Litterfall, Litter Decomposition, and Nutrient Dynamics in Two Subtropical Bamboo Plantations of China

Tu, Lihua; Hu, Hongling; Ting-xing, HU; Zhang, Jian; Li, Xianwei; Liu, Li; Xiao, Yinlong; Chen, Gang; Li, Renhong

doi:10.1016/s1002-0160(13)60083-1

Cited by 24 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…The export of nutrients associated with sediment loss was found to decrease as a result of bamboo plantations19, resulting in an overall accumulation of soil nutrients in bamboo plantations, as well as an improvement in soil quality20. The fact that the NH 4 + , S b ON, and TDN measured in bamboo plantation soils in the current study were distinctively higher in comparison to bare land soils may be due to the less soil erosion in bamboo plantation soils.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 45%

Improvement in the biochemical and chemical properties of badland soils by thorny bamboo

Shiau

Wang

Chen

et al. 2017

Sci Rep

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Badland soils—which have high silt and clay contents, bulk density, and soil electric conductivity— cover a large area of Southern Taiwan. This study evaluated the amelioration of these poor soils by thorny bamboo, one of the few plant species that grows in badland soils. Soil physiochemical and biological parameters were measured from three thorny bamboo plantations and nearby bare lands. Results show that bamboo increased microbial C and N, soil acid-hydrolysable C, recalcitrant C, and soluble organic C of badland soils. High microbial biomass C to total organic C ratio indicates that soil organic matter was used more efficiently by microbes colonizing bamboo plantations than in bare land soils. High microbial respiration to biomass C ratio in bare land soils confirmed environmentally induced stress. Soil microbes in bare land soils also faced soil organic matter with the high ratio of recalcitrant C to total organic C. The high soil acid-hydrolysable C to total organic C ratio at bamboo plantations supported the hypothesis that decomposition of bamboo litter increased soil C in labile fractions. Overall, thorny bamboo improved soil quality, thus, this study demonstrates that planting thorny bamboo is a successful practice for the amelioration of badland soils.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 45%

Improvement in the biochemical and chemical properties of badland soils by thorny bamboo

Shiau

Wang

Chen

et al. 2017

Sci Rep

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“…Thus, termites' consumption and/or microbial decomposition of the denser wood of bamboo are reduced. This suggests that the current literature, which has strong bias towards dicot (especially eudicot) tree decomposition, overestimates the rate of wood turnover in (sub) tropical regions, especially in areas where bamboos are common such as tropical bamboo plantation, bamboo forest or bamboo savanna (Tripathi & Singh 1992;Tu et al 2014). In addition, bamboos, mostly strongly rhizomatous clonal plants, are generally favoured by disturbance.…”

Section: No Damagementioning

confidence: 98%

“…Similarly, litter decomposition and nutrient element losses of leaf and branch/culm in bamboo plantations are slower than those in typical lowland rainforests (Shanmughavel 2004). In India and China, decomposition rates were lower in bamboo stem or twig litter than in bamboo leaf or sheath litter and grass shoot litter (Tripathi & Singh 1992;Tu et al 2014). Indirect evidence for bamboo recalcitrance to decomposition comes from a study on the present annual phytolith carbon sink (amorphous silica deposited in plant tissues) in China's forests (estimated at 1.7 AE 0.4 Tg CO 2 year À1 ), 30% of which was shown to be contributed by bamboo due to the larger phytolith-occluded carbon fraction in bamboo litter than in other major clades (Song et al 2013;Li et al 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Termites amplify the effects of wood traits on decomposition rates among multiple bamboo and dicot woody species

et al. 2015

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Summary1. Wood decomposition is a key process in the terrestrial carbon cycle, controlling carbon storage with feedback to climate. In (sub) tropical forest, termites are major players in wood decomposition, but their role relative to that of microbial decomposers and wood traits of different tree species is poorly understood. The current literature also has strong bias towards dicot tree decomposition, while abundant woody monocots, particularly bamboos, also contribute greatly to (sub) tropical carbon cycling. 2. Here, we present the first experiment to disentangle effects of dead wood traits and termite activity on decomposition of 66 angiosperm species of wide-ranging phylogenetic position: 31 bamboos, eight non-bamboo Poaceae, 18 eudicots and nine magnoliids. We incubated dead stems of up to 4 size classes per species in a 'common garden' in tropical S China. We tested the hypotheses that (i) dead wood of bamboo (monocots) is less decomposable than dead wood of eudicots or magnoliids; (ii) both microbial-and termite-driven decomposition show negative relationships with initial wood density and with dry matter content. 3. Bamboo wood generally decomposed more slowly than dicot wood but only slightly slower at given wood density or diameter. Wood decomposition in both bamboo and dicot clades decreased with wood density or dry matter content. Termites contributed greatly to this pattern, explaining 53.4% of the variance in wood decomposition and preferentially attacking dead wood of lower initial density, which corresponded with thicker outer culm walls in the case of bamboo species. Thus, termites strongly strengthen the relationship between species' wood traits and litter decomposition as driven by microbial activity. 4. Synthesis. These previously unknown relationships among dead wood quality, diameter, termites and decomposing microbes of both woody monocots and dicots will advance our understanding of the driving mechanisms of (sub) tropical wood decomposition and its contribution to the global carbon cycle.

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“…The roots release organic compounds into the rhizosphere, which have positive effects on the soil microbial biomass (Balota et al, 2011). Cynodon was found to usually exert a positive effect on the soil microbial biomass, which mainly occurs due the rhizospheric effect and the high substrate availability to the microbial biomass (Wong et al, 2009). The microbial N was higher in the soil under the Brachiaria plot, suggesting that the highest values of microbial N probably occurred due the presence of organic residues with a low C/N ratio, which are associated with higher nitrogen fertilization.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The microplates were incubated at 30°C for 72 h. The value of absorbance (590 nm) was taken at 72 h though of color development. This data was used to obtain average well color development (AWCD) values for each sample, as described by Garland and Mills (1991): AWCD = ∑ ODi/22; where ODi is optical density value from each well, corrected by subtracting the blank well (inoculated but without a carbon source) values from each microplate (Garland & Mills, 1991;Weber et al, 2007).…”

Section: Soil Sampling and Laboratory Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impact of Pasture Systems on Soil Microbial Biomass and Community‐level Physiological Profiles

et al. 2016

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The intensive use of soil for pasture establishment has promoted land degradation. However, well-managed pasture systems may contribute to the improvement of the soil biological properties. The aim of this study was to evaluate the soil microbial biomass, enzymes activity, and catabolic diversity under six different pastures: Andropogon gayanus, Brachiaria brizantha, Panicum maximum, Cynodon dactilon, agroforestry system, and native vegetation. Soil microbial biomass was estimated by the fumigation-extraction method, while enzyme activity was determined through substrate use. The catabolic diversity was evaluated by the community-level physiological profiling method. Microbial biomass C was higher in the soils under the agroforestry system and native vegetation, whereas microbial biomass N was higher in the soil under Brachiaria. Acid phosphatase activity and fluorescein diacetate hydrolysis were higher in agroforestry system and native vegetation, respectively. Dehydrogenase activity was higher in the soil under Brachiaria and Cynodon. Richness and diversity of community-level physiological profiling were higher in the soils under the agroforestry system and native vegetation. The highest numbers of C sources metabolized by microorganisms were found in the agroforestry system and native vegetation. This study showed that soil microbial community from pasture systems subjected to different management showed different biomass, activity, and catabolic diversity.

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Litterfall, Litter Decomposition, and Nutrient Dynamics in Two Subtropical Bamboo Plantations of China

Cited by 24 publications

References 51 publications

Improvement in the biochemical and chemical properties of badland soils by thorny bamboo

Improvement in the biochemical and chemical properties of badland soils by thorny bamboo

Termites amplify the effects of wood traits on decomposition rates among multiple bamboo and dicot woody species

The Impact of Pasture Systems on Soil Microbial Biomass and Community‐level Physiological Profiles

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