Removal of Dominant Species Impairs Nitrogen Utilization in Co-Existing Ledum palustre and Vaccinium uliginosum Communities Subjected to Five-Year Continuous Interruptions

Abstract

Unguided exploitation has impaired the sustainability of natural resources of agronomic non-wood forest plants from understory boglands in boreal forests. The extreme consequences of plant–soil interplay on medicinal plant communities under continuous interruptions need to be understood to implement strategies which can cope with possible ecological degradation. In this study, co-existing Ledum palustre and Vaccinium uliginosum communities were investigated after a four-year interruption of continuous removal of dominant species in stands at Xing’an Mountain. Nitrogen (N) availability was assessed by above-ground biomass and N content in nondominant plants and the biophysiological properties of rhizosphere soil. The removal treatment promoted soil mineral and organic N contents, but also reduced abundances of the soil communities of Rozellomycota phylum (by 82.76%), ericoid mycorrhiza of Meliniomyces varia (by 81.60%) and Phialocephala fort (by 69.54%). Vaccinium uliginosum overcame L. palustre through higher N utilization (biomass/%N) although the latter had higher abundances of soil Odiodendron maius and P. fort. The microbial community attributes accounted for a large proportion of N availability following the removal of dominance. In conclusion, our study demonstrates that understory agronomic plants in northern boglands should no longer be under continuous exploitation. Strategies should be considered to improve the promotion of N uptake by managing local soil microbial communities.

Natural Bioactive Substances in Fruits of Aronia melanocarpa (Michx.) Elliott Exposed to Combined Light-Type, Chitosan Oligosaccharide, and Spent Mushroom Residue Treatments

“…Natural bioactive products extracted from NWFP plants can be not only derived from human/industry-based accesses, but also by nature based solutions [ 13 ]. The management of NWFP plants in original or introduced habitats is a nature-based solution, which endorses a significant yield of bioactive compounds by managing stand attributes [ 11 , 14 , 15 ]. The greenhouse is a combined human/industry- and nature-based solution to culture NWFP plants with all environmental factors controlled [ 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 ].…”

Phosphorus addition predominantly influences the soil fungal community and functional guilds in a subtropical mountain forest

“…In this study, our results showed that Rozellomycota was significantly affected by N addition. Duan et al (2022) found that soil mineral and organic N contents were negatively related to the abundance of Rozellomycota species. Thus, these results suggested that different fungal taxa might have diverse response thresholds to fertilisation among different ecosystems, and their adaptation to N and P additions could depend on the soil nutritional context (Xia et al, 2020).…”

Predicting Carbon Storage Jointly by Foliage and Soil Parameters in Pinus pumila Stands along an Elevation Gradient in Great Khingan

“…Similarly, soil TN did not show any increasing trend. These together may be explained by low-elevation conditions benefitting nitrification while run-off impaired nitrate and TN accumulations [45,46]. In contrast, the high-elevation condition did not avail nitrification; hence, TN was accumulated and maintained at a moderate level.…”