Water, Rather than Temperature, Dominantly Impacts How Soil Fauna Affect Dissolved Carbon and Nitrogen Release from Fresh Litter during Early Litter Decomposition

Water, Rather than Temperature, Dominantly Impacts How Soil Fauna Affect Dissolved Carbon and Nitrogen Release from Fresh Litter during Early Litter Decomposition

Longstanding observations suggest that dissolved materials are lost from fresh litter through leaching, but the role of soil fauna in controlling this process has been poorly documented. In this study, a litterbag experiment employing litterbags with different mesh sizes (3 mm to permit soil fauna a...

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Main Authors: Shu Liao, Xiangyin Ni, Wanqin Yang, Han Li, Bin Wang, Changkun Fu, Zhenfeng Xu, Bo Tan, Fuzhong Wu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2016-10-01
Series:Forests
Subjects:
soil fauna
dissolved organic carbon
dissolved nitrogen
subalpine forest
Online Access:http://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/7/10/249
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spelling doaj-1c38dabaa92d49189e1a3b4dc07800e82020-11-25T00:00:42ZengMDPI AGForests1999-49072016-10-0171024910.3390/f7100249f7100249Water, Rather than Temperature, Dominantly Impacts How Soil Fauna Affect Dissolved Carbon and Nitrogen Release from Fresh Litter during Early Litter DecompositionShu Liao0Xiangyin Ni1Wanqin Yang2Han Li3Bin Wang4Changkun Fu5Zhenfeng Xu6Bo Tan7Fuzhong Wu8Long-Term Research Station of Alpine Forest Ecosystems, Key Laboratory of Ecological Forestry Engineering, Institute of Ecology and Forestry, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, ChinaLong-Term Research Station of Alpine Forest Ecosystems, Key Laboratory of Ecological Forestry Engineering, Institute of Ecology and Forestry, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, ChinaLong-Term Research Station of Alpine Forest Ecosystems, Key Laboratory of Ecological Forestry Engineering, Institute of Ecology and Forestry, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, ChinaLong-Term Research Station of Alpine Forest Ecosystems, Key Laboratory of Ecological Forestry Engineering, Institute of Ecology and Forestry, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, ChinaLaboratory of Forestry, Department of Forest and Water Management, Ghent University, Geraardsbergsesteenweg 267, BE-9090 Gontrode (Melle), BelgiumLong-Term Research Station of Alpine Forest Ecosystems, Key Laboratory of Ecological Forestry Engineering, Institute of Ecology and Forestry, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, ChinaLong-Term Research Station of Alpine Forest Ecosystems, Key Laboratory of Ecological Forestry Engineering, Institute of Ecology and Forestry, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, ChinaLong-Term Research Station of Alpine Forest Ecosystems, Key Laboratory of Ecological Forestry Engineering, Institute of Ecology and Forestry, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, ChinaLong-Term Research Station of Alpine Forest Ecosystems, Key Laboratory of Ecological Forestry Engineering, Institute of Ecology and Forestry, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, ChinaLongstanding observations suggest that dissolved materials are lost from fresh litter through leaching, but the role of soil fauna in controlling this process has been poorly documented. In this study, a litterbag experiment employing litterbags with different mesh sizes (3 mm to permit soil fauna access and 0.04 mm to exclude fauna access) was conducted in three habitats (arid valley, ecotone and subalpine forest) with changes in climate and vegetation types to evaluate the effects of soil fauna on the concentrations of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and total dissolved nitrogen (TDN) during the first year of decomposition. The results showed that the individual density and community abundance of soil fauna greatly varied among these habitats, but Prostigmata, Isotomidae and Oribatida were the dominant soil invertebrates. At the end of the experiment, the mass remaining of foliar litter ranged from 58% for shrub litter to 77% for birch litter, and the DOC and TDN concentrations decreased to 54%–85% and increased to 34%–269%, respectively, when soil fauna were not present. The effects of soil fauna on the concentrations of both DOC and TDN in foliar litter were greater in the subalpine forest (wetter but colder) during the winter and in the arid valley (warmer but drier) during the growing season, and this effect was positively correlated with water content. Moreover, the effects of fauna on DOC and TDN concentrations were greater for high-quality litter and were related to the C/N ratio. These results suggest that water, rather than temperature, dominates how fauna affect the release of dissolved substances from fresh litter.http://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/7/10/249soil faunadissolved organic carbondissolved nitrogensubalpine forest
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Shu Liao
Xiangyin Ni
Wanqin Yang
Han Li
Bin Wang
Changkun Fu
Zhenfeng Xu
Bo Tan
Fuzhong Wu
spellingShingle Shu Liao
Xiangyin Ni
Wanqin Yang
Han Li
Bin Wang
Changkun Fu
Zhenfeng Xu
Bo Tan
Fuzhong Wu
Water, Rather than Temperature, Dominantly Impacts How Soil Fauna Affect Dissolved Carbon and Nitrogen Release from Fresh Litter during Early Litter Decomposition
Forests
soil fauna
dissolved organic carbon
dissolved nitrogen
subalpine forest
author_facet Shu Liao
Xiangyin Ni
Wanqin Yang
Han Li
Bin Wang
Changkun Fu
Zhenfeng Xu
Bo Tan
Fuzhong Wu
author_sort Shu Liao
title Water, Rather than Temperature, Dominantly Impacts How Soil Fauna Affect Dissolved Carbon and Nitrogen Release from Fresh Litter during Early Litter Decomposition
title_short Water, Rather than Temperature, Dominantly Impacts How Soil Fauna Affect Dissolved Carbon and Nitrogen Release from Fresh Litter during Early Litter Decomposition
title_full Water, Rather than Temperature, Dominantly Impacts How Soil Fauna Affect Dissolved Carbon and Nitrogen Release from Fresh Litter during Early Litter Decomposition
title_fullStr Water, Rather than Temperature, Dominantly Impacts How Soil Fauna Affect Dissolved Carbon and Nitrogen Release from Fresh Litter during Early Litter Decomposition
title_full_unstemmed Water, Rather than Temperature, Dominantly Impacts How Soil Fauna Affect Dissolved Carbon and Nitrogen Release from Fresh Litter during Early Litter Decomposition
title_sort water, rather than temperature, dominantly impacts how soil fauna affect dissolved carbon and nitrogen release from fresh litter during early litter decomposition
publisher MDPI AG
series Forests
issn 1999-4907
publishDate 2016-10-01
description Longstanding observations suggest that dissolved materials are lost from fresh litter through leaching, but the role of soil fauna in controlling this process has been poorly documented. In this study, a litterbag experiment employing litterbags with different mesh sizes (3 mm to permit soil fauna access and 0.04 mm to exclude fauna access) was conducted in three habitats (arid valley, ecotone and subalpine forest) with changes in climate and vegetation types to evaluate the effects of soil fauna on the concentrations of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and total dissolved nitrogen (TDN) during the first year of decomposition. The results showed that the individual density and community abundance of soil fauna greatly varied among these habitats, but Prostigmata, Isotomidae and Oribatida were the dominant soil invertebrates. At the end of the experiment, the mass remaining of foliar litter ranged from 58% for shrub litter to 77% for birch litter, and the DOC and TDN concentrations decreased to 54%–85% and increased to 34%–269%, respectively, when soil fauna were not present. The effects of soil fauna on the concentrations of both DOC and TDN in foliar litter were greater in the subalpine forest (wetter but colder) during the winter and in the arid valley (warmer but drier) during the growing season, and this effect was positively correlated with water content. Moreover, the effects of fauna on DOC and TDN concentrations were greater for high-quality litter and were related to the C/N ratio. These results suggest that water, rather than temperature, dominates how fauna affect the release of dissolved substances from fresh litter.
topic soil fauna
dissolved organic carbon
dissolved nitrogen
subalpine forest
url http://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/7/10/249
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