Litter decomposition and nutrient release in relation to atmospheric deposition of S and N in a dry tropical region

Temporal and spatial variations in litterfall, leaf litter decomposition and nutrient release were quantified along an air pollution gradient around an industrial area in a dry tropical region of India. Significant differences were found in litterfall between the sites. Litter decomposition rates also significantly varied among the study sites. Litter decomposition was faster at sites away from the industrial region with coal-fired power plants. The concentrations of N and P increased, whereas that of Ca and SO₄-S decreased in decomposing litter over time. The nutrient release pattern was also modified by atmospheric deposition. Concentrations of SO₂ and NO₂ were negatively correlated with relative mass loss. Turnover time of nutrients, except SO₄-S in decomposing litter was maximal at the site receiving highest atmospheric depositions. The study documents that industrial emissions significantly modified nutrient cycling in adjacent terrestrial ecosystems.     

Dynamics of landuse/cover changes and degradation of Nairobi City,Kenya

Landuse/cover in Nairobi City is changing rapidly because of the increased interactions of human activities with the environment as population increases. We used multi‐temporal Landsat images (1976, 1988 and 2000) together with physical and socio‐economic data in a post‐classification analysis with GIS to map landuse/cover distribution and to analyse factors influencing the landuse/cover changes for Nairobi City. An unsupervised classification approach, which uses a minimum spectral distance to assign pixels to clusters, was used with the overall accuracy ranging from 87 per cent to 90 per cent. Landuse/cover statistics revealed that substantial landuse/cover changes have taken place and that the built‐up areas have expanded by about 47 km² over the study period (1976–2000). Forests have decreased substantially while agricultural lands have been on the increase. Rapid economic developments together with the increasing population were noted to be the major factors influencing rapid landuse/cover changes. Urban expansion has replaced agricultural farmlands and other natural vegetation, thereby affecting habitat quality and leading to serious environmental degradation. The random, unplanned growths of environmentally degraded squatter settlements were noted to be emerging in the rural fringes. Successful planning of Nairobi's development will require reliable information about landuse/cover changes and factors influencing such changes. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Organic matter and nutrient dynamics of the litter layer on a forest Rendzina under beech

Summary The decomposition of beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) leaf litter was investigated in a calcareous beech forest using mesh cages containing two layers, fresh leaf litter (O layer), and partly decomposed leaf litter (F layer). C loss was monitored, together with the changes in the contents of total N, hexosamines, ash, Na, K, Mg, Ca, Fe, Mn, Al, Cl, Sulphate, and Phosphate.In 1-mm mesh cages, which excluded access to the macrofauna, the mean annual loss rates for C were 28% in the O leaf litter and 17% in the F leaf litter, totalling approximately 23% for the two layers. The mean loss rates from the 12-mm mesh cages were 54% in the O leaf litter and 58% in the F leaf litter. Degradation processes and feeding activities caused increased contents of ash, total N, and hexosamines in the O layer of both treatments. This increase was greater for the ash and smaller for N, glucosamine, and galactosamine in the 12-mm mesh cages. The sum of ions (Na+K+Mg+Ca+Fe+Mn+Al+Cl+SO₄+PO₄) and also the contents of most single ions were not markedly affected, despite the much higher ash content in the O leaf litter of the 12-mm mesh cages. The ash content increased mainly as a consequence of contamination by soil, which increased the contents of Fe and Al in the ash.     

Litter microarthropod responses to canopy herbivory,season and decomposition in litterbags in a regenerating conifer ecosystem in Western Oregon

Summary The microarthropod community response to season, change in foliage litter quality during decomposition, and manipulated canopy herbivory by insects was measured in litterbags under 10-year-old Douglas-fir, Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco, in western Oregon. Collembola accounted for 35% of the total fauna, oribatid mites for 29%, and fungivorous actinedids for 22%.The community structure was affected by responses to canopy defoliation, season, and changes in litter quality. Of 33 taxa, three were significantly more abundant under trees subject to lepidopteran defoliation (20% foliage removal), compared to other treatments, indicating responses to defoliator-induced changes in litter environment. Most taxa (23) showed seasonal fluctuations in abundance related to the seasonal pattern of temperature and precipitation and to the pattern of N and Ca mobilization from litterbags. Five taxa showed significant longterm trends in abundance, indicating responses to changes in litter quality, perhaps a loss of P and K.These data indicate that microarthropod communities respond qualitatively to environmental changes, including canopy defoliation. The qualitative changes can affeet decomposition processes.     

Nutrient dynamics in decaying leaves of Fagus sylvatica L. and needles of Abies alba Mill.

 The dynamics of nutrients (N, P, K, Ca, Mg) in decomposing beech and fir litters was studied. N, P, Mg and Ca content increased in all litters, whereas K content decreased. Nutrient content correlated to mass loss with a few exceptions for K and P. Final N, K, Mg and Ca content was higher the lower the initial content and the higher the initial C/nutrient ratio was. Final P content correlated neither with initial P content nor with initial C/P ratio. All litters lost K very quickly, mainly by leaching. P was lost initially by leaching, although at a lower rate than K, and later by mineralization. Mg, Ca and N showed alternate phases of accumulation and release. Mg losses by leaching occurred only in litters with high initial Mg content; in litters with low initial Mg content, Mg losses occurred by mineralization. Ca and N were lost only by mineralization. A mobility series K>P>Mg>Ca=N is suggested. Received: 8 May 1997     

Litter mixture effects on decomposition in tropical montane rainforests vary strongly with time and turn negative at later stages of decay

In a litterbag study in a tropical montane rainforest in Ecuador we assessed the impact of leaf litter species identity and richness on decomposition. We incubated leaf litter of six native tree species in monocultures and all possible two and four species combinations and analysed mass loss over a period of 24 months. Mass loss in monocultures averaged 30.7% after 6 month and differed significantly between species with variations being closely related to initial concentrations of lignin, Mg and P. At later harvests mass loss in monocultures averaged 54.5% but did not vary among leaf litter species and, unexpectedly, did not increase between 12 and 24 months suggesting that litter converged towards an extremely poor common quality retarding decomposition. After 6 months mass loss of leaf litter species was significantly faster in mixtures than in monocultures, resulting in synergistic non-additive mixture effects on decomposition, whereas at later harvests mass loss of component litter species was more variable and leaf litter mixture effects differed with species richness. Mass loss in the two species mixtures did not deviate from those predicted from monocultures, while we found antagonistic non-additive mixture effects in the four species mixtures. This suggests that litter species shared a poor common quality but different chemistry resulting in negative interactions in chemically diverse litter mixtures at later stages of decomposition. Overall, the results suggest that interspecific variations in diversity and composition of structural and secondary litter compounds rather than concentrations of individual litter compounds per se, control long term leaf litter decomposition in tropical montane rainforests. Plant species diversity thus appears to act as a major driver for decomposition processes in tropical montane rainforest ecosystems, highlighting the need for increasing plant conservation efforts to protect ecosystem functioning of this threatened biodiversity hotspot.     

Litter decomposition and faunal activity in Mediterranean forest soils: effects of N content and the moss layer

Accumulation of soil carbon is mainly controlled by the balance between litter production and litter decomposition. Usually In Mediterranean forests there are contrasting conditions in the distribution of faunal activity and the moss layer that may have different effects on litter decomposition. Decomposition and faunal activity were studied by exposing litter of contrasting quality (Pinus halepensis Mill. and Quercus ilex L.) for 3.5 yr in three Mediterranean pine forests of the eastern Iberian Peninsula. The effects of mosses on decomposition and on faunal activity were studied by exposing P. halepensis litter either on moss patches or directly on the forest floor. Faecal pellet production was used as an indication of faunal activity. Water availability or soil characteristics seem to limit faunal activities in the drier sites. Faecal pellets were not found during the first stages of decomposition and in all sites they appeared when about a 30% of the initial litter had decomposed. Under wet conditions faecal pellet production was very high and a mass balance suggested that soil faunal activity may result in a net flow of organic matter from the lower organic horizons to the surface Oi horizon. Mosses slightly increased mass loss of pine litter probably as a consequence of high potentially mineralizable nitrogen in the Oa horizon of moss patches and also, perhaps, as a consequence of the higher moisture content measured in the Oi horizon needles sampled among the mosses. In contrast, moss patches reduced faunal activity. The effect of litter quality on mass loss was not always significant, suggesting an interaction between litter quality and site conditions. During the first stages of decomposition there was N immobilisation in P. halepensis litter (poorer in N) and N release from Q. ilex litter (richer in N). In conclusion, in these forests soil microclimate and/or N availability appear to be more important controlling litter decomposition than the distribution of faunal activity.     

Benefits Derived from Rehabilitating a Degraded Semi‐Arid Rangeland in Private Enclosures in West Pokot County,Kenya

Rehabilitating degraded rangelands using enclosures offers various benefits to agro‐pastoral households. However, enclosure benefits cannot be generalized as there are variations across dryland ecosystems and societies. This study assessed the qualitative and quantitative benefits derived from rehabilitating degraded rangelands using private enclosures in Chepareria, West Pokot County, Kenya. Dry‐season grazing reserves, healthier livestock, improved livestock productivity, easier livestock management, food security, reduced animal losses, ecosystem services, land ownership, independence and improved standard of living were the main qualitative benefits from private enclosures identified. Quantitative benefits were manifested through various enclosure enterprise combinations, sale of enclosure marketable products and adoption of alternative income generating activities. They included the sale of livestock and livestock products, maize, wood cutting, grass cuttings, contractual grazing, grass seeds, poultry products, fruits and honey, amongst others. Livestock production directly accounts for 42·4% of the total enclosure income and is the main source of livelihood in Chepareria. There was a significant trend of increasing total enclosure income with enclosure acreage (p ≤ 0·05) while enclosure age was insignificant. Enclosures cushion households against climatic shocks such as drought by providing additional flexibility in land, fodder, livestock management and the uptake of various income generating activities. We conclude that enclosures have the potential of contributing to resilience as attested from the benefits reported in this study. However, private enclosure tradeoffs such income differentiation, reduced communal land and conflict have implications on how the ecological and socio‐economic aspects may be impacted as the establishment of private enclosures in Chepareria continues. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Litterfall, litter decomposition and nutrient release patterns in four native tree species raised on coal mine spoil at Singrauli, India

 Litterfall, leaf litter decomposition and N and P release were studied in four tree species (Dalbergia sissoo, Azadirachta indica, Pongamia pinnata and Shorea robusta) planted on a mine spoil habitat. Annual litterfall varied from 1220 kg ha^–1 in the S. robusta stand to 3620 kg ha^–1 in the A. indica stand. The fast-growing species A. indica and D. sissoo exhibited higher litter production in comparison to the other two slow-growing species. The total N returned to the soil through litterfall ranged from 8.6 kg ha^–1 year^–1 in the S. robusta stand to 36.5 kg ha^–1 year^–1 in the D. sissoo stand. The annual percent leaf litter mass loss was distinctly greater in A. indica (73%) and D. sissoo (69%) in comparison to P. pinatta (59%) and S. robusta (47%). The mean relative decomposition rates of leaf litter material were maximum in the rainy season and minimum in summer. Rainfall and its associated variables exhibited greater control over litter docomposition than temperature. Lignin and water-soluble compounds were better predictors of annual mass loss rates accounting for 90% variability. Mass loss was positively correlated with N and P mineralization rates. Lignin was the best predictor of annual N and P mineralization rates. Nutrient release pattern differed; constant release occurred in A. indica, initial release followed by delayed immobilization and release occurred in D. sissoo and P. pinnata, and initial immobilization followed by gradual release was noticed in S. robusta. A. indica and D. sissoo, showing high litterfall and rapid litter decomposition rate, hold promise for the rehabilitation of nutrient-poor coal mine spoils. On the other hand, S. robusta with less litterfall and a slow decomposition rate may prove disadvantageous. Received: 10 March 1998     

Dam construction and the degradation of floodplain forest on the Turkwel River,Kenya

A hydroelectric dam currently under construction is likely to have significant adverse impacts on riparian forest bordering the Turkwel River in northern Kenya. The forest is dominated by Acacia tortilis which depends upon river flooding. The River has a seasonal and highly ‘flashy’ flow regime, and floods are vital to recharge the floodplain aquifer. Flood regime, bruchid beetle infestation of Acacia pods, and the role of domestic herbivores in killing beetle larvae and grazing seedlings are important influences on Acacia regeneration. The riparian forest is a vital element in the grazing ecology of Turkana pastoralists, particularly in the dry season and in times of drought. Dam construction threatens the degradation of the forest both through reduced survival of existing trees and reduced regeneration. Such degradation would have serious implications for the Turkana.     

Pastoral resource access and utilization: Quantifying the spatial and temporal relationships between livestock mobility,density and biomass availability in southern Kenya

The relationships between pastoralists, livestock, and the environment in dryland Africa are complex. Over the last half‐century dominant narratives have portrayed pastoralists and their livestock as being responsible for ‘over grazing’ and ‘degradation’ without attention to how resource availability and cattle mobility are spatially distributed and temporally variable. The objective of this study is to test hypotheses on the nature, magnitude, and extent of the spatially and temporally explicit interactions between the density and distribution of pastoral cattle and resource availability. The study relies on coupling remotely sensed vegetation indices with cattle Global Positioning Systems (GPS) collar data for a pastoral community in southern Kenya. Data are temporally stratified in order to account for seasonal effects. Across seasons, there is a positive relationship between cattle mobility and resource availability with the trend more pronounced during drier periods, reflecting a strategy of increased resource access. The relationship between cattle density and vegetation reveals a strategy of increased resource utilization during wetter periods. The spatiality of high‐density areas differs by season, revealing that cattle intensively utilize different parts of the landscape at different times. Areas closest to the household are consistently impacted by cattle across all seasons. These findings have implications on how the savanna vegetation may be impacted as trends towards sedentarization and reduced pastoral mobility continue. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The mangrove communities in the Arroyo Seco deltaic fan,Jalisco, Mexico,and their relation with the geomorphic and physical–geographic zonation

This work investigates mangrove tree zonation dynamics in a deltaic fan in the southwestern coast of Mexico. A hypothetical evolution that led to the formation and consolidation of the Arroyo Seco deltaic fan based on the environmental components from the hydrographic basin is proposed. Also, the relief morphogenetic types, along with their sedimentary composition, are derived from geomorphologic and edaphic diagnose methods. Finally, mangrove tree zonation, basal area and height along transects traced parallel to the relief are related to morphogenetic types and to the water table depth during the dry period. There was a clear sedimentological evidence of the accretion process in the deltaic fan. The accretion horizons conditioned the water table, which increased in depth from the margin of the lagoon to the hinterland, thus changing among geoforms. It was much greater at the middle part of the transects, where continental or lagoon water did not infiltrate due to high resistance of clayey soils. The geomorphic zonation of mangrove communities in the Arroyo Seco deltaic fan is: (1) a low fluvial distributary accumulative plain, with coconut palm plantations; (2) a bank fluvial accumulative plain between distributary channels, with coconut palm plantations and patches of low tropical forest; (3) a relatively high swamp accumulative plain, flooded during high water levels, with Avicennia germinans; (4) a low swamp, temporarily flooded accumulative plain, with Rhizophora mangle, Laguncularia racemosa and A. germinans; (5) a very low swamp, permanently flooded accumulative plain, with distributary channels, lateral microbars and tide microdepressions, where Rhizophora and Laguncularia codominate; and (6), a Rhizophora fringe and colonization area along the fan's frontal edge on the same plain. Along this gradient composed of six mangrove communities, basal area and height tended to increase as the water table reached soil level.     

Litter decomposition in primary forest and adjacent fire-disturbed forests in the Gran Sabana,southern Venezuela

Litter decomposition and nutrient dynamic were studied in tall primary forest (TF) and in adjacent slightly fire-affected (MF) and strongly fire-affected (LF) forests of the Gran Sabana, southern Venezuela. The aim of the study was to compare the mass and nutrient loss of litter in undisturbed forest and adjacent fire-disturbed forests growing under the same soil conditions. The results showed no significant differences in the dry-mass reduction among TF, MF, and LF after 1-year of decomposition. At the end of the decomposition period, the mass loss was 31% in TF, 24% in MF, and 25% in LF. With few exceptions, the initial nutrient content of the litter did not show significant differences among the studied forests. The initial litter was poor in nutrients, especially in P, with C/N ratio extremely high, particularly in LF. Both residual P content and C/N ratio were the most effective predictors of dry-mass loss. The general trend in the three studied forests was net N and to less extend P immobilization and release of K, Mg, and Ca. We concluded that during a 1-year period, the decomposition process was similar in undisturbed and adjacent fire-disturbed forests in the Gran Sabana and that the low litter decomposition seems to be mainly controlled by the low chemical quality of the decomposing litter.     

猕猴桃果浆中叶绿素和颜色的热降解动力学

为了研究猕猴桃果浆加工中叶绿素和绿色的热降解规律,测定了不同温度(70、80、90℃)和pH值(pH值3.3、6.0、8.0)对猕猴桃果浆叶绿素含量和色差的影响。结果表明,猕猴桃叶绿素a、b和绿色值(-a*)的热降解属一级动力学反应;在相同pH值条件下,随温度升高,叶绿素a、b和绿色值(-a*)的反应速率常数(k)降低,半衰期(t1/2)缩短;随pH值增加,叶绿素a的活化能(Ea)变化范围为14.69～66.02kJ/mol,叶绿素b为40.88～54.64kJ/mol,绿色值(-a*)为48.55～64.14kJ/mol;pH值3.3时叶绿素a、b的降解和绿色值(-a*)相关性较好。猕猴桃果浆加工中适量提高pH值可减少叶绿素和绿色的损失。     

二甲戊灵在两种土壤及马铃薯中的残留降解动态

在北京和安徽两地开展了田间试验,研究二甲戊灵在土壤与马铃薯植株中的残留降解动态与残留水平。试验样品中的二甲戊灵用乙腈提取,分散固相萃取净化,采用GCMS法,选择离子模式监测(SIM)定量测定。二甲戊灵在马铃薯块茎、植株和土壤的添加回收率分别为84.5%~89.8%、91.5%~101%和78.7%~88.1%,相对标准偏差分别为4.8%~8.5%、6.2%~8.2%和5.2%~7.8%。结果表明,二甲戊灵在马铃薯植株与土壤中的降解动态符合一级动力学模型,在安徽(潮土)和北京(褐土)两地土壤中的半衰期分别为21.0和30.1d,在马铃薯植株中的半衰期分别为9.5和10.6d。收获后,马铃薯块茎中二甲戊灵的残留量小于0.01mg·kg~(-1),低于欧盟规定的二甲戊灵在马铃薯中最大允许残留限量0.05mg·kg~(-1)。研究结果为了解二甲戊灵在环境中的残留水平及食物链迁移转化提供了参考。     

Litter, warming and plants affect respiration and allocation of soil microbial and plant C, N and P in arctic mesocosms

In a mesocosm experiment, we studied decomposition rates as CO₂ efflux and changes in plant mass, nutrient accumulation and soil pools of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P), in soils from a sub-arctic heath. The soil was incubated at 10 °C and 12 °C, with or without leaf litter and with or without plants present. The purpose of the experiment was to analyse decomposition and nutrient transformations under simulated, realistic conditions in a future warmer Arctic.Both temperature enhancement and litter addition increased respiration rates. Temperature enhancement and surprisingly also litter addition decreased microbial biomass carbon (C) content, resulting in a pronounced increase of specific respiration. Microbial P content increased progressively with temperature enhancement and litter addition, concomitant with increasing P mineralisation, whereas microbial N increased only in the litter treatment, at the same time as net N mineralisation decreased. In contrast, microbial biomass N decreased as temperature increased, resulting in a high mobilisation of inorganic N.Plant responses were closely coupled to the balance of microbial mineralisation and immobilisation. Plant growth and N accumulation was low after litter addition because of high N immobilisation in microbes and low net mineralisation, resulting in plant N limitation. Growth increased in the temperature-enhanced treatments, but was eventually limited by low supply of P, reflected in a low plant P concentration and high N-to-P ratio. Hence, the different microbial responses caused plant N limitation after litter addition and P limitation after temperature enhancement. Although microbial processes determined the main responses in plants, the plants themselves influenced nutrient turnover. With plants present, P mobilisation to the plant plus soil inorganic pools increased significantly, and N mobilisation non-significantly, when litter was added. This was presumably due to increased mineralisation in the rhizosphere, or because the nutrients in addition to being immobilised by microbes also could be absorbed by plants. This suggests that the common method of measuring nutrient mineralisation in soils incubated without plants may underestimate the rates of nutrient mobilisation, which probably contributes to a commonly observed discrepancy of measured lower rates of net nutrient mineralisation than uptake rates in arctic soils.     

云雾山草地植物地上部分和枯落物的碳、氮、磷生态化学计量特征

碳(C)、氮(N)、磷(P)生态化学计量比是生态系统过程和功能的重要特征。为探究云雾山天然草地30年恢复演替过程中不同封育年限植物和枯落物的全碳、全氮和全磷含量及其生态化学计量特征变化规律,以云雾山封育1、12、20、30年的天然草地为研究对象,通过典型样方调査研究了黄土高原不同封育年限植物和枯落物养分变异特征。结果表明:不同封育年限间,植物地上部分C∶N、C∶P、N∶P比变化范围分别为24.91~37.37、380.1~562.1、12.14~15.86,均值分别为32.51、473.6和14.64;枯落物C∶N、C∶P、N∶P比变化范围分别为37.18~47.11、755.5~885.9、16.41~22.31,均值分别为40.71、819.9、20.30。植物地上部分C、N、P含量间呈极显著相关(p0.01);植物地上部分P含量与C∶N、C∶P、N∶P呈极显著负相关(p0.01),与枯落物C、P、C∶P、N∶P呈极显著相关(p0.01)。云雾山植物N∶P比介于14~16之间,植物生长受氮磷共同限制,建议增加草地氮、磷肥的使用量。该研究结果有助于进一步了解云雾山草地C、N、P在不同组分间的相互作用规律与机制。     

Soil carbon stocks and their primary origin at mature mangrove ecosystems in the estuary of Fukido River,Ishigaki Island,southwestern Japan

ABSTRACT

Mangrove ecosystems play an important role in carbon (C) accumulation in tropical and subtropical regions. Below-ground deep anoxic soil is especially important for C accumulation. However, quantitative data on below-ground soil C stocks in mangrove ecosystems are lacking compared with data on above-ground biomass. In addition, soil C accumulation processes in mangrove ecosystems have not been sufficiently clarified. In this study, we quantified soil C stocks and focused on the mass of fallen litter and below-ground roots, which are produced by tree and that may directly influence soil C stocks in a mature subtropical mangrove in the estuary of Fukido River, Ishigaki Island, southwestern Japan. The principal species in this study site were Bruguiera gymnorhiza and Rhizophora stylosa, and total above-ground biomass at the site was 80.7 ± 1.3 (mean ± SD) Mg C ha^?1 over the period from 2014 to 2016. Litter was collected in six litter traps from May 2013 to November 2016, it ranged from 7.8 to 11.5 Mg C ha^?1, with the major proportion of litter being from foliage (leaves and stipules). The root C density at 90-cm depth was 27.1 ± 11.3 Mg C ha^?1. The soil C stock in the mangrove forest at a depth of 90 cm at the study site was 251.0 ± 34.8 Mg C ha^?1, and it seems to be lower value in the tropical region but it to be higher in subtropical East Asian mangrove sites. Dead roots, especially dead fine roots, but not fallen litter, were significantly positively correlated with soil C stocks. The δ¹³C values obtained from soils ranged from ?29.3‰ to ?27.0‰; these values are consistent with those for below-ground fine roots. These results strongly suggest that dead fine roots could be a main factor controlling soil C stocks at this study site.