The Effect of Soil Micronutrient Variation Along an Elevational Gradient in a Wet Montane Forest
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Bowling Green State University / OhioLINK
2017
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1499101412028953 |
| id |
ndltd-OhioLink-oai-etd.ohiolink.edu-bgsu1499101412028953 |
|---|---|
| record_format |
oai_dc |
| spelling |
ndltd-OhioLink-oai-etd.ohiolink.edu-bgsu14991014120289532021-08-03T07:03:09Z The Effect of Soil Micronutrient Variation Along an Elevational Gradient in a Wet Montane Forest Ritzenthaler, Cari Biogeochemistry Biology Ecology Entomology Environmental Science Environmental Studies Nutrition Organismal Biology Soil Sciences Zoology ecology invertebrate ecology invertebrate community ecology soil invertebrates detritivores decomposition calcium zinc micronutrient elevational gradient mean annual temperature gradient hawaii wet montane forest hawaiian rain forest Forest floor-dwelling invertebrates drive decomposition, and thus nutrient cycling, by breaking down leaf litter and making it readily available for the microbial community to further decompose. There is evidence from tropical systems, where invertebrates play a disproportionately large role in decomposition, that micronutrients (e.g. calcium, sodium, zinc etc.) drive invertebrate abundance and activity because of the vital role these elements play in invertebrate morphology and physiology. However, little is known about the extent to which these micronutrients interact with other environmental variables, such as climate or other nutrients, to impact invertebrate-mediated nutrient cycling. This study focuses on how availability of micronutrients influences the invertebrate abundance and their decomposition activity in a tropical forest. The study took place along an elevational gradient in Hawaii where mean annual temperature (MAT) varies by 5.2°C. Across the gradient, nutrient composition in soil and leaves were measured along with invertebrate (detritivores and their predators) abundance. Following that, enrichment treatments of calcium or zinc were applied to 15 plots surrounding the nine elevational sites. Additionally, litterbags were enriched in pairs (coarse and fine mesh) to measure invertebrate-mediated decomposition. After 7 weeks, invertebrates were collected directly from the leaf litter and from the litterbags, and percent leaf mass loss was measured from the litterbags as a proxy for decomposition. Results suggest that the relationship between detritivore and predator abundance and micronutrient treatment is dependent on the amount of natural nutrient available with litter depth as a co-variant. However, the abundance invertebrates of individual families were driven by MAT and litter depth and not micronutrient treatment. Decomposition driven by invertebrates depended on the interactive and main effects of invertebrate abundance within the litterbags and micronutrient treatment. Based on these findings, one conclusion is that the response of invertebrates to micronutrient additions is dependent on the existing nutrient concentrations. Overall, this study highlights that there are still many unknown determinants of decomposition and soil invertebrate community structure within these forests. More experiments, conducted over longer time scales and querying morphological or other physiological changes, looking more closely at the importance of micronutrients to invertebrates are needed. 2017-07-26 English text Bowling Green State University / OhioLINK http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1499101412028953 http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1499101412028953 unrestricted This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: some rights reserved. It is licensed for use under a Creative Commons license. Specific terms and permissions are available from this document's record in the OhioLINK ETD Center. |
| collection |
NDLTD |
| language |
English |
| sources |
NDLTD |
| topic |
Biogeochemistry Biology Ecology Entomology Environmental Science Environmental Studies Nutrition Organismal Biology Soil Sciences Zoology ecology invertebrate ecology invertebrate community ecology soil invertebrates detritivores decomposition calcium zinc micronutrient elevational gradient mean annual temperature gradient hawaii wet montane forest hawaiian rain forest |
| spellingShingle |
Biogeochemistry Biology Ecology Entomology Environmental Science Environmental Studies Nutrition Organismal Biology Soil Sciences Zoology ecology invertebrate ecology invertebrate community ecology soil invertebrates detritivores decomposition calcium zinc micronutrient elevational gradient mean annual temperature gradient hawaii wet montane forest hawaiian rain forest Ritzenthaler, Cari The Effect of Soil Micronutrient Variation Along an Elevational Gradient in a Wet Montane Forest |
| author |
Ritzenthaler, Cari |
| author_facet |
Ritzenthaler, Cari |
| author_sort |
Ritzenthaler, Cari |
| title |
The Effect of Soil Micronutrient Variation Along an Elevational Gradient in a Wet Montane Forest |
| title_short |
The Effect of Soil Micronutrient Variation Along an Elevational Gradient in a Wet Montane Forest |
| title_full |
The Effect of Soil Micronutrient Variation Along an Elevational Gradient in a Wet Montane Forest |
| title_fullStr |
The Effect of Soil Micronutrient Variation Along an Elevational Gradient in a Wet Montane Forest |
| title_full_unstemmed |
The Effect of Soil Micronutrient Variation Along an Elevational Gradient in a Wet Montane Forest |
| title_sort |
effect of soil micronutrient variation along an elevational gradient in a wet montane forest |
| publisher |
Bowling Green State University / OhioLINK |
| publishDate |
2017 |
| url |
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1499101412028953 |
| work_keys_str_mv |
AT ritzenthalercari theeffectofsoilmicronutrientvariationalonganelevationalgradientinawetmontaneforest AT ritzenthalercari effectofsoilmicronutrientvariationalonganelevationalgradientinawetmontaneforest |
| _version_ |
1719452324322082816 |