Nutritional interactions in mixed species forests: a synthesis

Spatial and temporal patterns of root distribution in developing stands of four woody crop species grown with drip irrigation and fertilization

“…Fine-root mass density in the 0-15 cm soil layer was triple that in the 15-45 cm layer and differed among genotypes, which is consistent with other reported results. Decreased RLD at depth varies among species (Gale and Grigal 1987), environmental conditions (Lyr and Hoffinann 1967), ecosystems (Jackson et al 1996), and whether trees are grown in mixed species or monoculture stands (Fredericksen and Zedaker 1995;Rothe and Binkley 2001;Zutter et al 1999). Our results showing a greater response to drip tube enrichment in surface layers than at depth (Fig.…”

Litterfall deposition and leaf litter nutrient return in different locations at Northeastern Mexico

“…In addition, it has been proposed that tree species on fertile soils tend to produce leaves and leaf litters with high nitrogen content, which in turn decompose rapidly and support high plant production through fast turnover of the nutrient pools (Sariyildiz and Anderson 2005). Furthermore, Forrester et al (2005) and Rothe and Binkley (2001) argued that mixed forests stands containing N-fixing species increase and improve nutrient cycling through litterfall when compared with monoculture or stands containing fewer N-fixing species.…”

“…However, litterfall inputs vary widely among forest ecosystems in terms of quality (Duchesne et al 2001;Vasconcelos and Luizão 2004) and quantity (Rothe and Binkley 2001;Zhou et al 2007). The quality of soil organic matter is of great importance for the majority of the functional processes occurring in the soil of forest ecosystems (Santa-Regina et al 2005).…”

Variation in carbon storage among tree species: Implications for the management of a small-scale carbon sink project

“…A number of mechanisms have been proposed by which tree-species diversity could influence the storage of C in soils. These include effects of tree-species on water availability, litter quantity and quality, the amount and composition of root exudates, and the distribution of C in the soil profile (Grayston et al, 1997;Rothe and Binkley, 2001;Gleixner et al, 2005;Hattenschwiler, 2005). The absence of a relationship between diversity and SOC within land-use types may reflect the high variability of soils in this landscape; we observed significant variability among soil samples from a single site, suggesting that future attempts to link tree-species diversity to soil C in this landscape should sample soils more intensively.…”