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Manu R, Veldkamp E, Eryenyu D, Corre MD, van Straaten O. Nitrogen and potassium limit fine root growth in a humid Afrotropical forest. Sci Rep 2024; 14:13154. [PMID: 38849444 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-63684-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2024] [Accepted: 05/31/2024] [Indexed: 06/09/2024] Open
Abstract
Nutrient limitations play a key regulatory role in plant growth, thereby affecting ecosystem productivity and carbon uptake. Experimental observations identifying the most limiting nutrients are lacking, particularly in Afrotropical forests. We conducted an ecosystem-scale, full factorial nitrogen (N)-phosphorus (P)-potassium (K) addition experiment consisting 32 40 × 40 m plots (eight treatments × four replicates) in Uganda to investigate which (if any) nutrient limits fine root growth. After two years of observations, added N rapidly decreased fine root biomass by up to 36% in the first and second years of the experiment. Added K decreased fine root biomass by 27% and fine root production by 30% in the second year. These rapid reductions in fine root growth highlight a scaled-back carbon investment in the costly maintenance of large fine root network as N and K limitations become alleviated. No fine root growth response to P addition was observed. Fine root turnover rate was not significantly affected by nutrient additions but tended to be higher in N added than non-N added treatments. These results suggest that N and K availability may restrict the ecosystem's capacity for CO2 assimilation, with implications for ecosystem productivity and resilience to climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raphael Manu
- Department of Soil Science of Tropical and Subtropical Ecosystems, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.
| | - Edzo Veldkamp
- Department of Soil Science of Tropical and Subtropical Ecosystems, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - David Eryenyu
- Budongo Conservation Field Station, Masindi, Uganda
- Department of Green Chemistry and Technology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
- Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (Edinburgh Zoo), Edinburgh, Scotland
| | - Marife D Corre
- Department of Soil Science of Tropical and Subtropical Ecosystems, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
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Qu T, Zhao X, Yan S, Liu Y, Ameer MJ, Zhao L. Interruption after Short-Term Nitrogen Additions Improves Ecological Stability of Larix olgensis Forest Soil by Affecting Bacterial Communities. Microorganisms 2024; 12:969. [PMID: 38792798 PMCID: PMC11123698 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms12050969] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2024] [Revised: 05/05/2024] [Accepted: 05/09/2024] [Indexed: 05/26/2024] Open
Abstract
Atmospheric nitrogen deposition can alter soil microbial communities and further impact the structure and function of forest ecosystems. However, most studies are focused on positive or negative effects after nitrogen addition, and few studies pay attention to its interruption. In order to investigate whether interruption after different levels of short-term N additions still benefit soil health, we conducted a 2-year interruption after a 4-year short-term nitrogen addition (10 and 20 kg N·hm-2·yr-1) experiment; then, we compared soil microbial diversity and structure and analyzed soil physicochemical properties and their correlations before and after the interruption in Larix olgensis forest soil in northeast China. The results showed that soil ecological stabilization of Larix olgensis forest further improved after the interruption compared to pre-interruption. The TN, C:P, N:P, and C:N:P ratios increased significantly regardless of the previous nitrogen addition concentration, and soil nutrient cycling was further promoted. The relative abundance of the original beneficial microbial taxa Gemmatimonas, Sphingomonas, and Pseudolabrys increased; new beneficial bacteria Ellin6067, Massilia, Solirubrobacter, and Bradyrhizobium appeared, and the species of beneficial soil microorganisms were further improved. The results of this study elucidated the dynamics of the bacterial community before and after the interruption of short-term nitrogen addition and could provide data support and a reference basis for forest ecosystem restoration strategies and management under the background of global nitrogen deposition.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | - Lei Zhao
- College of Forestry and Grassland, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun 130118, China; (T.Q.); (X.Z.); (S.Y.); (Y.L.); (M.J.A.)
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3
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Liu B, Zhang C, Deng J, Zhang B, Chen F, Chen W, Fang X, Li J, Zu K, Bu W. Response of tree growth to nutrient addition is size dependent in a subtropical forest. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 923:171501. [PMID: 38447724 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.171501] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2023] [Revised: 03/03/2024] [Accepted: 03/03/2024] [Indexed: 03/08/2024]
Abstract
Understanding how nutrient addition affects the tree growth is critical for assessing forest ecosystem function and processes, especially in the context of increased nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) deposition. Subtropical forests are often considered N-rich and P-poor ecosystems, but few existing studies follow the traditional "P limitation" paradigm, possibly due to differences in nutrient requirements among trees of different size classes. We conducted a three-year fertilization experiment with four treatments (Control, N-treatment, P-treatment, and NP-treatment). We measured soil nutrient availability, leaf stoichiometry, and relative growth rate (RGR) of trees across three size classes (small, medium and large) in 64 plots. We found that N and NP-treatments increased the RGR of large trees. P-treatment increased the RGR of small trees. RGR was mainly affected by N addition, the total effect of P addition was only 10 % of that of N addition. The effect of nutrient addition on RGR was mainly regulated by leaf stoichiometry. This study reveals that nutrient limitation is size dependent, indicating that continuous unbalanced N and P deposition will inhibit the growth of small trees and increase the instability of subtropical forest stand structure, but may improve the carbon sink function of large trees.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bin Liu
- Key Laboratory of State Forestry Administration on Forest Ecosystem Protection and Restoration of Poyang Lake Watershed, Jiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Conservation Biology, College of Forestry, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China; Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Environment of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Ecology and Nature Conservation Institute, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing 100091, China
| | - Cancan Zhang
- Key Laboratory of State Forestry Administration on Forest Ecosystem Protection and Restoration of Poyang Lake Watershed, Jiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Conservation Biology, College of Forestry, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China; Jiulianshan National Observation and Research Station of Chinese Forest Ecosystem, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China
| | - Jun Deng
- Administration of Jiulianshan National Nature Reserve, Ganzhou 341799, China
| | - Bowen Zhang
- Administration of Jiulianshan National Nature Reserve, Ganzhou 341799, China
| | - Fusheng Chen
- Key Laboratory of State Forestry Administration on Forest Ecosystem Protection and Restoration of Poyang Lake Watershed, Jiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Conservation Biology, College of Forestry, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China; Jiulianshan National Observation and Research Station of Chinese Forest Ecosystem, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China
| | - Wei Chen
- Administration of Jiulianshan National Nature Reserve, Ganzhou 341799, China
| | - Xiangmin Fang
- Key Laboratory of State Forestry Administration on Forest Ecosystem Protection and Restoration of Poyang Lake Watershed, Jiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Conservation Biology, College of Forestry, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China
| | - Jianjun Li
- Key Laboratory of State Forestry Administration on Forest Ecosystem Protection and Restoration of Poyang Lake Watershed, Jiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Conservation Biology, College of Forestry, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China
| | - Kuiling Zu
- Key Laboratory of State Forestry Administration on Forest Ecosystem Protection and Restoration of Poyang Lake Watershed, Jiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Conservation Biology, College of Forestry, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China
| | - Wensheng Bu
- Key Laboratory of State Forestry Administration on Forest Ecosystem Protection and Restoration of Poyang Lake Watershed, Jiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Conservation Biology, College of Forestry, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China; Jiulianshan National Observation and Research Station of Chinese Forest Ecosystem, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China.
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Elrys AS, Desoky ESM, Zhu Q, Liu L, Yun-Xing W, Wang C, Shuirong T, Yanzheng W, Meng L, Zhang J, Müller C. Climate controls on nitrate dynamics and gross nitrogen cycling response to nitrogen deposition in global forest soils. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 920:171006. [PMID: 38369137 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.171006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2023] [Revised: 02/06/2024] [Accepted: 02/13/2024] [Indexed: 02/20/2024]
Abstract
Understanding the patterns and controls regulating nitrogen (N) transformation and its response to N enrichment is critical to re-evaluating soil N limitation or availability and its environmental consequences. Nevertheless, how climatic conditions affect nitrate dynamics and the response of gross N cycling rates to N enrichment in forest soils is still only rudimentarily known. Through collecting and analyzing 4426-single and 769-paired observations from 231 15N labeling studies, we found that nitrification capacity [the ratio of gross autotrophic nitrification (GAN) to gross N mineralization (GNM)] was significantly lower in tropical/subtropical (19%) than in temperate (68%) forest soils, mainly due to the higher GNM and lower GAN in tropical/subtropical regions resulting from low C/N ratio and high precipitation, respectively. However, nitrate retention capacity [the ratio of dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA) plus gross nitrate immobilization (INO3) to gross nitrification] was significantly higher in tropical/subtropical (86%) than in temperate (54%) forest soils, mainly due to the higher precipitation and GNM of tropical/subtropical regions, which stimulated DNRA and INO3. As a result, the ratio of GAN to ammonium immobilization (INH4) was significantly higher in temperate than in tropical/subtropical soils. Climatic rather than edaphic factors control heterotrophic nitrification rate (GHN) in forest soils. GHN significantly increased with increasing temperature in temperate regions and with decreasing precipitation in tropical/subtropical regions. In temperate forest soils, gross N transformation rates were insensitive to N enrichment. In tropical/subtropical forests, however, N enrichment significantly stimulated GNM, GAN and GAN to INH4 ratio, but inhibited INH4 and INO3 due to reduced microbial biomass and pH. We propose that temperate forest soils have higher nitrification capacity and lower nitrate retention capacity, implying a higher potential risk of N losses. However, tropical/subtropical forest systems shift from a conservative to a leaky N-cycling system in response to N enrichment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ahmed S Elrys
- School of Breeding and Multiplication (Sanya Institute of Breeding and Multiplication), Hainan University, Sanya 572025, China; College of Tropical Crops, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China; Soil Science Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Zagazig University, Zagazig 44511, Egypt; Liebig Centre for Agroecology and Climate Impact Research, Justus Liebig University, Germany
| | - El-Sayed M Desoky
- Botany Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Zagazig University, Zagazig 44511, Egypt
| | - Qilin Zhu
- College of Tropical Crops, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China
| | - Lijun Liu
- College of Tropical Crops, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China
| | - Wan Yun-Xing
- College of Tropical Crops, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China
| | - Chengzhi Wang
- College of Tropical Crops, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China
| | - Tang Shuirong
- School of Breeding and Multiplication (Sanya Institute of Breeding and Multiplication), Hainan University, Sanya 572025, China; College of Tropical Crops, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China
| | - Wu Yanzheng
- College of Tropical Crops, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China
| | - Lei Meng
- School of Breeding and Multiplication (Sanya Institute of Breeding and Multiplication), Hainan University, Sanya 572025, China; College of Tropical Crops, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China.
| | - Jinbo Zhang
- School of Breeding and Multiplication (Sanya Institute of Breeding and Multiplication), Hainan University, Sanya 572025, China; College of Tropical Crops, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China; Liebig Centre for Agroecology and Climate Impact Research, Justus Liebig University, Germany; School of Geography, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210023, China.
| | - Christoph Müller
- Liebig Centre for Agroecology and Climate Impact Research, Justus Liebig University, Germany; Institute of Plant Ecology, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Heinrich-Buff-Ring 26, 35392 Giessen, Germany; School of Biology and Environmental Science and Earth Institute, University College Dublin 4, Ireland
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Prohaska A, Seddon AWR, Rach O, Smith A, Sachse D, Willis KJ. Long-term ecological responses of a lowland dipterocarp forest to climate changes and nutrient availability. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2023; 240:2513-2529. [PMID: 37604200 DOI: 10.1111/nph.19169] [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: 12/05/2022] [Accepted: 06/16/2023] [Indexed: 08/23/2023]
Abstract
Understanding the long-term impact of projected climate change on tropical rainforests is critical given their central role in the Earth's system. Palaeoecological records can provide a valuable perspective on this problem. Here, we examine the effects of past climatic changes on the dominant forest type of Southeast Asia - lowland dipterocarp forest. We use a range of proxies extracted from a 1400-yr-old lacustrine sedimentary sequence from north-eastern Philippines to determine long-term vegetation responses of lowland dipterocarp forest, including its dominant tree group dipterocarps, to changes in precipitation, fire and nutrient availability over time. Our results show a positive relationship between dipterocarp pollen accumulation rates (PARs) and leaf wax hydrogen isotope values, which suggests a negative effect of drier conditions on dipterocarp abundance. Furthermore, we find a positive relationship between dipterocarp PARs and the proxy for phosphorus availability, which suggests phosphorus controls the productivity of these keystone trees on longer time scales. Other pollen taxa show widely varying relationships with the abiotic factors, demonstrating a high diversity of plant functional responses. Our findings provide novel insights into lowland dipterocarp forest responses to changing climatic conditions in the past and highlight potential impacts of future climate change on this globally important ecosystem.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Prohaska
- Department of Biology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3RB, UK
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing St, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ, UK
| | - Alistair W R Seddon
- Department of Biology, University of Bergen, Bergen, NO-5020, Norway
- Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research, University of Bergen, Bergen, NO-5020, Norway
| | - Oliver Rach
- Section 4.6: Geomorphology, Organic Surface Geochemistry Lab, Centre for Geosciences, GFZ-German Research, Telegrafenberg, Potsdam, 14473, Germany
| | - Andrew Smith
- National Environmental Isotope Facility, British Geological Survey, Keyworth, Nottingham, NG12 5GG, UK
| | - Dirk Sachse
- Section 4.6: Geomorphology, Organic Surface Geochemistry Lab, Centre for Geosciences, GFZ-German Research, Telegrafenberg, Potsdam, 14473, Germany
| | - Katherine J Willis
- Department of Biology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3RB, UK
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Zhao C, Lin Q, Tian D, Ji C, Shen H, Fan D, Wang X, Fang J. Nitrogen addition promotes conservative resource-use strategies via aggravating phosphorus limitation of evergreen trees in subtropical forest. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 889:164047. [PMID: 37187388 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.164047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2023] [Revised: 05/05/2023] [Accepted: 05/06/2023] [Indexed: 05/17/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Changti Zhao
- The Key Laboratory for Silviculture and Conservation of Ministry of Education, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China.
| | - Quanhong Lin
- The Key Laboratory for Silviculture and Conservation of Ministry of Education, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China.
| | - Di Tian
- The Key Laboratory for Silviculture and Conservation of Ministry of Education, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China.
| | - Chengjun Ji
- Institute of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
| | - Haihua Shen
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China.
| | - Dayong Fan
- The Key Laboratory for Silviculture and Conservation of Ministry of Education, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China.
| | - Xiangping Wang
- The Key Laboratory for Silviculture and Conservation of Ministry of Education, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China.
| | - Jingyun Fang
- Institute of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
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Toro L, Pereira‐Arias D, Perez‐Aviles D, Vargas G. G, Soper FM, Gutknecht J, Powers JS. Phosphorus limitation of early growth differs between nitrogen-fixing and nonfixing dry tropical forest tree species. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2023; 237:766-779. [PMID: 36352518 PMCID: PMC10107181 DOI: 10.1111/nph.18612] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2022] [Accepted: 09/18/2022] [Indexed: 05/29/2023]
Abstract
Tropical forests are often characterized by low soil phosphorus (P) availability, suggesting that P limits plant performance. However, how seedlings from different functional types respond to soil P availability is poorly known but important for understanding and modeling forest dynamics under changing environmental conditions. We grew four nitrogen (N)-fixing Fabaceae and seven diverse non-N-fixing tropical dry forest tree species in a shade house under three P fertilization treatments and evaluated carbon (C) allocation responses, P demand, P-use, investment in P acquisition traits, and correlations among P acquisition traits. Nitrogen fixers grew larger with increasing P addition in contrast to non-N fixers, which showed fewer responses in C allocation and P use. Foliar P increased with P addition for both functional types, while P acquisition strategies did not vary among treatments but differed between functional types, with N fixers showing higher root phosphatase activity (RPA) than nonfixers. Growth responses suggest that N fixers are limited by P, but nonfixers may be limited by other resources. However, regardless of limitation, P acquisition traits such as mycorrhizal colonization and RPA were nonplastic across a steep P gradient. Differential limitation among plant functional types has implications for forest succession and earth system models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Toro
- Department of Plant and Microbial BiologyUniversity of MinnesotaSt PaulMN55108USA
| | | | - Daniel Perez‐Aviles
- Department of Plant and Microbial BiologyUniversity of MinnesotaSt PaulMN55108USA
| | - German Vargas G.
- Department of Plant and Microbial BiologyUniversity of MinnesotaSt PaulMN55108USA
- School of Biological SciencesThe University of UtahSalt Lake CityUT84112USA
| | - Fiona M. Soper
- Department of Biology and Bieler School of EnvironmentMcGill UniversityMontréalQCH3A 1B1Canada
| | - Jessica Gutknecht
- Department of Soil, Water, and ClimateUniversity of MinnesotaSt PaulMN55108USA
| | - Jennifer S. Powers
- Department of Plant and Microbial BiologyUniversity of MinnesotaSt PaulMN55108USA
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and BehaviorUniversity of MinnesotaSt PaulMN55108USA
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Song Y, Jin G. Do Tree Size and Tree Shade Tolerance Affect the Photosynthetic Capacity of Broad-Leaved Tree Species? PLANTS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2023; 12:523. [PMID: 36771608 PMCID: PMC9921863 DOI: 10.3390/plants12030523] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2022] [Revised: 01/15/2023] [Accepted: 01/20/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
(1) Background: leaf structure traits are closely related to leaf photosynthesis, reflecting the ability of trees to obtain external resources in the process of growth. (2) Methods: We studied the morphological, chemical, anatomical, stomatal traits and maximum net photosynthetic rate of six broad-leaf species in northern temperate mixed broad-leaved Korean pine (Pinus koraiensis) forest. (3) Aim: To investigate whether there are differences in leaf structural traits of trees with different shade tolerances and different sizes and the effects of these differences on leaf photosynthetic capacity. (4) Results: the effects of leaf structure traits on leaf photosynthesis were different among trees with different shade tolerances or different sizes. Under the condition of light saturation, the net photosynthetic rate, nitrogen use efficiency, phosphorus use efficiency and stomatal conductance of shade-intolerant trees or small trees were higher than those of shade-tolerant trees or large trees. (5) Conclusions: the shade tolerance of tree species or the size of trees affect the traits of leaf structure and indirectly affect the photosynthetic ability of plants. When constructing the leaf trait-photosynthesis model, the shade tolerance and tree size of tree species should be taken into account.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuhan Song
- Center for Ecological Research, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China
| | - Guangze Jin
- Center for Ecological Research, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China
- Key Laboratory of Sustainable Forest Ecosystem Management-Ministry of Education, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China
- Northeast Asia Biodiversity Research Center, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China
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Ji L, Wei L, Zhang L, Li Y, Tian Y, Liu K, Ren H. Effects of Simulated Nitrogen Deposition and Micro-Environment on the Functional Traits of Two Rare and Endangered Fern Species in a Subtropical Forest. PLANTS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2022; 11:3320. [PMID: 36501359 PMCID: PMC9740810 DOI: 10.3390/plants11233320] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2022] [Revised: 11/14/2022] [Accepted: 11/24/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Although the effects of N deposition on forest plants have been widely reported, few studies have focused on rare and endangered fern species (REFs). Information is also lacking on the effects of micro-environments on REFs. We investigated the effects of N addition (canopy and understory N addition, CAN, and UAN) and micro-environments (soil and canopy conditions) on the functional traits (growth, defense, and reproduction; 19 traits in total) of two REFs-Alsophila podophylla and Cibotium baromet-in a subtropical forest in South China. We found that, compared to controls, CAN or UAN decreased the growth traits (e.g., plant height, H) of C. baromet, increased its defense traits (e.g., leaf organic acid concentrations, OA), delayed its reproductive event (all-spore release date), and prolonged its reproductive duration. In contrast, A. podophylla showed increased growth traits (e.g., H), decreased defense traits (e.g., OA), and advanced reproductive events (e.g., the all-spore emergence date) under CAN or UAN. Meanwhile, the negative effects on the C. baromet growth traits and A. podophylla defense traits were stronger for CAN than for UAN. In addition, the soil chemical properties always explained more of the variations in the growth and reproductive traits of the two REFs than the N addition. Our study indicates that, under simulated N deposition, C. baromet increases its investment in defense, whereas A. podophylla increases its investment in growth and reproduction; this may cause an increasing A. podophylla population and decreasing C. baromet population in subtropical forests. Our study also highlights the importance of considering micro-environments and the N-addition approach when predicting N deposition impact on subtropical forest REFs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lingbo Ji
- CAS Engineering Laboratory for Vegetation Ecosystem Restoration on Islands and Coastal Zones, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Liping Wei
- CAS Engineering Laboratory for Vegetation Ecosystem Restoration on Islands and Coastal Zones, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China
| | - Lingling Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China
| | - Yuanqiu Li
- Shimentai National Natural Reserve, Yingde 513000, China
| | - Yang Tian
- CAS Engineering Laboratory for Vegetation Ecosystem Restoration on Islands and Coastal Zones, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China
| | - Ke Liu
- CAS Engineering Laboratory for Vegetation Ecosystem Restoration on Islands and Coastal Zones, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Hai Ren
- CAS Engineering Laboratory for Vegetation Ecosystem Restoration on Islands and Coastal Zones, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China
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Qiu Y, Zhang Y, Lan P, Liu H, Wang H, Wang W, Zhao P, Li Y. Influence of Atmospheric Phosphorus and Nitrogen Sedimentation on Water Quality in the Middle Route Project of the South-to-North Water Diversion in Henan Province. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2022; 19:14346. [PMID: 36361219 PMCID: PMC9655910 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph192114346] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2022] [Revised: 10/21/2022] [Accepted: 10/25/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
In order to understand the potential effects of atmospheric nitrogen and phosphorus deposition on the water quality of the Middle Route Project of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project, samples of dry and wet deposition of atmospheric nitrogen and phosphorus, meteorological factors, and water quality factors were analyzed out to investigate in the Middle Route Project of the South-to-North Water Diversion in Henan Province from October 2018 to October 2020. The variation characteristics of atmospheric nitrogen and phosphorus deposition with time in the Henan section of the main canal are revealed, and the influence of atmospheric dry and wet deposition on the water quality of the middle line is discussed. It was found that the total nitrogen (TN) sedimentation flux has obvious seasonal variation, which was consistent with the variation trend of rainfall, and increased with the increase of rainfall. Nitrogen and phosphorus deposition was significantly correlated with water factors. The effects of meteorological factors and nitrogen and phosphorus deposition on water quality variation reached 18%. The contribution rate and ecological impact of atmospheric nitrogen and phosphorus deposition on water pollution of main channels will be increasing, which needs to be paid enough attention to.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yunlin Qiu
- College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266100, China
| | - Yun Zhang
- International Joint Laboratory of Watershed Ecological Security and Collaborative Innovation Center of Water Security for Water Source Region of Middle Route Project of South-North Water Diversion in Henan Province, College of Water Resource and Environment Engineering, Nanyang Normal University, Nanyang 473061, China
| | - Pengcheng Lan
- Nanyang Management Office of Qushou Filiale of Middle Route Project of South-North Water Division, Nanyang 473013, China
| | - Han Liu
- International Joint Laboratory of Watershed Ecological Security and Collaborative Innovation Center of Water Security for Water Source Region of Middle Route Project of South-North Water Diversion in Henan Province, College of Water Resource and Environment Engineering, Nanyang Normal University, Nanyang 473061, China
| | - Hongtian Wang
- International Joint Laboratory of Watershed Ecological Security and Collaborative Innovation Center of Water Security for Water Source Region of Middle Route Project of South-North Water Diversion in Henan Province, College of Water Resource and Environment Engineering, Nanyang Normal University, Nanyang 473061, China
| | - Wanping Wang
- International Joint Laboratory of Watershed Ecological Security and Collaborative Innovation Center of Water Security for Water Source Region of Middle Route Project of South-North Water Diversion in Henan Province, College of Water Resource and Environment Engineering, Nanyang Normal University, Nanyang 473061, China
| | - Peng Zhao
- International Joint Laboratory of Watershed Ecological Security and Collaborative Innovation Center of Water Security for Water Source Region of Middle Route Project of South-North Water Diversion in Henan Province, College of Water Resource and Environment Engineering, Nanyang Normal University, Nanyang 473061, China
| | - Yuying Li
- International Joint Laboratory of Watershed Ecological Security and Collaborative Innovation Center of Water Security for Water Source Region of Middle Route Project of South-North Water Diversion in Henan Province, College of Water Resource and Environment Engineering, Nanyang Normal University, Nanyang 473061, China
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11
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Cunha HFV, Andersen KM, Lugli LF, Santana FD, Aleixo IF, Moraes AM, Garcia S, Di Ponzio R, Mendoza EO, Brum B, Rosa JS, Cordeiro AL, Portela BTT, Ribeiro G, Coelho SD, de Souza ST, Silva LS, Antonieto F, Pires M, Salomão AC, Miron AC, de Assis RL, Domingues TF, Aragão LEOC, Meir P, Camargo JL, Manzi AO, Nagy L, Mercado LM, Hartley IP, Quesada CA. Direct evidence for phosphorus limitation on Amazon forest productivity. Nature 2022; 608:558-562. [PMID: 35948632 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-05085-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2021] [Accepted: 07/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
The productivity of rainforests growing on highly weathered tropical soils is expected to be limited by phosphorus availability1. Yet, controlled fertilization experiments have been unable to demonstrate a dominant role for phosphorus in controlling tropical forest net primary productivity. Recent syntheses have demonstrated that responses to nitrogen addition are as large as to phosphorus2, and adaptations to low phosphorus availability appear to enable net primary productivity to be maintained across major soil phosphorus gradients3. Thus, the extent to which phosphorus availability limits tropical forest productivity is highly uncertain. The majority of the Amazonia, however, is characterized by soils that are more depleted in phosphorus than those in which most tropical fertilization experiments have taken place2. Thus, we established a phosphorus, nitrogen and base cation addition experiment in an old growth Amazon rainforest, with a low soil phosphorus content that is representative of approximately 60% of the Amazon basin. Here we show that net primary productivity increased exclusively with phosphorus addition. After 2 years, strong responses were observed in fine root (+29%) and canopy productivity (+19%), but not stem growth. The direct evidence of phosphorus limitation of net primary productivity suggests that phosphorus availability may restrict Amazon forest responses to CO2 fertilization4, with major implications for future carbon sequestration and forest resilience to climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Kelly M Andersen
- Asian School of the Environment, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore.,Geography, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Laynara Figueiredo Lugli
- Coordination of Environmental Dynamics, National Institute for Amazonian Research, Manaus, Brazil.,TUM School of Life Sciences, Technical University of Munich, Freising, Germany
| | - Flavia Delgado Santana
- Coordination of Environmental Dynamics, National Institute for Amazonian Research, Manaus, Brazil
| | - Izabela Fonseca Aleixo
- Coordination of Environmental Dynamics, National Institute for Amazonian Research, Manaus, Brazil
| | - Anna Martins Moraes
- Coordination of Environmental Dynamics, National Institute for Amazonian Research, Manaus, Brazil
| | - Sabrina Garcia
- Coordination of Environmental Dynamics, National Institute for Amazonian Research, Manaus, Brazil
| | - Raffaello Di Ponzio
- Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragment Project, National Institute for Amazonian Research, Manaus, Brazil
| | - Erick Oblitas Mendoza
- Coordination of Environmental Dynamics, National Institute for Amazonian Research, Manaus, Brazil
| | - Bárbara Brum
- Coordination of Environmental Dynamics, National Institute for Amazonian Research, Manaus, Brazil
| | - Jéssica Schmeisk Rosa
- Coordination of Environmental Dynamics, National Institute for Amazonian Research, Manaus, Brazil
| | | | | | - Gyovanni Ribeiro
- Coordination of Environmental Dynamics, National Institute for Amazonian Research, Manaus, Brazil
| | - Sara Deambrozi Coelho
- Coordination of Environmental Dynamics, National Institute for Amazonian Research, Manaus, Brazil
| | | | - Lara Siebert Silva
- Coordination of Environmental Dynamics, National Institute for Amazonian Research, Manaus, Brazil
| | - Felipe Antonieto
- Coordination of Environmental Dynamics, National Institute for Amazonian Research, Manaus, Brazil
| | - Maria Pires
- Coordination of Environmental Dynamics, National Institute for Amazonian Research, Manaus, Brazil
| | - Ana Cláudia Salomão
- Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragment Project, National Institute for Amazonian Research, Manaus, Brazil
| | - Ana Caroline Miron
- Coordination of Environmental Dynamics, National Institute for Amazonian Research, Manaus, Brazil.,Department of Biology, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Rafael L de Assis
- Coordination of Environmental Dynamics, National Institute for Amazonian Research, Manaus, Brazil.,Natural History Museum, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Tomas F Domingues
- Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciência e Letras de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Luiz E O C Aragão
- Geography, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK.,National Institute for Space Research, São Jose dos Campos, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Patrick Meir
- School of Geosciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.,Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
| | - José Luis Camargo
- Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragment Project, National Institute for Amazonian Research, Manaus, Brazil
| | - Antonio Ocimar Manzi
- Coordination of Environmental Dynamics, National Institute for Amazonian Research, Manaus, Brazil.,National Institute for Space Research, São Jose dos Campos, São Paulo, Brazil
| | | | - Lina M Mercado
- Geography, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK.,UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Wallingford, UK
| | - Iain P Hartley
- Geography, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Carlos Alberto Quesada
- Coordination of Environmental Dynamics, National Institute for Amazonian Research, Manaus, Brazil
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12
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Yu S, Sayer EJ, Li Z, Mo Q, Wang M, Li Y, Li Y, Xu G, Hu Z, Wang F. Delayed wet season increases soil net N mineralization in a seasonally dry tropical forest. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 823:153314. [PMID: 35124037 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.153314] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2021] [Revised: 01/02/2022] [Accepted: 01/17/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Seasonal precipitation regime plays a vital role in regulating nutrient dynamics in seasonally dry tropical forests. Present evidence suggests that not only wet season precipitation is increasing in the tropics of South China, but also that the wet season is occurring later. However, it is unclear how nutrient dynamics will respond to the projected precipitation regime changes. We assessed the impacts of altered seasonal precipitation on soil net N mineralization in a secondary tropical forest. Since 2013, by reducing throughfall and/or irrigating experimental plots, we delayed the wet season by two months from April-September to June-November (DW treatment) or increased annual precipitation by 25% in July and August (WW treatment). We measured soil net N mineralization rates and assessed soil microbial communities in January, April, August and November in 2015 and 2017. We found that a wetter wet season did not significantly affect soil microbes or net N mineralization rates, even in the mid-wet season (August) when soil water content in the WW treatment increased significantly. By contrast, a delayed wet season enhanced soil microbial biomass and altered microbial community structure, resulting in a two-fold increase in net N mineralization rates relative to controls in the early dry season (November). Structural equation modeling showed that the changes in net N mineralization during the early dry season were associated with altered soil microbial communities, dissolved organic N, and litterfall, which were all affected by enhanced soil water content. Our findings suggest that a delayed wet season could have a greater impact on N dynamics than increased precipitation during the wet season. Changes in the seasonal timing of rainfall might therefore influence the functioning of seasonally dry tropical forests.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shiqin Yu
- School of Geography and Remote Sensing, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, PR China; Xiaoliang Research Station of Tropical Coastal Ecosystems, Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems, and the CAS engineering Laboratory for Ecological Restoration of Island and Coastal Ecosystems, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, PR China; Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou), Guangzhou 511458, PR China
| | - Emma J Sayer
- Lancaster Environment Center, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YQ, UK; Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Ancon, Panama City, Panama
| | - Zhian Li
- Xiaoliang Research Station of Tropical Coastal Ecosystems, Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems, and the CAS engineering Laboratory for Ecological Restoration of Island and Coastal Ecosystems, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, PR China; Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou), Guangzhou 511458, PR China
| | - Qifeng Mo
- College of Forestry and Landscape Architecture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, PR China
| | - Mei Wang
- School of Geographic Sciences, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China
| | - Yingwen Li
- Xiaoliang Research Station of Tropical Coastal Ecosystems, Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems, and the CAS engineering Laboratory for Ecological Restoration of Island and Coastal Ecosystems, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, PR China
| | - Yongxing Li
- Xiaoliang Research Station of Tropical Coastal Ecosystems, Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems, and the CAS engineering Laboratory for Ecological Restoration of Island and Coastal Ecosystems, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, PR China
| | - Guoliang Xu
- School of Geography and Remote Sensing, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, PR China
| | - Zhongmin Hu
- College of Ecology and Environment, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China
| | - Faming Wang
- Xiaoliang Research Station of Tropical Coastal Ecosystems, Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems, and the CAS engineering Laboratory for Ecological Restoration of Island and Coastal Ecosystems, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, PR China; Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou), Guangzhou 511458, PR China.
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13
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Jian Z, Ni Y, Lei L, Xu J, Xiao W, Zeng L. Phosphorus is the key soil indicator controlling productivity in planted Masson pine forests across subtropical China. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 822:153525. [PMID: 35104531 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.153525] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2021] [Revised: 01/14/2022] [Accepted: 01/25/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Soil physiochemical properties are critical to understanding forest productivity and carbon (C) finance schemes in terrestrial ecosystems. However, few studies have focused on the effects of the soil physiochemical properties on the productivity in planted forests. This study was therefore conducted at 113 sampling plots located in planted Masson pine forests across subtropical China to test what and how the aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) would be explained by the soil physiochemical properties, stand attributes, and functional traits using regression analysis and structural equation modelling (SEM). Across subtropical China, the ANPP ranged from 1.79 to 14.04 Mg ha-1 year-1 among the plots, with an average value of 6.05 Mg ha-1 year-1. The variations in ANPP were positively related to the stand density, root phosphorus (P) content and soil total P content but were negatively related to the stand age, root C:P and N:P ratios. Among these factors, the combined effects of stand density, stand age and soil total P content explained 35% of the ANPP variations. The SEM results showed the indirect effect of the soil total P content via the root P content and C:P ratio on the ANPP and indirect effects of other soil properties (e.g., pH, clay, and bulk density) via the soil total P content and root functional traits (e.g., root P, C:P, and N:P) on the ANPP. By considering all possible variables and paths, the best-fitting SEM explained only 11-13% of the ANPP variations, which suggested that other factors may be more important in determining the productivity in planted forests. Overall, this study highlights that soil total P content should be used as a key soil indicator for determining the ANPP in planted Masson pine forests across subtropical China, and suggests that the root functional traits mediate the effects of soil properties on the ANPP.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zunji Jian
- Institute of Forest Ecology, Environment and Nature Conservation, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China; Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Environment, National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Beijing, China
| | - Yanyan Ni
- Institute of Forest Ecology, Environment and Nature Conservation, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China; Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Environment, National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Beijing, China
| | - Lei Lei
- Institute of Forest Ecology, Environment and Nature Conservation, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China; Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Environment, National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Beijing, China
| | - Jin Xu
- Institute of Forest Ecology, Environment and Nature Conservation, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China; Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Environment, National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Beijing, China
| | - Wenfa Xiao
- Institute of Forest Ecology, Environment and Nature Conservation, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China; Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Environment, National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Beijing, China
| | - Lixiong Zeng
- Institute of Forest Ecology, Environment and Nature Conservation, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China; Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Environment, National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Beijing, China.
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14
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Manu R, Corre MD, Aleeje A, Mwanjalolo MJG, Babweteera F, Veldkamp E, van Straaten O. Responses of tree growth and biomass production to nutrient addition in a semi-deciduous tropical forest in Africa. Ecology 2022; 103:e3659. [PMID: 35129838 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.3659] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2021] [Revised: 09/24/2021] [Accepted: 10/25/2021] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Experimental evidence of nutrient limitations on primary productivity in Afrotropical forests is rare and globally underrepresented, yet are crucial for understanding constraints to terrestrial carbon uptake. In an ecosystem-scale nutrient manipulation experiment, we assessed the early responses of tree growth rates among different tree sizes, taxonomic species and at a community level in a humid tropical forest in Uganda. Following a full factorial design, we established 32 (eight treatments × four replicates) experimental plots of 40 m × 40 m each. We added nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), their combinations (NP, NK, PK, and NPK) and control at the rates of 125 kg N.ha-1 .yr-1 , 50 kg P.ha-1 .yr-1 and 50 kg K.ha-1 .yr-1 , split into four equal applications, and measured stem growth of more than 15,000 trees with diameter at breast height (DBH) ≥ 1 cm. After two years, the response of tree stem growth to nutrient additions was dependent on tree sizes, species and leaf habit but not community-wide. First, tree stem growth increased under N additions, primarily among medium-sized trees (10-30 cm DBH), and in trees of Lasiodiscus mildbraedii in the second year of the experiment. Second, K limitation was evident in semi-deciduous trees, which increased stem growth by 46% in +K than -K treatments, following a strong, prolonged dry season during the first year of the experiment. This highlights the key role of K in stomatal regulation and maintenance of water balance in trees, particularly under water-stressed conditions. Third, the role of P in promoting tree growth and carbon accumulation rates in this forest on highly weathered soils was rather not pronounced; nonetheless, mortality among saplings (1-5 cm DBH) was reduced by 30% in +P than in -P treatments. Although stem growth responses to nutrient interaction effects were positive or negative (likely depending on nutrient combinations and climate variability), our results underscore the fact that, in a highly diverse forest ecosystem, multiple nutrients and not one single nutrient regulate tree growth and aboveground carbon uptake due to varying nutrient requirements and acquisition strategies of different tree sizes, species and leaf habits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raphael Manu
- Department of Soil Science of Tropical and Subtropical Ecosystems, Georg-August University of Goettingen, Buesgenweg 2, 37077, Goettingen, Germany
| | - Marife D Corre
- Department of Soil Science of Tropical and Subtropical Ecosystems, Georg-August University of Goettingen, Buesgenweg 2, 37077, Goettingen, Germany
| | - Alfred Aleeje
- Department of Agricultural Production, Makerere University, P.O. Box 7062, Kampala, Uganda
| | - Majaliwa J G Mwanjalolo
- Department of Geography, Geo-informatics and Climate Sciences, Makerere University, P.O. Box 7062, Kampala, Uganda.,Regional FORUM for capacity building in Agriculture-RUFORUM, Kampala, Uganda
| | - Fred Babweteera
- Department of Forestry, Biodiversity and Tourism, Makerere University, P.O. Box 7062, Kampala, Uganda.,Budongo Conservation Field Station, P.O. Box 362, Masindi, Uganda
| | - Edzo Veldkamp
- Department of Soil Science of Tropical and Subtropical Ecosystems, Georg-August University of Goettingen, Buesgenweg 2, 37077, Goettingen, Germany
| | - Oliver van Straaten
- Department of Soil Science of Tropical and Subtropical Ecosystems, Georg-August University of Goettingen, Buesgenweg 2, 37077, Goettingen, Germany.,Johann Heinrich von Thuenen Institute, Institute for Forest Ecosystems, Alfred-Möller-Straße 1, Eberswalde, Germany
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15
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Mao Q, Chen H, Gurmesa GA, Gundersen P, Ellsworth DS, Gilliam FS, Wang C, Zhu F, Ye Q, Mo J, Lu X. Negative effects of long-term phosphorus additions on understory plants in a primary tropical forest. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2021; 798:149306. [PMID: 34340072 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.149306] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2021] [Revised: 07/23/2021] [Accepted: 07/23/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Human activities have disturbed global phosphorus (P) cycling by introducing substantial amounts of P to natural ecosystems. Although natural P gradients and fertilization studies have found that plant community traits are closely related to P availability, it remains unclear how increased P supply affects plant growth and diversity in P-deficient tropical forests. We used a decadal P-addition experiment (2007-2017) to study the effects of increased P input on plant growth and diversity in understory layer in tropical forests. We monitored the dynamics of seedling growth, survival rate, and diversity of understory plants throughout the fertilization period under control and P addition at 15 g P m-2 yr-1. To identify the drivers of responses, P concentration, photosynthesis rate and nonstructural carbon were analyzed. Results showed that long-term P addition significantly increased P concentrations both in soil pools and plant tissues. However, P addition did not increase the light-saturated photosynthesis rate or growth rate of the understory plants. Furthermore, P addition significantly decreased the survival rate of seedlings and reduced the species richness and density of understory plants. The negative effects of P addition may be attributed to an increased carbon cost due to the tissue maintenance of plants with higher P concentrations. These findings indicate that increased P supply alone is not necessary to benefit the growth of plants in ecosystems with low P availability, and P inputs can inhibit understory plants and may alter community composition. Therefore, we appeal to a need for caution when inputting P to tropical forests ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qinggong Mao
- Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China; Center of Plant Ecology, Core Botanical Gardens, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China
| | - Hao Chen
- School of Ecology, Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen 510006, China
| | | | - Per Gundersen
- Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, 1958 Frederiksberg C, Denmark
| | - David Scott Ellsworth
- Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Penrith, New South Wales 2751, Australia
| | - Frank S Gilliam
- Department of Biology, University of West Florida, Pensacola, FL 32514, USA
| | - Cong Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Mycology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Fiefei Zhu
- Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110164, China
| | - Qing Ye
- Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China; Center of Plant Ecology, Core Botanical Gardens, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China
| | - Jiangming Mo
- Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China; Center of Plant Ecology, Core Botanical Gardens, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China.
| | - Xiankai Lu
- Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China; Center of Plant Ecology, Core Botanical Gardens, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China.
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16
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Water Availability Controls the Biomass Increment of Melia dubia in South India. FORESTS 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/f12121675] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Farmland tree cultivation is considered an important option for enhancing wood production. In South India, the native leaf-deciduous tree species Melia dubia is popular for short-rotation plantations. Across a rainfall gradient from 420 to 2170 mm year–1, we studied 186 farmland woodlots between one and nine years in age. The objectives were to identify the main factors controlling aboveground biomass (AGB) and growth rates. A power-law growth model predicts an average stand-level AGB of 93.8 Mg ha–1 for nine-year-old woodlots. The resulting average annual AGB increment over the length of the rotation cycle is 10.4 Mg ha–1 year–1, which falls within the range reported for other tropical tree plantations. When expressing the parameters of the growth model as functions of management, climate and soil variables, it explains 65% of the variance in AGB. The results indicate that water availability is the main driver of the growth of M. dubia. Compared to the effects of water availability, the effects of soil nutrients are 26% to 60% smaller. We conclude that because of its high biomass accumulation rates in farm forestry, M. dubia is a promising candidate for short-rotation plantations in South India and beyond.
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17
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Bytnerowicz TA, Menge DNL. Divergent Pathways of Nitrogen-Fixing Trees through Succession Depend on Starting Nitrogen Supply and Priority Effects. Am Nat 2021; 198:E198-E214. [PMID: 34762566 DOI: 10.1086/717017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
AbstractNitrogen-fixing trees are a major potential source of nitrogen in terrestrial ecosystems. The degree to which they persist in older forests has considerable implications for forest nitrogen budgets. We characterized nitrogen-fixing tree abundance across stand age in the contiguous United States and analyzed a theoretical model to help understand competitive outcomes and successional trajectories of nitrogen-fixing and nonfixing trees. Nitrogen-fixing tree abundance is bimodal in all regions except the northeastern United States, even in older forests, suggesting that competitive exclusion (including priority effects) is more common than coexistence at the spatial scale of our analysis. Our model analysis suggests conditions under which alternative competitive outcomes are possible and when they are transient (lasting decades or centuries) versus persistent (millennia). Critically, the timescale of the feedbacks between nitrogen fixation and soil nitrogen supply, which is thought to drive the exclusion of nitrogen-fixing trees through succession, can be long. Therefore, the long transient outcomes of competition are more relevant for real forests than the long-term equilibrium. Within these long-term transients, the background soil nitrogen supply is a major determinant of competitive outcomes. Consistent with the expectations of resource ratio theory, competitive exclusion is more likely at high and low nitrogen supply, while intermediate nitrogen supply makes coexistence or priority effects possible. However, these outcomes are modified by the nitrogen fixation strategy: obligate nitrogen fixation makes coexistence more likely than priority effects, compared with perfectly facultative fixation. These results advance our understanding of the successional trajectories of nitrogen-fixing trees and their effects on ecosystem development in secondary succession.
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18
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Wen Y, Tong R, Zhang H, Feng K, Song R, Wang GG, Wu T. N addition decreased stand structure diversity in young but increased in middle-aged Metasequoia glyptostroboides plantations. Glob Ecol Conserv 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.gecco.2021.e01803] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
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19
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Mo Q, Wang W, Lambers H, Chen Y, Yu S, Wu C, Fan Y, Zhou Q, Li Z, Wang F. Response of foliar mineral nutrients to long‐term nitrogen and phosphorus addition in a tropical forest. Funct Ecol 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.13896] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Qifeng Mo
- Guangdong Key Laboratory for Innovative Development and Utilization of Forest Plant Germplasm E’huangzhang Forest Research Station College of Forestry and Landscape Architecture South China Agricultural University Guangzhou P.R. China
- Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems and Xiaoliang Research Station for Tropical Coastal Ecosystems South China Botanical Garden Chinese Academy of Sciences Guangzhou P.R. China
| | - Wenjuan Wang
- College of Natural Resource and Environment South China Agricultural University Guangzhou P.R. China
| | - Hans Lambers
- School of Biological Sciences The University of Western Australia Crawley (Perth) WA Australia
| | - Yiqun Chen
- Guangdong Key Laboratory for Innovative Development and Utilization of Forest Plant Germplasm E’huangzhang Forest Research Station College of Forestry and Landscape Architecture South China Agricultural University Guangzhou P.R. China
| | - Shiqin Yu
- School of Geographical Science Guangzhou University Guangzhou P.R. China
| | - Chunsheng Wu
- Jiangxi Provincial Engineering Research Center for Seed‐Breeding and Utilization of Camphor Trees School of Hydraulic and Ecological Engineering Nanchang Institute of Technology Nanchang P.R. China
| | - Yingxu Fan
- Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems and Xiaoliang Research Station for Tropical Coastal Ecosystems South China Botanical Garden Chinese Academy of Sciences Guangzhou P.R. China
| | - Qing Zhou
- Guangdong Key Laboratory for Innovative Development and Utilization of Forest Plant Germplasm E’huangzhang Forest Research Station College of Forestry and Landscape Architecture South China Agricultural University Guangzhou P.R. China
| | - Zhi’an Li
- Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems and Xiaoliang Research Station for Tropical Coastal Ecosystems South China Botanical Garden Chinese Academy of Sciences Guangzhou P.R. China
| | - Faming Wang
- Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems and Xiaoliang Research Station for Tropical Coastal Ecosystems South China Botanical Garden Chinese Academy of Sciences Guangzhou P.R. China
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20
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Fortier R, Wright SJ. Nutrient limitation of plant reproduction in a tropical moist forest. Ecology 2021; 102:e03469. [PMID: 34245567 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.3469] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2020] [Revised: 04/11/2021] [Accepted: 05/14/2021] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
Abstract
Nutrient addition experiments indicate that nitrogen and phosphorus limit plant processes in many tropical forests. However, the long-term consequences for forest structure and species composition remain unexplored. We are positioned to evaluate potential long-term consequences of nutrient addition in central Panama where we have maintained a factorial nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium fertilization experiment for 21 yr and an independent study quantified the species-specific nutrient requirements of 550 local tree species. Here, we ask whether nutrients limit reproduction at the species and community levels. We also ask whether species-specific reproductive responses to nutrient addition are stronger among species associated with naturally fertile soils, which could contribute to a shift in species composition. We quantified species-level reproductive responses for 38 focal species in the 21st year of the experiment and community-level reproductive litter production for the first 20 yr. Species-level reproductive responses to nitrogen and potassium addition were weak, inconsistent across species, and insignificant across the 38 focal species. In contrast, species-level responses to phosphorus addition were consistently and significantly positive across the 38 focal species but were unrelated to species-specific phosphorus requirements documented independently for the same species. Community-level reproductive litter production was unaffected by nutrient addition, possibly because spatial and temporal variation is large. We conclude that phosphorus limits reproduction by trees in our experiment but find no evidence that reproductive responses to phosphorus addition favor species associated with naturally phosphorus-rich soils.
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Affiliation(s)
- Riley Fortier
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843-03092, Balboa, Panama.,Department of Biology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida, 33146, USA
| | - S Joseph Wright
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843-03092, Balboa, Panama
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21
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Massmann A, Cavaleri MA, Oberbauer SF, Olivas PC, Porder S. Foliar Stoichiometry is Marginally Sensitive to Soil Phosphorus Across a Lowland Tropical Rainforest. Ecosystems 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s10021-021-00640-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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22
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Lugli LF, Rosa JS, Andersen KM, Di Ponzio R, Almeida RV, Pires M, Cordeiro AL, Cunha HFV, Martins NP, Assis RL, Moraes ACM, Souza ST, Aragão LEOC, Camargo JL, Fuchslueger L, Schaap KJ, Valverde-Barrantes OJ, Meir P, Quesada CA, Mercado LM, Hartley IP. Rapid responses of root traits and productivity to phosphorus and cation additions in a tropical lowland forest in Amazonia. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2021; 230:116-128. [PMID: 33341935 DOI: 10.1111/nph.17154] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2020] [Accepted: 12/11/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Soil nutrient availability can strongly affect root traits. In tropical forests, phosphorus (P) is often considered the main limiting nutrient for plants. However, support for the P paradigm is limited, and N and cations might also control tropical forests functioning. We used a large-scale experiment to determine how the factorial addition of nitrogen (N), P and cations affected root productivity and traits related to nutrient acquisition strategies (morphological traits, phosphatase activity, arbuscular mycorrhizal colonisation and nutrient contents) in a primary rainforest growing on low-fertility soils in Central Amazonia after 1 yr of fertilisation. Multiple root traits and productivity were affected. Phosphorus additions increased annual root productivity and root diameter, but decreased root phosphatase activity. Cation additions increased root productivity at certain times of year, also increasing root diameter and mycorrhizal colonisation. P and cation additions increased their element concentrations in root tissues. No responses were detected with N addition. Here we showed that rock-derived nutrients determined root functioning in low-fertility Amazonian soils, demonstrating not only the hypothesised importance of P, but also highlighting the role of cations. The changes in fine root traits and productivity indicated that even slow-growing tropical rainforests can respond rapidly to changes in resource availability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laynara F Lugli
- Coordination of Environmental Dynamics, National Institute of Amazonian Research, Manaus, AM, 69060-062, Brazil
- Geography, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Amory Building, Rennes Drive, Exeter, Devon, EX4 4RJ, UK
| | - Jessica S Rosa
- Coordination of Environmental Dynamics, National Institute of Amazonian Research, Manaus, AM, 69060-062, Brazil
| | - Kelly M Andersen
- Geography, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Amory Building, Rennes Drive, Exeter, Devon, EX4 4RJ, UK
- Asian School of the Environment, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, 639798, Singapore
- School of Geosciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH8 9AB, UK
| | - Raffaello Di Ponzio
- Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragment Project, National Institute for Amazonian Research, Manaus, AM, 69067-375, Brazil
| | - Renata V Almeida
- Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragment Project, National Institute for Amazonian Research, Manaus, AM, 69067-375, Brazil
| | - Maria Pires
- Coordination of Environmental Dynamics, National Institute of Amazonian Research, Manaus, AM, 69060-062, Brazil
| | - Amanda L Cordeiro
- Coordination of Environmental Dynamics, National Institute of Amazonian Research, Manaus, AM, 69060-062, Brazil
- Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA
| | - Hellen F V Cunha
- Coordination of Environmental Dynamics, National Institute of Amazonian Research, Manaus, AM, 69060-062, Brazil
| | - Nathielly P Martins
- Coordination of Environmental Dynamics, National Institute of Amazonian Research, Manaus, AM, 69060-062, Brazil
| | - Rafael L Assis
- Coordination of Environmental Dynamics, National Institute of Amazonian Research, Manaus, AM, 69060-062, Brazil
- Natural History Museum, University of Oslo, Oslo, 0562, Norway
| | - Anna C M Moraes
- Coordination of Environmental Dynamics, National Institute of Amazonian Research, Manaus, AM, 69060-062, Brazil
| | - Sheila T Souza
- Coordination of Environmental Dynamics, National Institute of Amazonian Research, Manaus, AM, 69060-062, Brazil
| | - Luiz E O C Aragão
- Geography, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Amory Building, Rennes Drive, Exeter, Devon, EX4 4RJ, UK
- National Institute for Space Research, São Jose dos Campos, São Paulo, 12227-010, Brazil
| | - Jose L Camargo
- Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragment Project, National Institute for Amazonian Research, Manaus, AM, 69067-375, Brazil
| | - Lucia Fuchslueger
- Centre of Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science, University of Vienna, Vienna, 1090, Austria
| | - Karst J Schaap
- Coordination of Environmental Dynamics, National Institute of Amazonian Research, Manaus, AM, 69060-062, Brazil
| | - Oscar J Valverde-Barrantes
- International Centre of Tropical Biodiversity, Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, Miami, FL, 33133, USA
| | - Patrick Meir
- School of Geosciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH8 9AB, UK
- Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia
| | - Carlos A Quesada
- Coordination of Environmental Dynamics, National Institute of Amazonian Research, Manaus, AM, 69060-062, Brazil
| | - Lina M Mercado
- Geography, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Amory Building, Rennes Drive, Exeter, Devon, EX4 4RJ, UK
- UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Wallingford, OX10 8BB, UK
| | - Iain P Hartley
- Geography, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Amory Building, Rennes Drive, Exeter, Devon, EX4 4RJ, UK
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McCulloch LA, Piotto D, Porder S. Drought and soil nutrients effects on symbiotic nitrogen fixation in seedlings from eight Neotropical legume species. Biotropica 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/btp.12911] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Lindsay A. McCulloch
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Brown University Providence Rhode Island USA
| | - Daniel Piotto
- Centro de Formação em Ciências Agroflorestais Universidade Federal do Sul da Bahia Ilhéus Bahia Brasil
| | - Stephen Porder
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Brown University Providence Rhode Island USA
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24
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Light availability, soil phosphorus and different nitrogen forms negatively affect the functional diversity of subtropical forests. Glob Ecol Conserv 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.gecco.2020.e01334] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
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25
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Mo Q, Wang W, Chen Y, Peng Z, Zhou Q. Response of foliar functional traits to experimental N and P addition among overstory and understory species in a tropical secondary forest. Glob Ecol Conserv 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.gecco.2020.e01109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022] Open
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26
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Soong JL, Janssens IA, Grau O, Margalef O, Stahl C, Van Langenhove L, Urbina I, Chave J, Dourdain A, Ferry B, Freycon V, Herault B, Sardans J, Peñuelas J, Verbruggen E. Soil properties explain tree growth and mortality, but not biomass, across phosphorus-depleted tropical forests. Sci Rep 2020; 10:2302. [PMID: 32041976 PMCID: PMC7010742 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-58913-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2019] [Accepted: 01/21/2020] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
We observed strong positive relationships between soil properties and forest dynamics of growth and mortality across twelve primary lowland tropical forests in a phosphorus-poor region of the Guiana Shield. Average tree growth (diameter at breast height) increased from 0.81 to 2.1 mm yr-1 along a soil texture gradient from 0 to 67% clay, and increasing metal-oxide content. Soil organic carbon stocks in the top 30 cm ranged from 30 to 118 tons C ha-1, phosphorus content ranged from 7 to 600 mg kg-1 soil, and the relative abundance of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi ranged from 0 to 50%, all positively correlating with soil clay, and iron and aluminum oxide and hydroxide content. In contrast, already low extractable phosphorus (Bray P) content decreased from 4.4 to <0.02 mg kg-1 in soil with increasing clay content. A greater prevalence of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in more clayey forests that had higher tree growth and mortality, but not biomass, indicates that despite the greater investment in nutrient uptake required, soils with higher clay content may actually serve to sustain high tree growth in tropical forests by avoiding phosphorus losses from the ecosystem. Our study demonstrates how variation in soil properties that retain carbon and nutrients can help to explain variation in tropical forest growth and mortality, but not biomass, by requiring niche specialization and contributing to biogeochemical diversification across this region.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer L Soong
- Climate and Ecosystem Science Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, 94720, California, USA.
- PLECO (Plants and Ecosystems), Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, 2610, Belgium.
| | - Ivan A Janssens
- PLECO (Plants and Ecosystems), Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, 2610, Belgium
| | - Oriol Grau
- Center for Ecological Research and Forestry Application, 08193, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Catalonia, Spain
- Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CSIC-UAB, 08193, Bellaterra, Catalonia, Spain
- CIRAD, UMR Ecofog (AgroParisTech, INRAE, CNRS, Univ Antilles, Univ Guyane), Campus Agronomique, 97310, Kourou, French Guiana
| | - Olga Margalef
- Center for Ecological Research and Forestry Application, 08193, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Catalonia, Spain
- Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CSIC-UAB, 08193, Bellaterra, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Clément Stahl
- INRAE, UMR, Ecofog, AgroParisTech, CIRAD, CNRS, Université de Antilles, Université de Guyane, 97310, Kourou, France
| | - Leandro Van Langenhove
- PLECO (Plants and Ecosystems), Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, 2610, Belgium
| | - Ifigenia Urbina
- Center for Ecological Research and Forestry Application, 08193, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Catalonia, Spain
- Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CSIC-UAB, 08193, Bellaterra, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Jerome Chave
- Paul Sabatier University, CNRS, Toulouse, France
| | - Aurelie Dourdain
- CIRAD, UMR Ecofog (AgroParisTech, INRAE, CNRS, Univ Antilles, Univ Guyane), Campus Agronomique, 97310, Kourou, French Guiana
| | - Bruno Ferry
- Université de Lorraine, AgroParisTech, INRAE, Silva, 54000, Nancy, France
| | - Vincent Freycon
- CIRAD, UPR Forêts et Sociétés, F-34398, Montpellier, France
- UPR Forêts et Sociétés, Université de Montpellier, Montpellier, France
| | - Bruno Herault
- CIRAD, UPR Forêts et Sociétés, F-34398, Montpellier, France
- UPR Forêts et Sociétés, Université de Montpellier, Montpellier, France
- Institut National Polytechnique Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Yamoussoukro, Ivory Coast
| | - Jordi Sardans
- Center for Ecological Research and Forestry Application, 08193, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Catalonia, Spain
- Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CSIC-UAB, 08193, Bellaterra, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Josep Peñuelas
- Center for Ecological Research and Forestry Application, 08193, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Catalonia, Spain
- Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CSIC-UAB, 08193, Bellaterra, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Erik Verbruggen
- PLECO (Plants and Ecosystems), Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, 2610, Belgium
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Avalos G, Gei M, Ríos LD, Otárola MF, Cambronero M, Alvarez-Vergnani C, Sylvester O, Rojas G. Scaling of stem diameter and height allometry in 14 neotropical palm species of different forest strata. Oecologia 2019; 190:757-767. [PMID: 31267236 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-019-04452-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2018] [Accepted: 06/27/2019] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Tropical palms reach tree-like heights without a vascular cambium through sustained cell expansion and lignification of primary tissues, but only a fraction of palms have been explored in their allometric relationships. Here, our main question was to determine how palms depart from the traditional mechanical models developed for trees and how they approach the theoretical buckling limit. We analyzed the stem allometry of 1603 palms of 14 species from different strata at 10 sites in Costa Rica and Peru. We measured their fit to the stress, elastic, and geometric similarity models, and their position relative to the maximum theoretical buckling limit calculated for trees. We evaluated the slope of the linear and logarithmic regressions between stem diameter and height using logarithmic least squares, and standardized major axis regression (SMA), expecting segregation according to canopy position and geographic location. Seventeen out of 19 statistically significant models had SMA slopes > 1, and 11 had SMA slopes ≥ 2, departing from traditional mechanical models developed for trees. Many species varied their allometry relative to geographic location. Canopy palms showed the highest regression fit but had less steep slopes than understory and subcanopy species. Subcanopy and understory species were more underbuilt than canopy palms, increasing height faster than diameter. Some of the tallest canopy palms surpassed the maximum buckling limit whereas subcanopy and understory species were consistently below the buckling limit of record-size trees. Palm stem allometry changed in response to environmental conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gerardo Avalos
- Escuela de Biología, Universidad de Costa Rica, San Pedro, San José, 11501-2060, Costa Rica.
- The School for Field Studies, Center for Sustainable Development Studies, 100 Cummings Center, Suite 534G, Beverly, MA, 01915, USA.
| | - Maga Gei
- Escuela de Biología, Universidad de Costa Rica, San Pedro, San José, 11501-2060, Costa Rica
| | - Luis Diego Ríos
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, 1001 East Third Street, Bloomington, IN, 47405, USA
| | | | - Milena Cambronero
- Escuela de Biología, Universidad de Costa Rica, San Pedro, San José, 11501-2060, Costa Rica
| | | | - Olivia Sylvester
- Department of Environment and Development, University for Peace, Ciudad Colón, San José, Costa Rica
| | - Gustavo Rojas
- Escuela de Biología, Universidad de Costa Rica, San Pedro, San José, 11501-2060, Costa Rica
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28
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Changes in Fungal Communities across a Forest Disturbance Gradient. Appl Environ Microbiol 2019; 85:AEM.00080-19. [PMID: 30979833 DOI: 10.1128/aem.00080-19] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2019] [Accepted: 03/22/2019] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Deforestation has a substantial impact on aboveground biodiversity, but the response of belowground soil fungi remains poorly understood. In a tropical montane rainforest in southwestern China, plots were established along a forest degradation gradient ranging from mature and regenerated forests to open land to examine the impacts of forest degradation and deforestation on ecosystem diversity and function. Here, we evaluated the changes in belowground fungal diversity and community composition using a metabarcoding approach. Soil saprotrophic fungal richness declined with increasing forest disturbance. For example, Penicillium spp. (phosphorus [P]-solubilizing fungi) dominated in mature forest but were less abundant in regenerating forests and showed the lowest abundance in open land sites. Conversely, the abundance of facultative pathogenic fungi increased along the disturbance gradient. The decline in soil saprophytic fungi may be a direct result of forest disturbance or it may be associated with increased availability of soil phosphorus indirectly through an increase in soil pH. The increase in abundance of facultative pathogenic fungi may be related to reduced competition with saprotrophic fungi, changes in microclimate, or increased spore rain. These results demonstrate a loss of dominant P-solubilizing saprotrophic fungi along the disturbance gradient, indicating a change from soil P limitation in mature tropical forests to soil C limitation in deforested sites. The increased prevalence of pathogenic fungi may inhibit plant succession following deforestation. Overall, this research demonstrates that soil fungi can be used as a sensitive indicator for soil health to evaluate the consequences of forest disturbance.IMPORTANCE The soil fungal functional group changes in response to forest disturbance and indicates a close interaction between the aboveground plant community and the belowground soil biological community. Soil saprotrophic fungi declined in relative abundance with increasing forest disturbance. At the same time, the relative abundance of facultative pathogenic fungi increased. The loss of saprotrophic fungal richness and abundance may have been a direct result of forest disturbance or an indirect result of changes in soil pH and soil P. Furthermore, the dominant P-solubilizing saprotrophic fungi were replaced by diverse facultative pathogenic fungi, which have weaker C decomposition ability. These changes potentially indicate a shift from soil phosphate limitation to carbon limitation following deforestation. This study suggests that changes in fungal functional group composition can be used as an indicator of the effects of forest disturbance on soil carbon and nutrients.
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Waring BG, Pérez‐Aviles D, Murray JG, Powers JS. Plant community responses to stand‐level nutrient fertilization in a secondary tropical dry forest. Ecology 2019; 100:e02691. [DOI: 10.1002/ecy.2691] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2018] [Revised: 02/08/2019] [Accepted: 02/20/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Bonnie G. Waring
- Departments of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior and Plant and Microbial Biology University of Minnesota Saint Paul Minnesota 55108 USA
| | - Daniel Pérez‐Aviles
- Departments of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior and Plant and Microbial Biology University of Minnesota Saint Paul Minnesota 55108 USA
| | - Jessica G. Murray
- Department of Biology and Ecology Center Utah State University Logan Utah 84321 USA
| | - Jennifer S. Powers
- Departments of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior and Plant and Microbial Biology University of Minnesota Saint Paul Minnesota 55108 USA
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Panamá República de Panamá
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30
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Yuan Z, Ali A, Jucker T, Ruiz-Benito P, Wang S, Jiang L, Wang X, Lin F, Ye J, Hao Z, Loreau M. Multiple abiotic and biotic pathways shape biomass demographic processes in temperate forests. Ecology 2019; 100:e02650. [PMID: 30742311 PMCID: PMC6849813 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.2650] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2018] [Revised: 12/08/2018] [Accepted: 01/14/2019] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Forests play a key role in regulating the global carbon cycle, and yet the abiotic and biotic conditions that drive the demographic processes that underpin forest carbon dynamics remain poorly understood in natural ecosystems. To address this knowledge gap, we used repeat forest inventory data from 92,285 trees across four large permanent plots (4–25 ha in size) in temperate mixed forests in northeast China to ask the following questions: (1) How do soil conditions and stand age drive biomass demographic processes? (2) How do vegetation quality (i.e., functional trait diversity and composition) and quantity (i.e., initial biomass stocks) influence biomass demographic processes independently from soil conditions and stand age? (3) What is the relative contribution of growth, recruitment, and mortality to net biomass change? Using structural equation modeling, we showed that all three demographic processes were jointly constrained by multiple abiotic and biotic factors and that mortality was the strongest determinant on net biomass change over time. Growth and mortality, as well as functional trait diversity and the community‐weighted mean of specific leaf area (CWMSLA), declined with stand age. By contrast, high soil phosphorous concentrations were associated with greater functional diversity and faster dynamics (i.e., high growth and mortality rates), but associated with lower CWMSLA and initial biomass stock. More functionally diverse communities also had higher recruitment rates, but did not exhibit faster growth and mortality. Instead, initial biomass stocks and CWMSLA were stronger predictors of biomass growth and mortality, respectively. By integrating the full spectrum of abiotic and biotic drivers of forest biomass dynamics, our study provides critical system‐level insights needed to predict the possible consequences of regional changes in forest diversity, composition, structure and function in the context of global change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zuoqiang Yuan
- CAS Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Management, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, 110164, China
| | - Arshad Ali
- Spatial Ecology Lab, School of Life Sciences, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, Guangdong, China
| | - Tommaso Jucker
- CSIRO Land and Water, 147 Underwood Avenue, Floreat, Washington, 6014, Australia
| | - Paloma Ruiz-Benito
- Departamento de Biología y Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, Escuela Superior de Ciencias Experimentales y Tecnología, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, C/Tulipán s/n, 28933, Móstoles Madrid, Spain.,Grupo de Ecología y Restauración Forestal, Departamento de Ciencias de la Vida, Universidad de Alcalá, Edificio de Ciencias, Campus Universitario, 28805, Alcalá de Henares Madrid, Spain
| | - Shaopeng Wang
- Department of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Science, and Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, Peking University, 100871, Beijing, China
| | - Lin Jiang
- School of Biology, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, 30332, USA
| | - Xugao Wang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Management, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, 110164, China
| | - Fei Lin
- CAS Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Management, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, 110164, China
| | - Ji Ye
- CAS Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Management, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, 110164, China
| | - Zhanqing Hao
- CAS Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Management, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, 110164, China
| | - Michel Loreau
- Centre for Biodiversity Theory and Modelling, Theoretical and Experimental Ecology Station, CNRS and Paul Sabatier University, 09200, Moulis, France
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Nasto MK, Winter K, Turner BL, Cleveland CC. Nutrient acquisition strategies augment growth in tropical N
2
‐fixing trees in nutrient‐poor soil and under elevated
CO
2. Ecology 2019; 100:e02646. [DOI: 10.1002/ecy.2646] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2018] [Revised: 10/09/2018] [Accepted: 01/02/2019] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Megan K. Nasto
- Department of Ecosystem and Conservation Sciences W. A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation University of Montana Missoula Montana 59812 USA
| | - Klaus Winter
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Apartado 0843‐03092 Balboa Ancón Republic of Panama
| | - Benjamin L. Turner
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Apartado 0843‐03092 Balboa Ancón Republic of Panama
| | - Cory C. Cleveland
- Department of Ecosystem and Conservation Sciences W. A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation University of Montana Missoula Montana 59812 USA
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Sullivan BW, Nifong RL, Nasto MK, Alvarez-Clare S, Dencker CM, Soper FM, Shoemaker KT, Ishida FY, Zaragoza-Castells J, Davidson EA, Cleveland CC. Biogeochemical recuperation of lowland tropical forest during succession. Ecology 2019; 100:e02641. [PMID: 30712256 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.2641] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2018] [Revised: 11/10/2018] [Accepted: 01/07/2019] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
High rates of land conversion and land use change have vastly increased the proportion of secondary forest in the lowland tropics relative to mature forest. As secondary forests recover following abandonment, nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) must be present in sufficient quantities to sustain high rates of net primary production and to replenish the nutrients lost during land use prior to secondary forest establishment. Biogeochemical theory and results from individual studies suggest that N can recuperate during secondary forest recovery, especially relative to P. Here, we synthesized 23 metrics of N and P in soil and plants from 45 secondary forest chronosequences located in the wet tropics to empirically explore (1) whether there is a consistent change in nutrients and nutrient cycling processes during secondary succession in the biome; (2) which metrics of N and P in soil and plants recuperate most consistently; (3) if the recuperation of nutrients during succession approaches similar nutrient concentrations and fluxes as those in mature forest in ~100 yr following the initiation of succession; and (4) whether site characteristics, including disturbance history, climate, and soil order are significantly related to nutrient recuperation. During secondary forest succession, nine metrics of N and/or P cycling changed consistently and substantially. In most sites, N concentrations and fluxes in both plants and soil increased during secondary succession, and total P concentrations increased in surface soil. Changes in nutrient concentrations and nutrient cycling processes during secondary succession were similar whether mature forest was included or excluded from the analysis, indicating that nutrient recuperation in secondary forest leads to biogeochemical conditions that are similar to those of mature forest. Further, of the N and P metrics that recuperated, only soil total P and foliar δ15 N were strongly influenced by site characteristics like climate, soils, or disturbance history. Predictable nutrient recuperation across a diverse and productive ecosystem may support future forest growth and could provide a means to quantify successful restoration of ecosystem function in secondary tropical forest beyond biomass or species composition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin W Sullivan
- Department of Natural Resources & Environmental Science and The Global Water Center, University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada, 89557, USA
| | - Rachel L Nifong
- Water Quality and Ecology Research Unit, National Sedimentation Laboratory, United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Oxford, Mississippi, 38655, USA
| | - Megan K Nasto
- Department of Biology and The Ecology Center, Utah State University, Logan, Utah, 84322, USA
| | | | - Camie M Dencker
- Department of Natural Resources & Environmental Science and The Global Water Center, University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada, 89557, USA
| | - Fiona M Soper
- Department of Ecosystem and Conservation Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana, 59812, USA
| | - Kevin T Shoemaker
- Department of Natural Resources & Environmental Science and The Global Water Center, University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada, 89557, USA
| | - F Yoko Ishida
- Centre for Tropical, Environmental and Sustainability Sciences, College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Cairns, Queensland, 4870, Australia
| | - Joana Zaragoza-Castells
- Department of Geography, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4RJ, United Kingdom
| | - Eric A Davidson
- Appalachian Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Frostburg, Maryland, 21532, USA
| | - Cory C Cleveland
- Department of Ecosystem and Conservation Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana, 59812, USA
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33
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Wet tropical soils and global change. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-444-63998-1.00008-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register]
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Marler TE, Krishnapillai MV. Does Plant Size Influence Leaf Elements in an Arborescent Cycad? BIOLOGY 2018; 7:E51. [PMID: 30551676 PMCID: PMC6315973 DOI: 10.3390/biology7040051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2018] [Revised: 12/06/2018] [Accepted: 12/11/2018] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Plant size influences the leaf nutrient relations of many species, but no cycad species has been studied in this regard. We used the arborescent Cycas micronesica K.D. Hill to quantify leaf nutrient concentrations of trees with stems up to 5.5-m in height to determine if height influenced leaf nutrients. Green leaves were sampled in a karst, alkaline habitat in Rota and a schist, acid habitat in Yap. Additionally, senesced leaves were collected from the trees in Yap. Minerals and metals were quantified in the leaf samples and regressed onto stem height. Green leaf nitrogen, calcium, manganese, and iron decreased linearly with increased stem height. Senesced leaf carbon, iron, and copper decreased and senesced leaf nitrogen increased with stem height. Nitrogen resorption efficiency decreased with stem height. Phosphorus and potassium resorption efficiencies were not influenced by plant size, but were greater than expected based on available published information. The results indicate leaf nutrient concentrations of this cycad species are directly influenced by plant size, and illuminate the need for adding more cycad species to this research agenda. Plant size should be measured and reported in all cycad reports that include measurements of leaf behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas E Marler
- College of Natural and Applied Sciences, University of Guam, Mangilao, Guam 96923, USA.
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35
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Changes in Sensitivity of Tree-Ring Widths to Climate in a Tropical Moist Forest Tree in Bangladesh. FORESTS 2018. [DOI: 10.3390/f9120761] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Tree growth in the tropics is strongly influenced by climate. However, reported tree growth responses to climate are largely inconsistent, varying with geographic location, forest type, and tree species. It is thus important to study the growth responses of tropical trees in sites and species that are under-represented so far. Bangladesh, a country influenced by the Asian monsoon climate, is understudied in terms of tree growth response to climate. In the present study, we developed a 121-year-long regional ring-width index chronology of Chukrasia tabularis A. Juss. sampled in two moist forest sites in Bangladesh to investigate tree growth responses to climate in monsoon South Asia. Standard dendrochronological methods were used to produce the ring-width chronologies. The climate sensitivity of C. tabularis was assessed through bootstrap correlation analysis and the stationarity and consistency of climate–growth relationships was evaluated using moving correlation functions and comparing the regression slopes of two sub-periods (1950–1985 and 1986–2015). Tree growth was negatively correlated with the mean, minimum, and maximum temperatures, particularly during the early growing season (March). Likewise, precipitation negatively influenced tree growth in the later growing season (October). Besides, radial growth of Chukrasia sharply ceased in years following strong and moderate El Niño events. In parallel with a significant positive trend in local temperatures, tree growth sensitivity to early growing season (March–April) mean temperatures and July minimum temperatures increased in recent decades. Tree growth sensitivity to October precipitation and April vapor pressure deficit also increased. Overall, climate–growth relationships were stronger during the period 1986–2015 than during 1950–1985. Changes in climate sensitivity might be linked to a warming trend that induced an increase in the dry season length during recent decades. With a further predicted temperature increase at our study sites, our results suggest that radial growth of C. tabularis will further decline in response to climate warming.
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36
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Marler TE, Lindström AJ. Inserting cycads into global nutrient relations data sets. PLANT SIGNALING & BEHAVIOR 2018; 13:e1547578. [PMID: 30444181 PMCID: PMC6296355 DOI: 10.1080/15592324.2018.1547578] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2018] [Accepted: 11/07/2018] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
Global research agendas on plant nutrient relations attempt to illuminate biotic and abiotic factors that mediate nutrient relations. We contend that cycad species are not adequately represented in these global agendas. Little is known about how various cycad traits such as phylogenetics, growth form, latitudinal range, or ecological niche influence concentration, stoichiometry, and resorption dynamics of leaf nutrients. The addition of cycad species data to the global research dataset will address a critical knowledge gap and benefit global research needs to improve our systemic understanding of biotic and abiotic influences on plant nutrition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas E. Marler
- Western Pacific Tropical Research Center, University of Guam, Mangilao, Guam, USA
| | - Anders J. Lindström
- Plant Collections Department, Nong Nooch Tropical Botanical Garden, Sattahip, Thailand
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37
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Zemunik G, Davies SJ, Turner BL. Soil drivers of local‐scale tree growth in a lowland tropical forest. Ecology 2018; 99:2844-2852. [DOI: 10.1002/ecy.2532] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2017] [Revised: 05/23/2018] [Accepted: 09/18/2018] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Graham Zemunik
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Apartado 0843‐03092 Balboa Ancon Panama
| | - Stuart J. Davies
- Center for Tropical Forest Science‐Forest Global Earth Observatory Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Washington D.C. 20013‐7012 USA
| | - Benjamin L. Turner
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Apartado 0843‐03092 Balboa Ancon Panama
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38
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Winbourne JB, Harrison MT, Sullivan BW, Alvarez-Clare S, Lins SR, Martinelli L, Nasto M, Piotto D, Rolim S, Wong M, Porder S. A New Framework for Evaluating Estimates of Symbiotic Nitrogen Fixation in Forests. Am Nat 2018; 192:618-629. [PMID: 30332582 DOI: 10.1086/699828] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Symbiotic nitrogen fixation (SNF) makes atmospheric nitrogen biologically available and regulates carbon storage in many terrestrial ecosystems. Despite its global importance, estimates of SNF rates are highly uncertain, particularly in tropical forests where rates are assumed to be high. Here we provide a framework for evaluating the uncertainty of sample-based SNF estimates and discuss its implications for quantifying SNF and thus understanding of forest function. We apply this framework to field data sets from six lowland tropical rainforests (mature and secondary) in Brazil and Costa Rica. We use this data set to estimate parameters influencing SNF estimation error, notably the root nodule abundance and variation in SNF rates among soil cores containing root nodules. We then use simulations to gauge the relationship between sampling effort and SNF estimation accuracy for a combination of parameters. Field data illuminate a highly right-skewed lognormal distribution of SNF rates among soil cores containing root nodules that were rare and spanned five orders of magnitude. Consequently, simulations demonstrated that sample sizes of hundreds to even thousands of soil cores are needed to obtain estimates of SNF that are within, for example, a factor of 2 of the actual rate with 75% probability. This represents sample sizes that are larger than most studies to date. As a result of this previously undescribed uncertainty, we suggest that current estimates of SNF in tropical forests are not sufficiently constrained to elucidate forest stand-level controls of SNF, which hinders our understanding of the impact of SNF on tropical forest ecosystem processes.
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39
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Nutrient-uptake and -use efficiency in seedlings of rain-forest trees in New Caledonia: monodominants vs. subordinates and episodic vs. continuous regenerators. JOURNAL OF TROPICAL ECOLOGY 2018. [DOI: 10.1017/s0266467418000251] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Abstract:The upper canopy of some rain forests in New Caledonia is dominated by single species. These monodominants are commonly secondary species, their dominance not persisting without disturbance. We tested whether dominance is associated with efficient uptake and use of nutrients (N, P and K), comparing between seedlings of monodominants (Nothofagus spp., Arillastrum gummiferum and Cerberiopsis candelabra) and 14 subordinates, grown in a nursery house. We also tested whether this trend applies more broadly to shade-intolerant trees that regenerate episodically (ER species) versus shade-tolerant trees that regenerate continuously (CR species). In the sun treatment, monodominants had higher photosynthetic nutrient-use efficiency and productivity for N and K, and uptake efficiency for N, P and K, than subordinates; ER species had higher photosynthetic nutrient-use efficiency for N, P and K, and uptake efficiency for N and P, than CR species. Uptake efficiency and productivity per nutrient mass were uncorrelated across species, yet Nothofagus spp., A. gummiferum and C. candelabra combined high levels of both traits for N, and Nothofagus spp. and A. gummiferum combined moderate to high levels for P, in sun-grown seedlings. This trait combination may contribute substantially to competitiveness and post-disturbance dominance on these nutrient-poor soils.
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40
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Yuan Z, Ali A, Wang S, Gazol A, Freckleton R, Wang X, Lin F, Ye J, Zhou L, Hao Z, Loreau M. Abiotic and biotic determinants of coarse woody productivity in temperate mixed forests. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2018; 630:422-431. [PMID: 29482149 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.02.125] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2017] [Revised: 02/08/2018] [Accepted: 02/11/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Forests play an important role in regulating the global carbon cycle. Yet, how abiotic (i.e. soil nutrients) and biotic (i.e. tree diversity, stand structure and initial biomass) factors simultaneously contribute to aboveground biomass (coarse woody) productivity, and how the relative importance of these factors changes over succession remain poorly studied. Coarse woody productivity (CWP) was estimated as the annual aboveground biomass gain of stems using 10-year census data in old growth and secondary forests (25-ha and 4.8-ha, respectively) in northeast China. Boosted regression tree (BRT) model was used to evaluate the relative contribution of multiple metrics of tree diversity (taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic diversity and trait composition as well as stand structure attributes), stand initial biomass and soil nutrients on productivity in the studied forests. Our results showed that community-weighted mean of leaf phosphorus content, initial stand biomass and soil nutrients were the three most important individual predictors for CWP in secondary forest. Instead, initial stand biomass, rather than diversity and functional trait composition (vegetation quality) was the most parsimonious predictor of CWP in old growth forest. By comparing the results from secondary and old growth forest, the summed relative contribution of trait composition and soil nutrients on productivity decreased as those of diversity indices and initial biomass increased, suggesting the stronger effect of diversity and vegetation quantity over time. Vegetation quantity, rather than diversity and soil nutrients, is the main driver of forest productivity in temperate mixed forest. Our results imply that diversity effect for productivity in natural forests may not be so important as often suggested, at least not during the later stage of forest succession. This finding suggests that as a change of the importance of different divers of productivity, the environmentally driven filtering decreases and competitively driven niche differentiation increases with forest succession.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zuoqiang Yuan
- CAS Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Management, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110164, PR China
| | - Arshad Ali
- Spatial Ecology Lab, School of Life Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, Guangdong, China
| | - Shaopeng Wang
- Department of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Science, and Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, Peking University, 100871 Beijing, China
| | - Antonio Gazol
- Instituto Pirenaico de Ecologia, IPE-CSIC, Avenida Montanana 1005, 50010 Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Robert Freckleton
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Alfred Denny Building, Sheffield S10 2TN, United Kingdom
| | - Xugao Wang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Management, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110164, PR China
| | - Fei Lin
- CAS Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Management, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110164, PR China
| | - Ji Ye
- CAS Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Management, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110164, PR China
| | - Li Zhou
- CAS Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Management, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110164, PR China
| | - Zhanqing Hao
- CAS Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Management, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110164, PR China.
| | - Michel Loreau
- Centre for Biodiversity Theory and Modelling, Theoretical and Experimental Ecology Station, CNRS and Paul Sabatier University, 09200 Moulis, France
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41
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Wright SJ, Turner BL, Yavitt JB, Harms KE, Kaspari M, Tanner EVJ, Bujan J, Griffin EA, Mayor JR, Pasquini SC, Sheldrake M, Garcia MN. Plant responses to fertilization experiments in lowland, species-rich, tropical forests. Ecology 2018; 99:1129-1138. [PMID: 29460277 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.2193] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2017] [Revised: 01/07/2018] [Accepted: 01/22/2018] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
We present a meta-analysis of plant responses to fertilization experiments conducted in lowland, species-rich, tropical forests. We also update a key result and present the first species-level analyses of tree growth rates for a 15-yr factorial nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) experiment conducted in central Panama. The update concerns community-level tree growth rates, which responded significantly to the addition of N and K together after 10 yr of fertilization but not after 15 yr. Our experimental soils are infertile for the region, and species whose regional distributions are strongly associated with low soil P availability dominate the local tree flora. Under these circumstances, we expect muted responses to fertilization, and we predicted species associated with low-P soils would respond most slowly. The data did not support this prediction, species-level tree growth responses to P addition were unrelated to species-level soil P associations. The meta-analysis demonstrated that nutrient limitation is widespread in lowland tropical forests and evaluated two directional hypotheses concerning plant responses to N addition and to P addition. The meta-analysis supported the hypothesis that tree (or biomass) growth rate responses to fertilization are weaker in old growth forests and stronger in secondary forests, where rapid biomass accumulation provides a nutrient sink. The meta-analysis found no support for the long-standing hypothesis that plant responses are stronger for P addition and weaker for N addition. We do not advocate discarding the latter hypothesis. There are only 14 fertilization experiments from lowland, species-rich, tropical forests, 13 of the 14 experiments added nutrients for five or fewer years, and responses vary widely among experiments. Potential fertilization responses should be muted when the species present are well adapted to nutrient-poor soils, as is the case in our experiment, and when pest pressure increases with fertilization, as it does in our experiment. The statistical power and especially the duration of fertilization experiments conducted in old growth, tropical forests might be insufficient to detect the slow, modest growth responses that are to be expected.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Joseph Wright
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843, Balboa, Panama
| | - Benjamin L Turner
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843, Balboa, Panama
| | - Joseph B Yavitt
- Department of Natural Resources, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, 14853, USA
| | - Kyle E Harms
- Department of Biological Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 70803, USA
| | - Michael Kaspari
- Department of Biology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, 73019, USA
| | - Edmund V J Tanner
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843, Balboa, Panama.,Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EA, United Kingdom
| | - Jelena Bujan
- Department of Biology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, 73019, USA
| | - Eric A Griffin
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843, Balboa, Panama.,Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, 4249 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15260, USA.,Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, 647 Contees Wharf Road, Edgewater, Maryland, 21307, USA
| | - Jordan R Mayor
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843, Balboa, Panama.,ICF, P.O. Box 4495, Arcata, California, 95518, USA
| | - Sarah C Pasquini
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, 4249 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15260, USA
| | - Merlin Sheldrake
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843, Balboa, Panama.,Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EA, United Kingdom
| | - Milton N Garcia
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843, Balboa, Panama
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42
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Wang W, Li Y, Zhao Q, Liu X, Long F, Mo Q. Effects of labile carbon and phosphorus addition on N transformations with N- vs. non-N-fixing tree plantations. Ecosphere 2018. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.2165] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Wenjuan Wang
- College of Forestry and Landscape Architecture; South China Agricultural University; Guangzhou 510642 China
- Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems; South China Botanical Garden; Chinese Academy of Sciences; Guangzhou 510650 China
| | - Yingwen Li
- Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems; South China Botanical Garden; Chinese Academy of Sciences; Guangzhou 510650 China
| | - Qian Zhao
- College of Forestry and Landscape Architecture; South China Agricultural University; Guangzhou 510642 China
| | - Xiaodong Liu
- College of Forestry and Landscape Architecture; South China Agricultural University; Guangzhou 510642 China
| | - Fengling Long
- College of Forestry and Landscape Architecture; South China Agricultural University; Guangzhou 510642 China
| | - Qifeng Mo
- College of Forestry and Landscape Architecture; South China Agricultural University; Guangzhou 510642 China
- Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems; South China Botanical Garden; Chinese Academy of Sciences; Guangzhou 510650 China
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43
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Jiang L, Tian D, Ma S, Zhou X, Xu L, Zhu J, Jing X, Zheng C, Shen H, Zhou Z, Li Y, Zhu B, Fang J. The response of tree growth to nitrogen and phosphorus additions in a tropical montane rainforest. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2018; 618:1064-1070. [PMID: 29126640 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.09.099] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2017] [Revised: 09/10/2017] [Accepted: 09/11/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Rapid increase of global nitrogen (N) deposition has greatly altered carbon cycles and functioning of forest ecosystems. Previous studies have focused on changes in carbon dynamics of temperate and subtropical forests through N enrichment experiments; however, the effects of N deposition on tree growth remain inconsistent, especially in tropical forests. Here, we conducted a five-year N addition experiment (0 and 50kgNha-1yr-1) in a tropical montane rain forest in Hainan Island, China, to explore the effects of enhanced N deposition on growth of trees. We also set phosphorus (P) treatment (50kgPha-1yr-1) and N+P treatment (50kgNha-1yr-1+50kgPha-1yr-1) to examine potential P limitation driven by N deposition. Our results showed that N addition has not significantly influenced tree growth, while P addition significantly increased the relative growth rate of small (diameter at breast height, DBH≤10cm) and medium (10<DBH≤20cm) trees. The combined N and P addition accelerated the growth of small trees, but did not affect the growth of medium and large (20cm<DBH) trees. These contrasting effects of N and P addition on tree growth indicate that the tropical montane forest is mainly limited by P, which suggests the importance of P in regulating growth of trees in tropical forests.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lai Jiang
- Department of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
| | - Di Tian
- Department of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Suhui Ma
- Department of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Xuli Zhou
- Department of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Longchao Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China
| | - Jianxiao Zhu
- Department of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Xin Jing
- Department of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Chengyang Zheng
- Department of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Haihua Shen
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China
| | - Zhang Zhou
- Research Institute of Tropical Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Guangzhou 520510, China
| | - Yide Li
- Research Institute of Tropical Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Guangzhou 520510, China
| | - Biao Zhu
- Department of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Jingyun Fang
- Department of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
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44
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Turner BL, Brenes-Arguedas T, Condit R. Pervasive phosphorus limitation of tree species but not communities in tropical forests. Nature 2018. [PMID: 29513656 DOI: 10.1038/nature25789] [Citation(s) in RCA: 105] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Phosphorus availability is widely assumed to limit primary productivity in tropical forests, but support for this paradigm is equivocal. Although biogeochemical theory predicts that phosphorus limitation should be prevalent on old, strongly weathered soils, experimental manipulations have failed to detect a consistent response to phosphorus addition in species-rich lowland tropical forests. Here we show, by quantifying the growth of 541 tropical tree species across a steep natural phosphorus gradient in Panama, that phosphorus limitation is widespread at the level of individual species and strengthens markedly below a threshold of two parts per million exchangeable soil phosphate. However, this pervasive species-specific phosphorus limitation does not translate into a community-wide response, because some species grow rapidly on infertile soils despite extremely low phosphorus availability. These results redefine our understanding of nutrient limitation in diverse plant communities and have important implications for attempts to predict the response of tropical forests to environmental change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin L Turner
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancon, Panama
| | | | - Richard Condit
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancon, Panama
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45
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Mori T, Lu X, Aoyagi R, Mo J. Reconsidering the phosphorus limitation of soil microbial activity in tropical forests. Funct Ecol 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.13043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Taiki Mori
- Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded EcosystemsSouth China Botanical GardenChinese Academy of Sciences Guangdong China
- Forest Ecology LaboratoryGraduate school of AgricultureKyoto University Kyoto Japan
| | - Xiankai Lu
- Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded EcosystemsSouth China Botanical GardenChinese Academy of Sciences Guangdong China
| | - Ryota Aoyagi
- Forest Ecology LaboratoryGraduate school of AgricultureKyoto University Kyoto Japan
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Panama City Panama
| | - Jiangming Mo
- Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded EcosystemsSouth China Botanical GardenChinese Academy of Sciences Guangdong China
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46
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Bauters M, Drake TW, Verbeeck H, Bodé S, Hervé-Fernández P, Zito P, Podgorski DC, Boyemba F, Makelele I, Cizungu Ntaboba L, Spencer RGM, Boeckx P. High fire-derived nitrogen deposition on central African forests. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2018; 115:549-554. [PMID: 29295919 PMCID: PMC5776982 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1714597115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition is an important determinant of N availability for natural ecosystems worldwide. Increased anthropogenic N deposition shifts the stoichiometric equilibrium of ecosystems, with direct and indirect impacts on ecosystem functioning and biogeochemical cycles. Current simulation data suggest that remote tropical forests still receive low atmospheric N deposition due to a lack of proximate industry, low rates of fossil fuel combustion, and absence of intensive agriculture. We present field-based N deposition data for forests of the central Congo Basin, and use ultrahigh-resolution mass spectrometry to characterize the organic N fraction. Additionally, we use satellite data and modeling for atmospheric N source apportionment. Our results indicate that these forests receive 18.2 kg N hectare-1 years-1 as wet deposition, with dry deposition via canopy interception adding considerably to this flux. We also show that roughly half of the N deposition is organic, which is often ignored in N deposition measurements and simulations. The source of atmospheric N is predominantly derived from intensive seasonal burning of biomass on the continent. This high N deposition has important implications for the ecology of the Congo Basin and for global biogeochemical cycles more broadly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marijn Bauters
- Isotope Bioscience Laboratory-ISOFYS, Ghent University, 9000 Gent, Belgium;
- CAVElab, Computational and Applied Vegetation Ecology, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Travis W Drake
- National High Magnetic Field Laboratory Geochemistry Group, Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306
| | - Hans Verbeeck
- CAVElab, Computational and Applied Vegetation Ecology, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Samuel Bodé
- Isotope Bioscience Laboratory-ISOFYS, Ghent University, 9000 Gent, Belgium
| | - Pedro Hervé-Fernández
- Isotope Bioscience Laboratory-ISOFYS, Ghent University, 9000 Gent, Belgium
- Laboratory of Hydrology and Water Management, Ghent University, 9000 Gent, Belgium
| | - Phoebe Zito
- National High Magnetic Field Laboratory Geochemistry Group, Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306
| | - David C Podgorski
- National High Magnetic Field Laboratory Geochemistry Group, Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306
| | - Faustin Boyemba
- Plant Department, Faculty of Science, Université de Kisangani, Kisangani, Democratic Republic of Congo
| | - Isaac Makelele
- Plant Department, Faculty of Science, Université de Kisangani, Kisangani, Democratic Republic of Congo
| | - Landry Cizungu Ntaboba
- Faculty of Agronomy, Université Catholique de Bukavu, BP 285 Bukavu, Democratic Republic of Congo
| | - Robert G M Spencer
- National High Magnetic Field Laboratory Geochemistry Group, Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306
| | - Pascal Boeckx
- Isotope Bioscience Laboratory-ISOFYS, Ghent University, 9000 Gent, Belgium
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47
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Báez S, Homeier J. Functional traits determine tree growth and ecosystem productivity of a tropical montane forest: Insights from a long-term nutrient manipulation experiment. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2018; 24:399-409. [PMID: 28921844 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.13905] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2017] [Revised: 07/27/2017] [Accepted: 08/22/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Trait-response effects are critical to forecast community structure and biomass production in highly diverse tropical forests. Ecological theory and few observation studies indicate that trees with acquisitive functional traits would respond more strongly to higher resource availability than those with conservative traits. We assessed how long-term tree growth in experimental nutrient addition plots (N, P, and N + P) varied as a function of morphological traits, tree size, and species identity. We also evaluated how trait-based responses affected stand scale biomass production considering the community structure. We found that tree growth depended on interactions between functional traits and the type or combination of nutrients added. Common species with acquisitive functional traits responded more strongly to nutrient addition, mainly to N + P. Phosphorous enhanced the growth rates of species with acquisitive and conservative traits, had mostly positive effects on common species and neutral or negative effects in rare species. Moreover, trees receiving N + P grew faster irrespective of their initial size relative to trees in control or to trees in other treatment plots. Finally, species responses were highly idiosyncratic suggesting that community processes including competition and niche dimensionality may be altered under increased resource availability. We found no statistically significant effects of nutrient additions on aboveground biomass productivity because acquisitive species had a limited potential to increase their biomass, possibly due to their generally lower wood density. In contrast, P addition increased the growth rates of species characterized by more conservative resource strategies (with higher wood density) that were poorly represented in the plant community. We provide the first long-term experimental evidence that trait-based responses, community structure, and community processes modulate the effects of increased nutrient availability on biomass productivity in a tropical forest.
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Affiliation(s)
- Selene Báez
- Instituto de Ciencias Biológicas, Escuela Politécnica Nacional, Quito, Ecuador
- Museo de Colecciones Biológicas, Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja, Loja, Ecuador
| | - Jürgen Homeier
- Plant Ecology, University of Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany
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Yan Z, Tian D, Han W, Tang Z, Fang J. An assessment on the uncertainty of the nitrogen to phosphorus ratio as a threshold for nutrient limitation in plants. ANNALS OF BOTANY 2017; 120:937-942. [PMID: 29028870 PMCID: PMC5710604 DOI: 10.1093/aob/mcx106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2017] [Accepted: 08/04/2017] [Indexed: 05/29/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS The nitrogen (N) to phosphorus (P) ratio (N:P) has been widely used as a threshold for identifying nutrient limitations in terrestrial plants; however, the associated reliability has not been well assessed. METHODS The uncertainty of nutrient limitations caused by the N:P threshold was evaluated using two approaches: fertilization experiments synthesized across multiple ecosystems; and random sampling simulation of the impacts of different nutrient sufficiencies and deficiencies. KEY RESULTS The fertilization experiment data indicated that the types of nutrient limitation determined via N:P thresholds were partly inconsistent with the growth responses observed under N and P additions, i.e. under N:P thresholds of 14 and 16 (or 10 and 20), 32.5 % (or 16.2 %) of the data were inconsistent between these two. The random sampling simulation suggested that N:P thresholds may indicate N (or P) limitations when leaf N (or P) content is sufficient, whereas these thresholds may not indicate N (or P) limitations when leaf N (or P) content is deficient. The error risks calculated from the sampling simulation presented large fluctuations at small sample sizes and decreased as the thresholds of nutrient content sufficiency (or deficiency) increased (or decreased). The N:P thresholds of 10 and 20 showed lower error risks than the thresholds of 14 and 16. CONCLUSIONS These findings highlight that canonical N:P thresholds have the potential to introduce a large uncertainty when used to detect plant nutrient limitations, suggesting that the error risks should be cautioned in future studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhengbing Yan
- Department of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Di Tian
- Department of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Wenxuan Han
- Key Laboratory of Plant–Soil Interactions, Ministry of Education, College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
| | - Zhiyao Tang
- Department of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Jingyun Fang
- Department of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China
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Flynn TM, Koval JC, Greenwald SM, Owens SM, Kemner KM, Antonopoulos DA. Parallelized, Aerobic, Single Carbon-Source Enrichments from Different Natural Environments Contain Divergent Microbial Communities. Front Microbiol 2017; 8:2321. [PMID: 29234312 PMCID: PMC5712364 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2017.02321] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2017] [Accepted: 11/10/2017] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Microbial communities that inhabit environments such as soil can contain thousands of distinct taxa, yet little is known about how this diversity is maintained in response to environmental perturbations such as changes in the availability of carbon. By utilizing aerobic substrate arrays to examine the effect of carbon amendment on microbial communities taken from six distinct environments (soil from a temperate prairie and forest, tropical forest soil, subalpine forest soil, and surface water and soil from a palustrine emergent wetland), we examined how carbon amendment and inoculum source shape the composition of the community in each enrichment. Dilute subsamples from each environment were used to inoculate 96-well microtiter plates containing triplicate wells amended with one of 31 carbon sources from six different classes of organic compounds (phenols, polymers, carbohydrates, carboxylic acids, amines, amino acids). After incubating each well aerobically in the dark for 72 h, we analyzed the composition of the microbial communities on the substrate arrays as well as the initial inocula by sequencing 16S rRNA gene amplicons using the Illumina MiSeq platform. Comparisons of alpha and beta diversity in these systems showed that, while the composition of the communities that grow to inhabit the wells in each substrate array diverges sharply from that of the original community in the inoculum, these enrichment communities are still strongly affected by the inoculum source. We found most enrichments were dominated by one or several OTUs most closely related to aerobes or facultative anaerobes from the Proteobacteria (e.g., Pseudomonas, Burkholderia, and Ralstonia) or Bacteroidetes (e.g., Chryseobacterium). Comparisons within each substrate array based on the class of carbon source further show that the communities inhabiting wells amended with a carbohydrate differ significantly from those enriched with a phenolic compound. Selection therefore seems to play a role in shaping the communities in the substrate arrays, although some stochasticity is also seen whereby several replicate wells within a single substrate array display strongly divergent community compositions. Overall, the use of highly parallel substrate arrays offers a promising path forward to study the response of microbial communities to perturbations in a changing environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Theodore M Flynn
- Biosciences Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL, United States
| | - Jason C Koval
- Biosciences Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL, United States
| | | | - Sarah M Owens
- Biosciences Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL, United States
| | - Kenneth M Kemner
- Biosciences Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL, United States
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Cárate-Tandalla D, Camenzind T, Leuschner C, Homeier J. Contrasting species responses to continued nitrogen and phosphorus addition in tropical montane forest tree seedlings. Biotropica 2017. [DOI: 10.1111/btp.12518] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Daisy Cárate-Tandalla
- Plant Ecology and Ecosystems Research; University of Goettingen; Untere Karspuele 2 37073 Goettingen Germany
| | - Tessa Camenzind
- Plant Ecology; Institute of Biology; Freie Universität Berlin; Altensteinstraβe 6 14195 Berlin Germany
- Berlin-Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research; Berlin Germany
| | - Christoph Leuschner
- Plant Ecology and Ecosystems Research; University of Goettingen; Untere Karspuele 2 37073 Goettingen Germany
| | - Jürgen Homeier
- Plant Ecology and Ecosystems Research; University of Goettingen; Untere Karspuele 2 37073 Goettingen Germany
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