Effects of long-term nitrogen addition on leaf litter production and carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus return of the dominant tree species in broadleaf evergreen forests on the western margin of Sichuan Basin

doi:10.17521/cjpe.2024.0131

Abstract

Abstract:

Aims The objective of this study was to explore the effects of long-term nitrogen (N) addition on leaf litter production and nutrient return of the dominant tree species in broadleaf evergreen forests of subtropical regions.

Methods A long-term N addition manipulation experiment with three levels (0 kg·hm^-2·a^-1, CK; 20 kg·hm^-2·a^-1, LN; and 40 kg·hm^-2·a^-1, HN) was conducted to examine the effects of N addition on leaf litter production, contents of leaf litter carbon (C), N, and phosphorus (P), as well as their return in the Michelia wilsonii forests located on the western margin of the Sichuan Basin.

Important findings (1) Significant inter-annual variations were observed in the production of M. wilsonii leaf litter, as well as in the mean contents of litter C, N, and P and their annual return, but N addition did not affect these inter-annual dynamics. (2) The HN treatment significantly increased the annual leaf litter production of M. wilsonii by 24.9%. Additionally, the effect of N addition on the average annual litter production decreased as the duration of N addition increased. (3) The HN treatment resulted in a significant increase in the mean content of C of M. wilsonii leaf litter by 3.4%. The effects of HN treatment on leaf litter N and P contents exhibited a turning point during 2019-2020. Specifically, the annual mean N content decreased from 2016 to 2019, but then experienced a significant increase after 2019. In contrast, the annual mean P content decreased from 2018 to 2019, but then experienced a significant increase in 2020. (4) N addition significantly increased the annual return of C, N, and P in leaf litter, with higher effect as the level of N addition increased. However, the effect of N addition on the annual P return showed a significant linear decline over the study period. These findings highlight that high N additions significantly promoted the productivity of M. wilsonii forests and increased carbon and nutrient inputs within the ecosystem. Distinct effects of short-term versus long-term N inputs on the N cycling processes of M. wilsonii forest ecosystems were observed. Additionally, the future exogenous N addition may potentially inhibit the leaf litter yield and P return of M. wilsonii.

Key words: nitrogen addition, leaf litter yield, carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus content, element return, inter-annual dynamics, Michelia wilsonii

TANG Yuan-Xiang, XIONG Shi-Chen, ZHU Hong-Feng, ZHANG Xin-Sheng, YOU Cheng-Ming, LIU Si-Ning, TAN Bo, XU Zhen-Feng. Effects of long-term nitrogen addition on leaf litter production and carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus return of the dominant tree species in broadleaf evergreen forests on the western margin of Sichuan Basin[J]. Chin J Plant Ecol, 2025, 49(5): 720-731.

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URL: https://www.plant-ecology.com/EN/10.17521/cjpe.2024.0131

https://www.plant-ecology.com/EN/Y2025/V49/I5/720

Figures/Tables 5

Fig. 1 Monthly and annual dynamics of air temperature and precipitation in broadleaf evergreen forests on the western margin of Sichuan Basin from 2016 to 2022.

Fig. 2 Annual dynamics of the leaf litter production of Michelia wilsonii under different nitrogen additions (mean ± SE). N addition, nitrogen addition treatment; Time, time effect. Different uppercase letters in the main figure indicate significant differences among years; different uppercase letters in the subplot indicate significant differences among nitrogen addition treatments (p < 0.05). CK, control; HN, high nitrogen addition treatment; LN, low nitrogen addition treatment.

Fig. 3 Temporal variations of the effects of different nitrogen (N) addition treatments on the interannual leaf litter production of Michelia wilsonii. An asterisk indicates a significant linear fitted equation (p < 0.05). The shaded areas represent the 95% confidence interval for the regression curve. HN, high nitrogen addition treatment; LN, low nitrogen addition treatment.

Fig. 4 Annual dynamics of carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) contents and return amount of the leaf litter of Michelia wilsonii under different nitrogen additions (mean ± SE). N addition, nitrogen addition treatment; Time, time effect. Different uppercase letters in the main figure indicate significant differences in the main effect among years or among years under the same nitrogen addition treatment (p < 0.05), while different lowercase letters indicate significant differences among nitrogen addition treatments in the same year (p < 0.05); different uppercase letters in the subplot indicate significant differences in the mean annual C, N and P content and mean restitution of leaf litter under different N addition treatments (p < 0.05). CK, control; HN, high nitrogen addition treatment; LN, low N addition treatment.

Fig. 5 Effects of different nitrogen (N) addition treatments on annual average element contents and return amount in leaf litter of Michelia wilsonii with time. The asterisk indicates a significant linear fitted equation (p < 0.05), and ns indicates a insignificant linear fitted equation (p > 0.05). The shaded areas represent the 95% confidence interval for the regression curve. A, Annual carbon content of leaf litter. B, Annual N content of leaf litter. C, Annual phosphorus content of leaf litter. D, Annual carbon return amount of leaf litter. E, Annual N return amount of leaf litter. F, Annual phosphorus return amount of leaf litter. HN, high N treatment; LN, low N treatment.

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