N-driven changes in a plant community affect leaf-litter traits and may delay organic matter decomposition in a Mediterranean maquis

Dias, Teresa; Oakley, Simon; Alarcón-Gutiérrez, Enrique; Ziarelli, Fabio; Trindade, Henrique; Martins-Loução, Maria Amélia; Sheppard, Lucy J.; Ostle, Nicholas J.; Cruz, Cristina

doi:10.1016/j.soilbio.2012.10.027

Cited by 31 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 57 publications

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“…However, Perakis et al [63] found that the positive effect of N addition on decomposition only appeared in the early stage (0.67 year), the negative effect appeared after 3-year decomposition (mass remaining was 54.6% in the control plots and 62.2% in the N-addition plots). In addition, many other studies also proved that N addition (N deposition) inhibited litter decomposition in the later stage or soil organic matter decomposition [66,75]. One possible reason for this result is that the added-N combined with lignin and phenolic matter to form more recalcitrant materials to start the first stage of humification earlier [34,76].…”

Section: Altered Litter and Forest Substrates Chemical Qualitiesmentioning

confidence: 97%

Impacts of nitrogen deposition on soil nitrogen cycle in forest ecosystems: A review

Zhu

Zhang

Chen

et al. 2015

Acta Ecologica Sinica

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Section: Altered Litter and Forest Substrates Chemical Qualitiesmentioning

confidence: 97%

Impacts of nitrogen deposition on soil nitrogen cycle in forest ecosystems: A review

Zhu

Zhang

Chen

et al. 2015

Acta Ecologica Sinica

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“…Dias et al. () found that N‐driven changes in plant communities influence leaf‐litter traits, and may alter the process of SOM decomposition. Therefore, changes in plant communities and the N:C ratios of new SOM inputs are expected to influence SOM stability and storage (Drake et al.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stoichiometrical regulation of soil organic matter decomposition and its temperature sensitivity

2016

Ecology and Evolution

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The decomposition of soil organic matter (SOM) can be described by a set of kinetic principles, environmental constraints, and substrate supply. Here, we hypothesized that SOM decomposition rates (R) and its temperature sensitivity (Q 10) would increase steadily with the N:C ratios of added substrates by alleviating N limitation on microbial growth. We tested this hypothesis by investigating SOM decomposition in both grassland and forest soils after addition of substrates with a range of N:C ratios. The results showed that Michaelis–Menten equations well fit the response of R to the N:C ratio variations of added substrates, and their coefficients of determination (R 2) ranged from 0.65 to 0.89 (P < 0.01). Moreover, the maximal R, Q 10, and cumulative C emission of SOM decomposition increased exponentially with the N:C ratios of added substrates, and were controlled interactively by incubation temperature and the N:C ratios of the added substrates. We demonstrated that SOM decomposition rate and temperature sensitivity were exponentially correlated to substrate stoichiometry (N:C ratio) in both grassland and forest soils. Therefore, these correlations should be incorporated into the models for the prediction of SOM decomposition rate under warmer climatic scenarios.

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“…However, NO 3 − leaching can occur much later than many diversity and internal N cycle changes [8]. On the other hand, and in contrast to observations of several studies [52], high N (80AN) addition does appear to have increased soil organic matter, most likely reflecting a decrease in decomposition [53]. This is of particular importance for Mediterranean Basin soils due to their naturally low organic matter concentration and hence higher susceptibility to erosion and desertification [54].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ammonium as a Driving Force of Plant Diversity and Ecosystem Functioning: Observations Based on 5 Years' Manipulation of N Dose and Form in a Mediterranean Ecosystem

et al. 2014

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Enhanced nitrogen (N) availability is one of the main drivers of biodiversity loss and degradation of ecosystem functions. However, in very nutrient-poor ecosystems, enhanced N input can, in the short-term, promote diversity. Mediterranean Basin ecosystems are nutrient-limited biodiversity hotspots, but no information is available on their medium- or long-term responses to enhanced N input. Since 2007, we have been manipulating the form and dose of available N in a Mediterranean Basin maquis in south-western Europe that has low ambient N deposition (<4 kg N ha−1 yr−1) and low soil N content (0.1%). N availability was modified by the addition of 40 kg N ha−1 yr−1 as a 1∶1 NH4Cl to (NH4)2SO4 mixture, and 40 and 80 kg N ha−1 yr−1 as NH4NO3. Over the following 5 years, the impacts on plant composition and diversity (richness and evenness) and some ecosystem characteristics (soil extractable N and organic matter, aboveground biomass and % of bare soil) were assessed. Plant species richness increased with enhanced N input and was more related to ammonium than to nitrate. Exposure to 40 kg NH4 +-N ha−1 yr−1 (alone and with nitrate) enhanced plant richness, but did not increase aboveground biomass; soil extractable N even increased under 80 kg NH4NO3-N ha−1 yr−1 and the % of bare soil increased under 40 kg NH4 +-N ha−1 yr−1. The treatment containing less ammonium, 40 kg NH4NO3-N ha−1 yr−1, did not enhance plant diversity but promoted aboveground biomass and reduced the % of bare soil. Data suggest that enhanced NHy availability affects the structure of the maquis, which may promote soil erosion and N leakage, whereas enhanced NOx availability leads to biomass accumulation which may increase the fire risk. These observations are relevant for land use management in biodiverse and fragmented ecosystems such as the maquis, especially in conservation areas.

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N-driven changes in a plant community affect leaf-litter traits and may delay organic matter decomposition in a Mediterranean maquis

Cited by 31 publications

References 57 publications

Impacts of nitrogen deposition on soil nitrogen cycle in forest ecosystems: A review

Impacts of nitrogen deposition on soil nitrogen cycle in forest ecosystems: A review

Stoichiometrical regulation of soil organic matter decomposition and its temperature sensitivity

Ammonium as a Driving Force of Plant Diversity and Ecosystem Functioning: Observations Based on 5 Years' Manipulation of N Dose and Form in a Mediterranean Ecosystem

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