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Lukina NV, Orlova MA, Steinnes E, Artemkina NA, Gorbacheva TT, Smirnov VE, Belova EA. Mass-loss rates from decomposition of plant residues in spruce forests near the northern tree line subject to strong air pollution. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2017; 24:19874-19887. [PMID: 28687995 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-017-9348-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2016] [Accepted: 05/22/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Mass-loss rates during the early phase of decomposition of plant residues were studied for a period of 3 years in Norway spruce forests subjected to air pollution by Cu-Ni smelters on the Kola Peninsula, northwest Russia. Litterbags were deployed in two main patches of forests at the northern tree line, between and below the crowns of spruce trees older than 100 years. The study results demonstrated the dependence of the decomposition rates on the initial concentrations of nutrients and the C/N and lignin/N ratios in plant residues. Lower rates of mass loss in forests subject to air pollution may be related to low quality of plant residues, i.e. high concentrations of heavy metals, low concentrations of nutrients, and high lignin/N and C/N ratios. The increased losses of Ca, Mg, K, and Mn from plant residues in these forests compared to the reference were, probably, related to leaching of their compounds from the residues. The relatively high rates of heavy metal accumulation in the residues were most likely related to uptake of pollutants from the atmosphere, as well as to the lower mass-loss rates. The present study results demonstrate that the forest patchiness should be taken into account in assessment and predictions of decomposition rates in Norway spruce forests. Mass-loss rates of plant residues below the crowns of old spruce trees were significantly lower than those in the patches between the crowns. This was explained by the high C/N and lignin/N ratios in the residues of evergreens which contribute significantly to litterfall below the crowns and by lower soil temperature during winter and spring below the crowns. In addition, a lower amount of precipitation reaching the forest floor below the dense, long crowns of old Norway spruce trees may result in considerably lower washing out of the organic compounds from the residues. Lower mass-loss rates below the crowns of old spruce trees may be part of the evidence that the old-growth spruce forests can continue to accumulate carbon in soil.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalia V Lukina
- Centre for Forest Ecology and Productivity of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Profsoyuznaya Str., 84/32, Moscow, 117997, Russia.
| | - Maria A Orlova
- Centre for Forest Ecology and Productivity of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Profsoyuznaya Str., 84/32, Moscow, 117997, Russia
| | - Eiliv Steinnes
- Department of Chemistry, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 7491, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Natalia A Artemkina
- Institute of Industrial Ecology Problems of the North, Kola Science Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Fersmana Str., 14a, Apatity, 184209, Murmansk region, Russia
| | - Tamara T Gorbacheva
- Institute of Industrial Ecology Problems of the North, Kola Science Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Fersmana Str., 14a, Apatity, 184209, Murmansk region, Russia
| | - Vadim E Smirnov
- Centre for Forest Ecology and Productivity of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Profsoyuznaya Str., 84/32, Moscow, 117997, Russia
- Institute of Mathematical Problems of Biology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Institutskaya Str., 4, Pushchino, 142290, Moscow region, Russia
| | - Elena A Belova
- Institute of Industrial Ecology Problems of the North, Kola Science Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Fersmana Str., 14a, Apatity, 184209, Murmansk region, Russia
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Newsham KK, Ineson P, Boddy L, Frankland JC. Effects of dry-deposited sulphur dioxide on fungal decomposition of angiosperm tree leaf litter II. Chemical content of leaf litters. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 1992; 122:111-125. [PMID: 33874039 DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-8137.1992.tb00058.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Ash (Fraxinus excelsior L.), birch (Betula spp.), hazel (Corylus avellana L.), sessile oak [Quercus petraea (Mattuschka) Liebl.] and sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus L.) leaf litters from a non-polluted and a heavily sulphur dioxide (SO2 )-polluted woodland were fumigated with environmentally-realistic concentrations (0.010-0.030 μl l-1 ) of SO2 for 16-68 wk in an open-air field-fumigation experiment. Fumigation markedly increased sulphate and protons in leachates from the litters and decreased calcium and magnesium contents of the leaves. However, there were few differences in the responses between leaf litters from the two woodlands. This was attributed to rapid sulphate wash-out from the litters from the heavily polluted woodland, so that the litters from the two sites quickly reached the same sulphate status.
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Affiliation(s)
- K K Newsham
- School of Pure and Applied Biology, University of Wales, College of Cardiff, Cardiff CF1 3TL, UK
| | - P Ineson
- Institute of Terrestrial Ecology, Merlewood Research Station, Grange-over-Sands, Cumbria, LA11 6JU, UK
| | - Lynne Boddy
- School of Pure and Applied Biology, University of Wales, College of Cardiff, Cardiff CF1 3TL, UK
| | - Juliet C Frankland
- Institute of Terrestrial Ecology, Merlewood Research Station, Grange-over-Sands, Cumbria, LA11 6JU, UK
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Newsham KK, Frankland JC, Boddy L, Ineson P. Effects of dry-deposited sulphur dioxide on fungal decomposition of angiosperm tree leaf litter I. Changes in communities of fungal saprotrophs. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 1992; 122:97-110. [PMID: 33874046 DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-8137.1992.tb00057.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Comparisons of the saprotrophic fungi isolated from ash (Fraxinus excelsior L.), birch (Betula spp.), hazel (Corylus avellana L.), pedunculate oak (Quercus robur L.), sessile oak [Q. petraea (Mattuschka) Liebl.] and sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus L.) leaf litters from three woodlands exposed to low, medium and high levels (c. 0.0→ 0.060μl l-1 ) of sulphur dioxide (SO2 ) showed that the composition of the fungal communities differed between sites. Fumigation of angiosperm tree leaf litters from the least and the most polluted site with environmentally-realistic concentrations (0.010-0.030 μl1 ) of SO2 for 16-68 wk in an open-air field-fumigation experiment resulted in marked changes in the composition of the fungal communities in the leaf litters, comparable with differences found between the woodland sites. Cladosporium spp., Epicoccutn nigrum Link, Fitsarium spp. and Phoma exigua Desm. were less commonly isolated from leaf litters exposed to SO2 , whereas Coniothyrium quercinum Sacc. var. glandicola Grove, Cylindrocarpon orthosporum (Sacc.) Wollenw. and Penicillium spp. were more frequently isolated from fumigated litters. However, few differences could be detected in the response to SO2 of the mycofloras of leaf litters originating from different woodland sites. In general, SO2 did not affect the total extent of fungal occupancy of the microsites in the litter, as fungal species which decreased in abundance on exposure to the gas appeared to be replaced in the litter by other species more tolerant to the gas. SO2 therefore appeared to be selectively toxic to saprotrophic fungi isolated from these litters.
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Affiliation(s)
- K K Newsham
- School of Pure and Applied Biology, University of Wales, College of Cardiff, Cardiff CF1 3TL, UK
| | - Juliet C Frankland
- Institute of Terrestrial Ecology, Merlewood Research Station, Grange-over-Sands, Cumbria, LA11 6JU, UK
| | - Lynne Boddy
- School of Pure and Applied Biology, University of Wales, College of Cardiff, Cardiff CF1 3TL, UK
| | - P Ineson
- Institute of Terrestrial Ecology, Merlewood Research Station, Grange-over-Sands, Cumbria, LA11 6JU, UK
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