Decomposition of mixed litter of four dominant species in an Inner Mongolia steppe

doi:10.3724/SP.J.1258.2011.00009

Abstract

Abstract:

Aims Litter decomposition is a key process of energy flow and nutrient cycling in terrestrial ecosystems that might be sensitive to the loss of biodiversity. Our objective in this study was to investigate the potential effects of plant litter diversity on decomposition processes and nutrient release in an Inner Mongolia grassland ecosystem.
Methods We placed aboveground litter (stems and leaves) of four dominant species (Stipa krylovii, Astragalus scaberrimus, Potentilla acaulis and Leymus chinensis) individually and in mixture in litterbags in the field on October 27, 2006. We collected the litter bags after 0, 162, 252 and 341 days and determined mass loss and N and P content in the remaining litter.
Important findings After 341 days, the remaining mass of litter of individual species was significantly negatively correlated with initial litter N content. There was no significant difference between the observed and expected mass remaining for most litter mixtures, except the A. scaberrimus - P. acaulis mixture, in which mass remaining was 7.5% higher than the expected. Nevertheless, most litter mixtures affected the dynamics of N and P during decomposition. N releases of S. krylovii - A. scaberrimus and S. krylovii - L. chinensis were facilitated in the early stages of decomposition, in which remaining N was 4.7% and 10.0% lower, respectively, than the expected. Meanwhile, either release or accumulation of P in four of five litter mixtures was also promoted in different decomposition stages, and the P remaining significantly differed from the expected in S. krylovii - P. acaulis, S. krylovii - L. chinensis and S. krylovii - A. scaberrimus (31.1%, 23.1% and 21.8%, respectively in the early, middle, and later stage of decomposition). Our results show that litter diversity has significant effects on nutrient dynamics, especially for P, but not on mass loss rates of most decomposing mixtures, and the effects of mixing are complex.

Key words: litter decomposition, mixing effects, nutrient dynamics, steppe ecosystem

CHEN Jin, LI Yang, HUANG Jian-Hui. Decomposition of mixed litter of four dominant species in an Inner Mongolia steppe[J]. Chin J Plant Ecol, 2011, 35(1): 9-16.

Add to citation manager EndNote|Ris|BibTeX

URL: https://www.plant-ecology.com/EN/10.3724/SP.J.1258.2011.00009

https://www.plant-ecology.com/EN/Y2011/V35/I1/9

Figures/Tables 5

References 21

[1]	Aerts R, de Caluwe H (1997). Nutritional and plant-mediated controls on leaf litter decomposition of Carex species. Ecology, 78, 244-260.
[2]	Bardgett RD, Shine A (1999). Linkages between plant litter diversity, soil microbial biomass and ecosystem function in temperate grasslands. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 31, 317-321. DOI URL
[3]	Berg B, McClaugherty C (1989). Nitrogen and phosphorus release from decomposing litter in relation to the disappearance of lignin. Canadian Journal of Botany, 67, 1148-1156.
[4]	Blair JM, Parmelee RW, Beare MH (1990). Decay rates, nitrogen fluxes, and decomposer communities of single- and mixed-species foliar litter. Ecology, 71, 1976-1985.
[5]	Chen ZZ (陈佐忠)) (1988). Overview of topography and climate in the Xilin River Basin of Inner Mongolia. Research on Grassland Ecosystem (草原生态系统研究), 3, 13-22. (in Chinese with English abstract)
[6]	Dong M (董鸣), Wang YF (王义凤), Kong FZ (孔繁志), Jiang GM (蒋高明), Zhang ZB (张知彬) (1997). Survey, Observation and Analysis of Terrestrial Biocommunities (陆地生物群落调查观测与分析). Standards Press of China, Beijing. 152-154. (in Chinese)
[7]	Gartner TB, Cardon ZG (2004). Decomposition dynamics in mixed-species leaf litter. Oikos, 104, 230-246.
[8]	Hättenschwiler S, Tiunov AV, Scheu S (2005). Biodiversity and litter decomposition in terrestrial ecosystems. Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution and Systematics, 36, 191-218.
[9]	Hansen RA (1999). Red oak litter promotes a microarthropod functional group that accelerates its decomposition. Plant and Soil, 209, 37-45.
[10]	Hansen RA, Coleman DC (1998). Litter complexity and composition are determinants of the diversity and species composition of oribatid mites (Acari: Oribatida) in litterbags. Applied Soil Ecology, 9, 17-23. DOI URL
[11]	Hector A, Beale AJ, Minns A, Otway SJ, Lawton JH (2000). Consequences of the reduction of plant diversity for litter decomposition: effects through litter quality and microenvironment. Oikos, 90, 357-371. DOI URL
[12]	Liao LP (廖利平), Ma YQ (马越强), Wang SL (汪思龙), Gao H (高洪), Yu XJ (于小军) (2000). Decomposition of leaf litter of Chinese fir and in mixture with major associated broad-leaved plantation species. Acta Phytoecologica Sinica (植物生态学报), 24, 27-33. (in Chinese with English abstract)
[13]	Liu P, Sun OJ, Huang J, Li L, Han X (2007). Nonadditive effects of litter mixtures on decomposition and correlation with initial litter N and P concentrations in grassland plant species of northern China. Biology and Fertility of Soils, 44, 211-216. DOI URL
[14]	Liu P, Huang J, Han X, Sun OJ (2009). Litter decomposition in semi-arid grassland of Inner Mongolia, China. Rangeland Ecology and Management, 62, 305-313.
[15]	Melillo JM, Aber JD, Muratore JF (1982). Nitrogen and lignin control of hardwood leaf litter decomposition dynamics. Ecology, 63, 621-626. DOI URL
[16]	Sanchez FG (2001). Loblolly pine needle decomposition and nutrient dynamics as affected by irrigation, fertilization, and substrate quality. Forest Ecology and Management, 152, 85-96.
[17]	Swift MJ, Heal OW, Anderson JM (1979). Decomposition in Terrestrial Ecosystems. University of Chicago Press, Chicago. 509.
[18]	Wang QB (王其兵), Li LH (李凌浩), Bai YF (白永飞), Xing XR (邢雪荣) (2000). Effects of simulated climate change on the decomposition of mixed litter in three steppe communities. Acta Phytoecologica Sinica (植物生态学报), 24, 674-679. (in Chinese with English abstract)
[19]	Wardle DA, Bonner KI, Nicholson KS (1997). Biodiversity and plant litter: experimental evidence which does not support the view that enhanced species richness improves ecosystem function. Oikos, 79, 247-258. DOI URL
[20]	Wardle DA, Nilsson MC, Zackrisson O, Gallet C (2003). Determinants of litter mixing effects in a Swedish boreal forest. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 35, 827-835. DOI URL
[21]	Zak DR, Holmes WE, White DC, Peacock AD, Tilman D (2003). Plant diversity, soil microbial communities, and ecosystem function: Are there any links? Ecology, 84, 2042-2050. DOI URL

凋落物类型 Litter type	C (%)	N (%)	P (%)	C/N	C/P	N/P
克氏针茅 Stipa krylovii	40.75 ± 0.62^a	0.561 ± 0.035^a	0.096 ± 0.003^a	72.12 ± 4.29^a	425.75 ± 16.12^a	5.957 ± 0.285^a
糙叶黄芪 Astragalus scaberrimus	43.82 ± 0.58^b	2.205 ± 0.023^b	0.159 ± 0.001^b	19.82 ± 0.20^b	275.20 ± 3.73^b	13.884 ± 0.074^b
星毛委陵菜 Potentila acaulis	42.17 ± 0.51^ac	1.114 ± 0.020^c	0.164 ± 0.001^b	37.58 ± 1.01^c	256.78 ± 4.14^b	6.843 ± 0.115^c
羊草 Leymus chinensis	43.21 ± 0.30^bc	0.547 ± 0.031^a	0.096 ± 0.006^a	76.00 ± 5.57^a	454.79 ± 27.68^a	6.005 ± 0.097^a

凋落物类型 Litter type	C (%)	N (%)	P (%)	C/N	C/P	N/P
克氏针茅 Stipa krylovii	40.75 ± 0.62^a	0.561 ± 0.035^a	0.096 ± 0.003^a	72.12 ± 4.29^a	425.75 ± 16.12^a	5.957 ± 0.285^a
糙叶黄芪 Astragalus scaberrimus	43.82 ± 0.58^b	2.205 ± 0.023^b	0.159 ± 0.001^b	19.82 ± 0.20^b	275.20 ± 3.73^b	13.884 ± 0.074^b
星毛委陵菜 Potentila acaulis	42.17 ± 0.51^ac	1.114 ± 0.020^c	0.164 ± 0.001^b	37.58 ± 1.01^c	256.78 ± 4.14^b	6.843 ± 0.115^c
羊草 Leymus chinensis	43.21 ± 0.30^bc	0.547 ± 0.031^a	0.096 ± 0.006^a	76.00 ± 5.57^a	454.79 ± 27.68^a	6.005 ± 0.097^a

凋落物混合组合 Litter mixing combinations	重量剩余率 Mass remaining percentage (%)		混合效应 Mixing effects
凋落物混合组合 Litter mixing combinations	实测值 Observed value	期望值 Expected value	混合效应 Mixing effects
克氏针茅-糙叶黄芪(Sk-As) Stipa krylovii + Astragalus scaberrimus	66.0 ± 0.7	65.9 ± 0.9	ns
糙叶黄芪-星毛委陵菜(As-Pa) A. scaberrimus + Potentila acaulis	67.4 ± 1.1***	59.9 ± 0.5	–
星毛委陵菜-克氏针茅(Pa-Sk) P. acaulis + S. krylovii	71.4 ± 1.5	73.8 ± 0.7	ns
克氏针茅-羊草(Sk-Lc) S. krylovii + Leymus chinensis	81.6 ± 1.2	79.0 ± 0.4	ns
克氏针茅-糙叶黄芪-星毛委陵菜(Sk-As-Pa) S. krylovii + A. scaberrimus + P. acaulis	68.2 ± 0.6***	66.5 ± 0.6	–

凋落物混合组合 Litter mixing combinations	重量剩余率 Mass remaining percentage (%)		混合效应 Mixing effects
凋落物混合组合 Litter mixing combinations	实测值 Observed value	期望值 Expected value	混合效应 Mixing effects
克氏针茅-糙叶黄芪(Sk-As) Stipa krylovii + Astragalus scaberrimus	66.0 ± 0.7	65.9 ± 0.9	ns
糙叶黄芪-星毛委陵菜(As-Pa) A. scaberrimus + Potentila acaulis	67.4 ± 1.1***	59.9 ± 0.5	–
星毛委陵菜-克氏针茅(Pa-Sk) P. acaulis + S. krylovii	71.4 ± 1.5	73.8 ± 0.7	ns
克氏针茅-羊草(Sk-Lc) S. krylovii + Leymus chinensis	81.6 ± 1.2	79.0 ± 0.4	ns
克氏针茅-糙叶黄芪-星毛委陵菜(Sk-As-Pa) S. krylovii + A. scaberrimus + P. acaulis	68.2 ± 0.6***	66.5 ± 0.6	–