Effects of sand burial on litter decomposition rate and salt content dynamics in an extremely arid region

doi:10.17521/cjpe.2020.0273

Abstract

Abstract:

Aims Due to the extremely low precipitation, low vegetation coverage, strong solar radiation, and poor soil stability, litter turnover in extremely arid areas differs from that in non-arid areas. This study aimed to determine the patterns of leaf litter decomposition of contrasting initial qualities in an extremely arid region.
Methods We used the litter bag method to investigate changes of the mass and water-soluble salt content in the leaf litter of three dominant species, Karelinia caspia, Alhagi sparsifoliaand Populus euphratica,in the desert- oasis transitional zone of the southern edge of the Taklimakan Desert, in responses to three levels of sand burial treatments, including placement of letter samples at the surface, and 2 cm and 15 cm soil depths, respectively, that represented different incubation environments under natural conditions.
Important findings The relationships of litter decomposition rate with the initial litter quality indicators, including carbon (C) content, nitrogen (N) content, C:N and lignin content, differed between the extremely arid sites and the non-arid sites. The litter placed on the surface had higher lignin content and faster mass loss than those subjected to other treatments. The losses of litter mass and changes in water-soluble salt content significantly varied with the level of burial treatments. Litter samples placed on the surface and at 2 cm depth had a significantly greater rate of losses in mass and water-soluble salt content than those at 15 cm depth. The surface litter had a greater amount of dissolved water-soluble salt in the early stage of decomposition. This study shows that the driving mechanism of litter decomposition in the extremely arid areas is unique. Under conditions of extremely low precipitation and the low activity of soil microorganisms, the buried depth is not the main factor driving the litter decomposition, whilst other abiotic processes such as solar radiation controlled the rate of decomposition.

Key words: litter decomposition, extremely arid area, burial depth, salt

Fan Lin-Jie, LI Cheng-Dao, LI Xiang-Yi, Henry J. SUN, LIN Li-Sha, LIU Bo. Effects of sand burial on litter decomposition rate and salt content dynamics in an extremely arid region[J]. Chin J Plant Ecol, 2021, 45(2): 144-153.

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URL: https://www.plant-ecology.com/EN/10.17521/cjpe.2020.0273

https://www.plant-ecology.com/EN/Y2021/V45/I2/144

Figures/Tables 8

Fig. 1 Meteorological data of the study site in extremely arid region.

Table 1 Initial leaf litter chemical composition of the three species in extremely arid region (mean ± SE)

物种 Species	C (g·kg^-1)	N (g·kg^-1)	C:N	纤维素 Cellulose (%)	半纤维素 Semi-cellulose (%)	木质素 Lignin (%)	水溶性盐 Water-soluble salt (%)
花花柴 Karelinia caspia	367.4 ± 1.07^b	4.65 ± 0.07^b	79.07 ± 1.20^b	24.9 ± 1.4^b	14.3 ± 1.9^a	14.7 ± 0.8^a	18.1 ± 0.6^a
骆驼刺 Alhagi sparsifolia	419.4 ± 0.58^a	11.75 ± 0.60^a	35.87 ± 1.83^c	28.1 ± 0.7^b	2.8 ± 0.3^b	10.7 ± 0.3^b	11.8 ± 0.3^b
胡杨 Populus euphratica	413.8 ± 0.70^a	3.57 ± 0.24^b	116.94 ± 7.68^a	35.7 ± 0.2^a	14.2 ± 1.2^a	12.9 ± 1.3^a	5.5 ± 0.1^c

Fig. 2 Ratio of remaining litter mass at different times of decomposition in extremely arid region (mean ± SE). A, Karelinia caspia. B, Alhagi sparsifolia. C, Populus euphratica. Different lowercase letters indicate that the significant differences between treatments (p < 0.05).

Fig. 3 Values of the litter decomposition constant (k) for different burial treatments in extremely arid region (mean ± SE). Different lowercase letters indicate significant differences between species under the same treatments (p < 0.05).

Fig. 4 Ratio of litter water-soluble salt residue at different times of decomposition in extremely arid region (mean ± SE). A, Karelinia caspia. B, Alhagi sparsifolia. C, Populus euphratica. Different lowercase letters indicate significant differences between treatments (p < 0.05).

Fig. 5 Relationships between litter mass and water-soluble salt residue in extremely arid region. A, Surface. B, 2 cm depth. C, 15 cm depth. The solid line represents the fitting curve of the relationship, and the dotted line represents y = x (1:1).

Fig. 6 Litter dissolved water-soluble salt at different times of decomposition in extremely arid region (mean ± SE). A, Karelinia caspia. B, Alhagi sparsifolia. C, Populus euphratica. Different lowercase letters indicate significant differences between treatments (p < 0.05).

Fig. 7 Ratio of litter water-soluble salt residue of three species under different treatments in extremely arid region (mean ± SE). Different lowercase letters indicate significant differences between treatments (p < 0.05).

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