Decomposition and nutrient release of four potential mulching materials for poplar plantations on upland sites

Abstract

The application of organic residues and the release dynamics of nutrients during decomposition may be crucial to improving poplar growth in upland areas. Field experiments were conducted in Guizhou Province, southwestern China, to determine differences in biomass decomposition of four potential mulching materials in one-year-old poplar plantations. Results showed the initial total content of N, P, K, Ca and Mg in the mulches ranged from 30.0 to 35.0 g/kg and was significantly greater in Quercus fabri, Imperata cylindrica var. major and Pteridium aquilinum var. latiuscukum than in Coriaria nepalensis. The weight loss pattern of these four species during decomposition could be best described by a double exponential decay model, and monthly decay rate coefficients (k) were in the order Q. fabri [C. nepalensis[I. cylindrica[P. aquilinum over a one-year period. Total nutrient (N, P and K) release of the four mulching materials ranged from 74.2 to 90.8% of the initial content after one year of decomposition, while nutrients were released in the order K [ P[N. Nutrient release was fastest in C. nepalensis followed by Q. fabri, I. cylindrica, and slowest in P. aquilinum. Thus, taking into account initial nutrient content, nutrient additions and decay rates, the sprouts of woody species (Q. fabri and C. nepalensis) with massive foliage proved to be more important as nitrogen sources than the grass or fern.

Nutrient Contribution of Litterfall in a Short Rotation Plantation of Pure or Mixed Plots of Populus alba L. and Robinia pseudoacacia L.

“…N and P are important elements of the litter and have a strong influence on the decomposition rate due to the high demand for them by decomposer microorganisms [98][99][100], with the initial stoichiometric C:N being a good predictor of the initial decomposition rate [101,102].…”

Effect of Eucalyptus Based Agri-Silvi-Horticultural System on Growth and Yield of Wheat in North-Western Region of Haryana, India

“…Nutrients are made available to plants in agroforestry mainly by atmospheric nitrogen fixation and mineralization of nutrients from organic forms (Muthuri et al, 2005;Fang et al, 2008;Jose, 2009;Hymavathi et al, 2010). The intercropping of trees with crops that are able to biologically fix nitrogen is common in tropical agroforestry systems.…”

Alleviation of heavy metal stress and enhanced plant complex functional restoration in abandoned Pb–Zn mining areas by the nurse plant Coriaria nepalensis

“…C. nepalensis is a non-legume actinorhizal N-fixing species with root nodules (Yan et al, 2017), and the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in concert with nodulating bacteria in its roots effectively fix nitrogen from the soil and air (Tiwari et al, 2003;Manral et al, 2022). Fang et al (2008) and Awasthi et al (2022c) proved that C. nepalensis was more important as a nitrogen source than grass or ferns in studies of artificial forests and natural forests on upland sites in Southwest China and Northeast India. This is the reason for the significant increase in nitrogen in the microenvironment around C. nepalensis.…”