 41273143 and 41473112) and the National Key Basic Research 973 Program (2011CB403204). The authors wish to acknowledge Shengxing Fu, Ruifang Hu and Mozheng Li for their fieldwork.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

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

    Xiaomin Zhu, Wei Zhang, Juan Huang, Shenglei Fu, Zhanfeng Liu & Jiangming Mo

  2. Key Laboratory of Agro-ecological Processes in Subtropical Region, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changsha, 410125, China

    Hao Chen

  3. University of Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing, 100039, China

    Xiaomin Zhu

Authors
  1. Xiaomin Zhu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Hao Chen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Wei Zhang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Juan Huang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Shenglei Fu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Zhanfeng Liu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Jiangming Mo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jiangming Mo.

Additional information

Responsible Editor: Harry Olde Venterink.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Zhu, X., Chen, H., Zhang, W. et al. Effects of nitrogen addition on litter decomposition and nutrient release in two tropical plantations with N2-fixing vs. non-N2-fixing tree species. Plant Soil 399, 61–74 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-015-2676-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-015-2676-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation