Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Carbon and nitrogen turnover in response to warming and nitrogen addition during early stages of forest litter decomposition—an incubation experiment

  • SOILS, SEC 1 • SOIL ORGANIC MATTER DYNAMICS AND NUTRIENT CYCLING • RESEARCH ARTICLE
  • Published:
Journal of Soils and Sediments Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

Little is known about the interactive effects of temperature, nitrogen (N) supply, litter quality, and decomposition time on the turnover of carbon (C) and N of forest litter. The objective of this study was to investigate the interactive effects of warming, N addition and tree species on the turnover of C and N during the early decomposition stage of litters in a temperate forest.

Materials and methods

A 12-week laboratory incubation experiment was carried out. The leaf litters including two types of broadleaf litters (Quercus mongolica and Tilia amurensis), a needle litter (Pinus koraiensis), and a mixed litter of them were collected from a broad-leaved Korean pine mixed forest ecosystem in northeastern China in September 2009. Nine treatments were conducted using three temperatures (15, 25, and 35 °C) combined with three doses of N addition (equal to 0, 75, and 150 kg · ha−1 a−1, respectively, as NH4NO3).

Results and discussion

After 12 weeks of incubation, the mass loss ranged between 12 and 35 %. The broadleaf litters had greater mass loss and cumulative CO2–C emission than the needle litter. Temperature and N availability interacted to affect litter mass loss and decomposition rate. The dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and nitrogen (DON) concentrations in litter leachate varied widely with litter types. DOC increased significantly with increased temperature but decreased significantly with increased N availability. DON increased significantly with increased N availability but showed a higher level at the moderate decomposition temperature. The amounts of CO2 and N2O emission were significantly higher at 25 °C than those at 15 and 35 °C, and were significantly increased by the N addition.

Conclusions

The present study indicated relatively intricate temperature and N addition effects on C and N cycling during early stages of litter decomposition, implying that future increases in temperature and N deposition will directly affect C and N cycling in broad-leaved Korean pine mixed forest ecosystem, and may indirectly influence the ecosystem composition, productivity, and functioning in NE China. It is, therefore, important to understand the interactive effects of biotic and abiotic factors on litter decomposition in field conditions in order to assess and predict future ecosystem responses to environmental changes in NE China.

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
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aber JD (1992) Nitrogen cycling and nitrogen saturation in temperate forest ecosystems. Trends Ecol Evol 7(7):220–224

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ågren G, Bosatta E, Magill A (2001) Combining theory and experiment to understand effects of inorganic nitrogen on litter decomposition. Oecologia 128(1):94–98

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Austin AT, Vitousek PM (2000) Precipitation, decomposition and litter decomposability of Metrosideros polymorpha in native forests on Hawai’i. J Ecol 88(1):129–138

    Article  Google Scholar 

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

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Braker G, Schwarz J, Conrad R (2010) Influence of temperature on the composition and activity of denitrifying soil communities. FEMS Microbiol Ecol 73(1):134–148

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Breeuwer A, Heijmans M, Robroek BJM, Limpens J, Berendse F (2008) The effect of increased temperature and nitrogen deposition on decomposition in bogs. Oikos 117(8):1258–1268

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Butterbach-Bahl K, Breuer L, Gasche R, Willibald G, Papen H (2002) Exchange of trace gases between soils and the atmosphere in Scots pine forest ecosystems of the northeastern German lowlands: 1. Fluxes of N2O, NO/NO2 and CH4 at forest sites with different N-deposition. For Ecol Manag 167(1–3):123–134

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Butterbach-Bahl K, Gasche R, Huber C, Kreutzer K, Papen H (1998) Impact of N-input by wet deposition on N-trace gas fluxes and CH4-oxidation in spruce forest ecosystems of the temperate zone in Europe. Atmos Environ 32(3):559–564

    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 

  • Chapman PJ, Williams BL, Hawkins A (2001) Influence of temperature and vegetation cover on soluble inorganic and organic nitrogen in a spodosol. Soil Biol Biochem 33(7–8):1113–1121

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cleveland CC, Neff JC, Townsend AR, Hood E (2004) Composition, dynamics, and fate of leached dissolved organic matter in terrestrial ecosystems: results from a decomposition experiment. Ecosystems 7(3):175–285

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Currie W, Aber J, McDowell W, Boone R, Magill A (1996) Vertical transport of dissolved organic C and N under long-term N amendments in pine and hardwood forests. Biogeochemistry 35(3):471–505

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davidson EA, Chorover J, Dail DB (2003) A mechanism of abiotic immobilization of nitrate in forest ecosystems: the ferrous wheel hypothesis. Global Change Biol 9(2):228–236

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Deng XW, Liu Y, Han SJ (2009) Carbon and nitrogen dynamics in early stages of forest litter decomposition as affected by nitrogen addition. J For Res 20(2):111–116

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fang H, Mo JM, Peng SL, Li Z, Wang H (2007) Cumulative effects of nitrogen additions on litter decomposition in three tropical forests in southern China. Plant Soil 297(1):233–242

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fierer N, Craine JM, McLauchlan K, Schimel JP (2005) Litter quality and the temperature sensitivity of decomposition. Ecology 86(2):320–326

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gödde M, Conrad R (1999) Immediate and adaptational temperature effects on nitric oxide production and nitrous oxide release from nitrification and denitrification in two soils. Biol Fert Soils 30(1):33–40

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Galloway JN, Cowling EB (2002) Reactive nitrogen and the world: 200 years of change. AMBIO: A Journal of the Human Environment 31(2):64–71

    Google Scholar 

  • Guo LB, Sims REH (2001) Eucalypt litter decomposition and nutrient release under a short rotation forest regime and effluent irrigation treatments in New Zealand: I. External effects Soil Biol Biochem 33(10):1381–1388

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hammrich A (2008) Effects of warming and nitrogen enrichment on carbon turnover in a littoral wetland. ETH Zürich, citizen of Germany

  • Hobbie SE (1996) Temperature and plant species control over litter decomposition in Alaskan Tundra. Ecol Monogr 66(4):503–522

    Article  Google Scholar 

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

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Iiyama K, Wallis AFA (1990) Determination of lignin in herbaceous plants by an improved acetyl bromide procedure. J Sci Food Agr 51(2):145–161

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Keeney DR, Nelson DW (1982) Nitrogen-inorganic forms. In: Page AL, Miller RH, Keeney DR (eds) Methods of soil analysis. Part 2, 2nd edn. Series Agronomy 9. ASA, SSSA, Madison

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

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kuiters AT, Mulder W (1993) Water-soluble organic matter in forest soils. Plant Soil 152(2):215–224

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lü C, Tian H (2007) Spatial and temporal patterns of nitrogen deposition in China: synthesis of observational data. J Geophys Res 112(D22): D22S05

    Google Scholar 

  • Li MH, Kräuchi N, Gao SP (2006) Global warming: can existing reserves really preserve current levels of biological diversity? J Invest Plant Bio 48(3):255–259

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liski J, Nissinen ARI, Erhard M, Taskinen O (2003) Climatic effects on litter decomposition from arctic tundra to tropical rainforest. Global Change Biol 9(4):575–584

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Magill AH, Aber JD (1998) Long-term effects of experimental nitrogen additions on foliar litter decay and humus formation in forest ecosystems. Plant Soil 203(2):301–311

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Magill AH, Aber JD (2000) Dissolved organic carbon and nitrogen relationships in forest litter as affected by nitrogen deposition. Soil Biol Biochem 32(5):603–613

    Article  CAS  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 

  • Muhammad W, Vaughan S, Dalal R, Menzies N (2011) Crop residues and fertilizer nitrogen influence residue decomposition and nitrous oxide emission from a Vertisol. Biol Fert Soils 47(1):15–23

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nadelhoffer KJ, Colman BP, Currie WS, Magill A, Aber JD (2004) Decadal-scale fates of 15N tracers added to oak and pine stands under ambient and elevated N inputs at the Harvard Forest (USA). Forest Ecol Manag 196(1):89–107

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Osono T (2007) Ecology of ligninolytic fungi associated with leaf litter decomposition. Ecol Res 22(6):955–974

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Perakis SS, Hedin LO (2001) Fluxes and fates of nitrogen in soil of an unpolluted old-growth temperate forest, southern Chile. Ecology 82(8):2245–2260

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Root TL, Price JT, Hall KR, Schneider SH, Rosenzweig C, Pounds JA (2003) Fingerprints of global warming on wild animals and plants. Nature 421(6918):57–60

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Salah YMS, Scholes MC (2011) Effect of temperature and litter quality on decomposition rate of Pinus patula needle litter. Procedia Environmental Sciences 6:180–193

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Scheffer RA, Van Logtestijn RSP, Verhoeven JTA (2001) Decomposition of carex and sphagnum litter in two mesotrophic fens differing in dominant plant species. Oikos 92(1):44–54

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schlesinger WH, Lichter J (2001) Limited carbon storage in soil and litter of experimental forest plots under increased atmospheric CO2. Nature 411(6836):466–469

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Scowcroft PG, Turner DR, Vitousek PM (2000) Decomposition of Metrosideros polymorpha leaf litter along elevational gradients in Hawaii. Global Change Biol 6(1):73–85

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seely B, Lajtha K (1997) Application of a 15N tracer to simulate and track the fate of atmospherically deposited N in the coastal forests of the Waquoit Bay Watershed, Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Oecologia 112(3):393–402

    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):1–24

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Song CC, Zhang JB (2009) Effects of soil moisture, temperature, and nitrogen fertilization on soil respiration and nitrous oxide emission during maize growth period in northeast China. Acta Agr Scand B-S P 59(2):97–106

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Staaf H, Berg B (1982) Accumulation and release of plant nutrients in decomposing Scots pine needle litter. Long-term decomposition in a Scots pine forest II Can J Bot 60(8):1561–1568

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tang JW, Cao M, Zhang JH, Li MH (2010) Litterfall production, decomposition and nutrient use efficiency varies with tropical forest types in Xishuangbanna, SW China: a 10-year study. Plant Soil 335(1):271–288

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Taylor B, Parkinson D (1988a) A new microcosm approach to litter decomposition studies. Can J Bot 66(10):1933–1939

    Google Scholar 

  • Taylor BR, Parkinson D (1988b) Aspen and pine leaf litter decomposition in laboratory microcosms. II. Interactions of temperature and moisture level. Can J Bot 66(10):1966–1973

    Google Scholar 

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

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vestgarden LS (2001) Carbon and nitrogen turnover in the early stage of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) needle litter decomposition: effects of internal and external nitrogen. Soil Biol Biochem 33(4–5):465–474

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Waldrop MP, Zak DR, Sinsabaugh RL, Gallo M, Lauber C (2004) Nitrogen deposition modifies soil carbon storage through changes in microbial enzymatic activity. Ecol Appl 14(4):1172–1177

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wetterstedt JÅM, Persson T, ÅGren GI (2010) Temperature sensitivity and substrate quality in soil organic matter decomposition: results of an incubation study with three substrates. Global Change Biol 16(6):1806–1819

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zech W, Guggenberger G, Schulten H-R (1994) Budgets and chemistry of dissolved organic carbon in forest soils: effects of anthropogenic soil acidification. Sci Total Environ 152(1):49–62

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang CY, Zhao XH, Zheng JM (2006) A study on soil properties in forest gaps and under canopy in broad-leaved Pinus koriensis forest in Changbai Mountain. Forest Res 19(3):347–352

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhang M, Guan DX, Han SJ (2005) Climatic dynamics of broadleaved Korean pine forest in Changbai Mountain during the last 22years. Chinese J Ecol 24(9):1007–1012

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We acknowledge the National Basic Research Program of China (no. 2011CB403200), National Natural Science Foundation of China (no. 40930107), and Knowledge Innovation Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences (no. KSCX-YW-Z-1022) for their financial support. We are highly indebted to Prof. Zhihong Xu of the School of Biomolecular and Physical Sciences for his helpful comments. We are also grateful to Prof. Gongfu Ye of Fujian Province Forest Institute for providing experimental apparatus.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Forest and Soil Ecology, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, 110164, People’s Republic of China

    Ruihong Guo, Junqiang Zheng, Shijie Han, Junhui Zhang & Mai-He Li

  2. Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, People’s Republic of China

    Ruihong Guo

  3. Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research, WSL, 8903, Birmensdorf, Switzerland

    Mai-He Li

Authors
  1. Ruihong Guo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Junqiang Zheng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Shijie Han
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Junhui Zhang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Mai-He Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Shijie Han.

Additional information

Responsible editor: Thomas H. DeLuca

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

ESM 1

DOC 42 kb

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Guo, R., Zheng, J., Han, S. et al. Carbon and nitrogen turnover in response to warming and nitrogen addition during early stages of forest litter decomposition—an incubation experiment. J Soils Sediments 13, 312–324 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-012-0630-x

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-012-0630-x

Keywords

Search

Navigation