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Yuan M, Na M, Hicks LC, Rousk J. Limiting resources for soil microbial growth in climate change simulation treatments in the subarctic. Ecology 2024; 105:e4210. [PMID: 37989722 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.4210] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2023] [Revised: 09/06/2023] [Accepted: 10/04/2023] [Indexed: 11/23/2023]
Abstract
The microbial use of resources to sustain life and reproduce influences for example, decomposition and plant nutrient provisioning. The study of "limiting factors" has shed light on the interaction between plants and their environment. Here, we investigated whether carbon (C), nitrogen (N), or phosphorus (P) was limiting for soil microorganisms in a subarctic tundra heath, and how changes in resource availability associated with climate change affected this. We studied samples in which changes in resource availability due to climate warming were simulated by the addition of birch litter and/or inorganic N. To these soils, we supplied factorial C (as glucose), N (as NH4 NO3 ), and P (as KH2 PO4 /K2 HPO4 ) additions ("limiting factor assays," LFA), to determine the limiting factors. The combination of C and P induced large growth responses in all soils and, combined with a systematic tendency for growth increases by C, this suggested that total microbial growth was primarily limited by C and secondarily by P. The C limitation was alleviated by the field litter treatment and strengthened by N fertilization. The microbial growth response to the LFA-C and LFA-P addition was strongest in the field-treatment that combined litter and N addition. We also found that bacteria were closer to P limitation than fungi. Our results suggest that, under a climate change scenario, increased C availability resulting from Arctic greening, treeline advance, and shrubification will reduce the microbial C limitation, while increased N availability resulting from warming will intensify the microbial C limitation. Our results also suggest that the synchronous increase of both C and N availability might lead to a progressive P limitation of microbial growth, primarily driven by bacteria being closer to P limitation. These shifts in microbial resource limitation might lead to a microbial targeting of the limiting element from organic matter, and also trigger competition for nutrients between plants and microorganisms, thus modulating the productivity of the ecosystem.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mingyue Yuan
- Section of Microbial Ecology, Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Meng Na
- Section of Microbial Ecology, Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
- School of Forestry, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, China
| | - Lettice C Hicks
- Section of Microbial Ecology, Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Johannes Rousk
- Section of Microbial Ecology, Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
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2
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Li J, Liu ZF, Jin MK, Zhang W, Lambers H, Hui D, Liang C, Zhang J, Wu D, Sardans J, Peñuelas J, Petticord DF, Frey DW, Zhu YG. Microbial controls over soil priming effects under chronic nitrogen and phosphorus additions in subtropical forests. THE ISME JOURNAL 2023; 17:2160-2168. [PMID: 37773438 PMCID: PMC10689846 DOI: 10.1038/s41396-023-01523-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2023] [Revised: 09/19/2023] [Accepted: 09/21/2023] [Indexed: 10/01/2023]
Abstract
The soil priming effect (PE), defined as the modification of soil organic matter decomposition by labile carbon (C) inputs, is known to influence C storage in terrestrial ecosystems. However, how chronic nutrient addition, particularly in leguminous and non-leguminous forests, will affect PE through interaction with nutrient (e.g., nitrogen and phosphorus) availability is still unclear. Therefore, we collected soils from leguminous and non-leguminous subtropical plantations across a suite of historical nutrient addition regimes. We added 13C-labeled glucose to investigate how background soil nutrient conditions and microbial communities affect priming and its potential microbial mechanisms. Glucose addition increased soil organic matter decomposition and prompted positive priming in all soils, regardless of dominant overstory tree species or fertilizer treatment. In non-leguminous soil, only combined nitrogen and phosphorus addition led to a higher positive priming than the control. Conversely, soils beneath N-fixing leguminous plants responded positively to P addition alone, as well as to joint NP addition compared to control. Using DNA stable-isotope probing, high-throughput quantitative PCR, enzyme assays and microbial C substrate utilization, we found that positive PE was associated with increased microbial C utilization, accompanied by an increase in microbial community activity, nutrient-related gene abundance, and enzyme activities. Our findings suggest that the balance between soil available N and P effects on the PE, was dependent on rhizosphere microbial community composition. Furthermore, these findings highlight the roles of the interaction between plants and their symbiotic microbial communities in affecting soil priming and improve our understanding of the potential microbial pathways underlying soil PEs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jian Li
- Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems & CAS Engineering Laboratory for Vegetation Ecosystem Restoration on Islands and Coastal Zones, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510650, China
- Key Laboratory of Urban Environment and Health, Ningbo Observation and Research Station, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen, 361021, China
- Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Urban Environmental Processes and Pollution Control, CAS Haixi Industrial Technology Innovation Center in Beilun, Ningbo, 315830, China
| | - Zhan-Feng Liu
- Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems & CAS Engineering Laboratory for Vegetation Ecosystem Restoration on Islands and Coastal Zones, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510650, China.
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Guangzhou, 510650, China.
| | - Ming-Kang Jin
- Key Laboratory of Urban Environment and Health, Ningbo Observation and Research Station, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen, 361021, China
- Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Urban Environmental Processes and Pollution Control, CAS Haixi Industrial Technology Innovation Center in Beilun, Ningbo, 315830, China
| | - Wei Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems & CAS Engineering Laboratory for Vegetation Ecosystem Restoration on Islands and Coastal Zones, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510650, China
| | - Hans Lambers
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, WA6009, Australia
- Department of Plant Nutrition, College of Resources and Environmental Sciences; National Academy of Agriculture Green Development; Key Laboratory of Plan-Soil Interactions, Ministry of Education, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China
| | - Dafeng Hui
- Department of Biological Sciences, Tennessee State University, Nashville, TN, TN37209, USA
| | - Chao Liang
- Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, 110016, China
| | - Jing Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems & CAS Engineering Laboratory for Vegetation Ecosystem Restoration on Islands and Coastal Zones, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510650, China
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Guangzhou, 510650, China
| | - Donghai Wu
- Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems & CAS Engineering Laboratory for Vegetation Ecosystem Restoration on Islands and Coastal Zones, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510650, China
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Guangzhou, 510650, China
| | - Jordi Sardans
- CSIC, Global Ecology Unit, CREAF-CSIC-UAB, Bellaterra, 08193, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
- CREAF, Cerdanyola del Vallès, 08193, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Josep Peñuelas
- CSIC, Global Ecology Unit, CREAF-CSIC-UAB, Bellaterra, 08193, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
- CREAF, Cerdanyola del Vallès, 08193, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Daniel F Petticord
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14850, USA
| | - David W Frey
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14850, USA
| | - Yong-Guan Zhu
- Key Laboratory of Urban Environment and Health, Ningbo Observation and Research Station, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen, 361021, China.
- Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Urban Environmental Processes and Pollution Control, CAS Haixi Industrial Technology Innovation Center in Beilun, Ningbo, 315830, China.
- State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, China.
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3
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Bai T, Wang P, Qiu Y, Zhang Y, Hu S. Nitrogen availability mediates soil carbon cycling response to climate warming: A meta-analysis. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2023; 29:2608-2626. [PMID: 36744998 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.16627] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2022] [Accepted: 01/10/2023] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
Global climate warming may induce a positive feedback through increasing soil carbon (C) release to the atmosphere. Although warming can affect both C input to and output from soil, direct and convincing evidence illustrating that warming induces a net change in soil C is still lacking. We synthesized the results from field warming experiments at 165 sites across the globe and found that climate warming had no significant effect on soil C stock. On average, warming significantly increased root biomass and soil respiration, but warming effects on root biomass and soil respiration strongly depended on soil nitrogen (N) availability. Under high N availability (soil C:N ratio < 15), warming had no significant effect on root biomass, but promoted the coupling between effect sizes of root biomass and soil C stock. Under relative N limitation (soil C:N ratio > 15), warming significantly enhanced root biomass. However, the enhancement of root biomass did not induce a corresponding C accumulation in soil, possibly because warming promoted microbial CO2 release that offset the increased root C input. Also, reactive N input alleviated warming-induced C loss from soil, but elevated atmospheric CO2 or precipitation increase/reduction did not. Together, our findings indicate that the relative availability of soil C to N (i.e., soil C:N ratio) critically mediates warming effects on soil C dynamics, suggesting that its incorporation into C-climate models may improve the prediction of soil C cycling under future global warming scenarios.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tongshuo Bai
- Ecosystem Ecology Laboratory, College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China
| | - Peng Wang
- Ecosystem Ecology Laboratory, College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China
| | - Yunpeng Qiu
- Ecosystem Ecology Laboratory, College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China
| | - Yi Zhang
- Ecosystem Ecology Laboratory, College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China
| | - Shuijin Hu
- Ecosystem Ecology Laboratory, College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China
- Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
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Koranda M, Rinnan R, Michelsen A. Close coupling of plant functional types with soil microbial community composition drives soil carbon and nutrient cycling in tundra heath. PLANT AND SOIL 2023; 488:551-572. [PMID: 37600962 PMCID: PMC10435393 DOI: 10.1007/s11104-023-05993-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2022] [Accepted: 03/14/2023] [Indexed: 08/22/2023]
Abstract
Aims This study aimed at elucidating divergent effects of two dominant plant functional types (PFTs) in tundra heath, dwarf shrubs and mosses, on soil microbial processes and soil carbon (C) and nutrient availability, and thereby to enhance our understanding of the complex interactions between PFTs, soil microbes and soil functioning. Methods Samples of organic soil were collected under three dwarf shrub species (of distinct mycorrhizal association and life form) and three moss species in early and late growing season. We analysed soil C and nutrient pools, extracellular enzyme activities and phospholipid fatty acid profiles, together with a range of plant traits, soil and abiotic site characteristics. Results Shrub soils were characterised by high microbial biomass C and phosphorus and phosphatase activity, which was linked with a fungal-dominated microbial community, while moss soils were characterised by high soil nitrogen availability, peptidase and peroxidase activity associated with a bacterial-dominated microbial community. The variation in soil microbial community structure was explained by mycorrhizal association, root morphology, litter and soil organic matter quality and soil pH-value. Furthermore, we found that the seasonal variation in microbial biomass and enzyme activities over the growing season, likely driven by plant belowground C allocation, was most pronounced under the tallest shrub Betula nana. Conclusion Our study demonstrates a close coupling of PFTs with soil microbial communities, microbial decomposition processes and soil nutrient availability in tundra heath, which suggests potential strong impacts of global change-induced shifts in plant community composition on carbon and nutrient cycling in high-latitude ecosystems. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11104-023-05993-w.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marianne Koranda
- Division of Terrestrial Ecosystem Research, Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science, University of Vienna, Djerassiplatz 1, 1030 Vienna, Austria
- Terrestrial Ecology Section, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
- Center for Permafrost (CENPERM), University of Copenhagen, 1350 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Riikka Rinnan
- Terrestrial Ecology Section, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
- Center for Permafrost (CENPERM), University of Copenhagen, 1350 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Anders Michelsen
- Terrestrial Ecology Section, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
- Center for Permafrost (CENPERM), University of Copenhagen, 1350 Copenhagen, Denmark
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Distinct Growth Responses of Tundra Soil Bacteria to Short-Term and Long-Term Warming. Appl Environ Microbiol 2023; 89:e0154322. [PMID: 36847530 PMCID: PMC10056963 DOI: 10.1128/aem.01543-22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Increases in Arctic temperatures have thawed permafrost and accelerated tundra soil microbial activity, releasing greenhouse gases that amplify climate warming. Warming over time has also accelerated shrub encroachment in the tundra, altering plant input abundance and quality, and causing further changes to soil microbial processes. To better understand the effects of increased temperature and the accumulated effects of climate change on soil bacterial activity, we quantified the growth responses of individual bacterial taxa to short-term warming (3 months) and long-term warming (29 years) in moist acidic tussock tundra. Intact soil was assayed in the field for 30 days using 18O-labeled water, from which taxon-specific rates of 18O incorporation into DNA were estimated as a proxy for growth. Experimental treatments warmed the soil by approximately 1.5°C. Short-term warming increased average relative growth rates across the assemblage by 36%, and this increase was attributable to emergent growing taxa not detected in other treatments that doubled the diversity of growing bacteria. However, long-term warming increased average relative growth rates by 151%, and this was largely attributable to taxa that co-occurred in the ambient temperature controls. There was also coherence in relative growth rates within broad taxonomic levels with orders tending to have similar growth rates in all treatments. Growth responses tended to be neutral in short-term warming and positive in long-term warming for most taxa and phylogenetic groups co-occurring across treatments regardless of phylogeny. Taken together, growing bacteria responded distinctly to short-term and long-term warming, and taxa growing in each treatment exhibited deep phylogenetic organization. IMPORTANCE Soil carbon stocks in the tundra and underlying permafrost have become increasingly vulnerable to microbial decomposition due to climate change. The microbial responses to Arctic warming must be understood in order to predict the effects of future microbial activity on carbon balance in a warming Arctic. In response to our warming treatments, tundra soil bacteria grew faster, consistent with increased rates of decomposition and carbon flux to the atmosphere. Our findings suggest that bacterial growth rates may continue to increase in the coming decades as faster growth is driven by the accumulated effects of long-term warming. Observed phylogenetic organization of bacterial growth rates may also permit taxonomy-based predictions of bacterial responses to climate change and inclusion into ecosystem models.
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Sun L, Tsujii Y, Xu T, Han M, Li R, Han Y, Gan D, Zhu B. Species of fast bulk-soil nutrient cycling have lower rhizosphere effects: A nutrient spectrum of rhizosphere effects. Ecology 2023; 104:e3981. [PMID: 36695044 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.3981] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2022] [Revised: 11/09/2022] [Accepted: 12/06/2022] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
Tree roots not only acquire readily-usable soil nutrients but also affect microbial decomposition and manipulate nutrient availability in their surrounding soils, that is, rhizosphere effects (REs). Thus, REs challenge the basic understanding of how plants adapt to the environment and co-exist with other species. Yet, how REs vary among species in response to species-specific bulk soil nutrient cycling is not well-known. Here, we studied how plant-controlled microbial decomposition activities in rhizosphere soils respond to those in their corresponding bulk soils and whether these relations depend on species-specific nutrient cycling in the bulk soils. We targeted 55 woody species of different clades and mycorrhizal types in three contrasting biomes, namely a temperate forest, a subtropical forest, and a tropical forest. We found that microbial decomposition activities in rhizosphere soils responded linearly to those in their corresponding bulk soils at the species level. Thereafter, we found that REs (parameters in rhizosphere soils minus those in corresponding bulk soils) of microbial decomposition activities had negative linear correlations with microbial decomposition activities in corresponding bulk soils. A multiple factor analysis revealed that soil organic carbon, total nitrogen, and soil water content favored bulk soil decomposition activities in all three biomes, showing that the magnitude of REs varied along a fast-slow nutrient cycling spectrum in bulk soils. The species of fast nutrient cycling in their bulk soils tended to have smaller or even negative REs. Therefore, woody plants commonly utilize both positive and negative REs as a nutrient-acquisition strategy. Based on the trade-offs between REs and other nutrient-acquisition strategies, we proposed a push and pull conceptual model which can bring plant nutrient-acquisition cost and plant carbon economics spectrum together in the future. This model will facilitate not only the carbon and nutrient cycling but also the mechanisms of species co-existence in forest ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lijuan Sun
- Institute of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, and Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing, China.,State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-ecosystems, and College of Pastoral Agricultural Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
| | - Yuki Tsujii
- School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.,Faculty of Science, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.,Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Richmond, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Tianle Xu
- Institute of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, and Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing, China.,Center for Agricultural Resources Research, Institute of Genetic and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shijiazhuang, China
| | - Mengguang Han
- Institute of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, and Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Rui Li
- Institute of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, and Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Yunfeng Han
- Institute of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, and Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Dayong Gan
- Institute of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, and Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Biao Zhu
- Institute of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, and Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing, China
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Andresen LC, Bodé S, Björk RG, Michelsen A, Aerts R, Boeckx P, Cornelissen JHC, Klanderud K, van Logtestijn RSP, Rütting T. Patterns of free amino acids in tundra soils reflect mycorrhizal type, shrubification, and warming. MYCORRHIZA 2022; 32:305-313. [PMID: 35307782 PMCID: PMC9184409 DOI: 10.1007/s00572-022-01075-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2021] [Accepted: 03/07/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
The soil nitrogen (N) cycle in cold terrestrial ecosystems is slow and organically bound N is an important source of N for plants in these ecosystems. Many plant species can take up free amino acids from these infertile soils, either directly or indirectly via their mycorrhizal fungi. We hypothesized that plant community changes and local plant community differences will alter the soil free amino acid pool and composition; and that long-term warming could enhance this effect. To test this, we studied the composition of extractable free amino acids at five separate heath, meadow, and bog locations in subarctic and alpine Scandinavia, with long-term (13 to 24 years) warming manipulations. The plant communities all included a mixture of ecto-, ericoid-, and arbuscular mycorrhizal plant species. Vegetation dominated by grasses and forbs with arbuscular and non-mycorrhizal associations showed highest soil free amino acid content, distinguishing them from the sites dominated by shrubs with ecto- and ericoid-mycorrhizal associations. Warming increased shrub and decreased moss cover at two sites, and by using redundancy analysis, we found that altered soil free amino acid composition was related to this plant cover change. From this, we conclude that the mycorrhizal type is important in controlling soil N cycling and that expansion of shrubs with ectomycorrhiza (and to some extent ericoid mycorrhiza) can help retain N within the ecosystems by tightening the N cycle.
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Affiliation(s)
- Louise C Andresen
- Department of Earth Science, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
| | - Samuel Bodé
- Isotope Bioscience Laboratory (ISOFYS), Department of Green Chemistry and Technology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Robert G Björk
- Department of Earth Science, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
- Gothenburg Global Biodiversity Centre, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | | | - Rien Aerts
- Department of Ecological Science, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Pascal Boeckx
- Isotope Bioscience Laboratory (ISOFYS), Department of Green Chemistry and Technology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - J Hans C Cornelissen
- Department of Ecological Science, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Kari Klanderud
- Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resource Management, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Aas, Norway
| | | | - Tobias Rütting
- Department of Earth Science, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
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Meyer N, Xu Y, Karjalainen K, Adamczyk S, Biasi C, van Delden L, Martin A, Mganga K, Myller K, Sietiö OM, Suominen O, Karhu K. Living, dead, and absent trees-How do moth outbreaks shape small-scale patterns of soil organic matter stocks and dynamics at the Subarctic mountain birch treeline? GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2022; 28:441-462. [PMID: 34672044 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.15951] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2021] [Revised: 09/29/2021] [Accepted: 09/30/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Mountain birch forests (Betula pubescens Ehrh. ssp. czerepanovii) at the subarctic treeline not only benefit from global warming, but are also increasingly affected by caterpillar outbreaks from foliage-feeding geometrid moths. Both of these factors have unknown consequences on soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks and biogeochemical cycles. We measured SOC stocks down to the bedrock under living trees and under two stages of dead trees (12 and 55 years since moth outbreak) and treeless tundra in northern Finland. We also measured in-situ soil respiration, potential SOC decomposability, biological (enzyme activities and microbial biomass), and chemical (N, mineral N, and pH) soil properties. SOC stocks were significantly higher under living trees (4.1 ± 2.1 kg m²) than in the treeless tundra (2.4 ± 0.6 kg m²), and remained at an elevated level even 12 (3.7 ± 1.7 kg m²) and 55 years (4.9 ± 3.0 kg m²) after tree death. Effects of tree status on SOC stocks decreased with increasing distance from the tree and with increasing depth, that is, a significant effect of tree status was found in the organic layer, but not in mineral soil. Soil under living trees was characterized by higher mineral N contents, microbial biomass, microbial activity, and soil respiration compared with the treeless tundra; soils under dead trees were intermediate between these two. The results suggest accelerated organic matter turnover under living trees but a positive net effect on SOC stocks. Slowed organic matter turnover and continuous supply of deadwood may explain why SOC stocks remained elevated under dead trees, despite the heavy decrease in aboveground C stocks. We conclude that the increased occurrence of moth damage with climate change would have minor effects on SOC stocks, but ultimately decrease ecosystem C stocks (49% within 55 years in this area), if the mountain birch forests will not be able to recover from the outbreaks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nele Meyer
- Department of Forest Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Department of Soil Ecology, University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Yi Xu
- Department of Forest Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Katri Karjalainen
- Department of Environmental and Biological Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
| | - Sylwia Adamczyk
- Department of Forest Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Helsinki, Finland
| | - Christina Biasi
- Department of Environmental and Biological Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
| | - Lona van Delden
- Department of Environmental and Biological Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
- Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Angela Martin
- Department of Forest Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Kevin Mganga
- Department of Forest Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Department of Agricultural Sciences, South Eastern Kenya University, Kitui, Kenya
| | - Kristiina Myller
- Department of Environmental and Biological Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
| | - Outi-Maaria Sietiö
- Department of Forest Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Otso Suominen
- Biodiversity Unit, Kevo Subarctic Research Institute, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Kristiina Karhu
- Department of Forest Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Helsinki Institute of Life Science (Hilife), University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
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9
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Hicks LC, Lajtha K, Rousk J. Nutrient limitation may induce microbial mining for resources from persistent soil organic matter. Ecology 2021; 102:e03328. [DOI: 10.1002/ecy.3328] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2020] [Revised: 12/16/2020] [Accepted: 01/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Lettice C. Hicks
- Section of Microbial Ecology Department of Biology Lund University Ecology Building Lund223 62Sweden
| | - Kate Lajtha
- Department of Crop and Soil Science Oregon State University Corvallis Oregon97331USA
| | - Johannes Rousk
- Section of Microbial Ecology Department of Biology Lund University Ecology Building Lund223 62Sweden
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