TY - JOUR
T1 - Nitrogen addition enhances home-field advantage during litter decomposition in subtropical forest plantations
AU - Yu, Zaipeng
AU - Huang, Zhiqun
AU - Wang, Minhuang
AU - Liu, Ruiqiang
AU - Zheng, Lujia
AU - Wan, Xiaohua
AU - Hu, Zhenhong
AU - Davis, Murray R.
AU - Lin, Teng Chiu
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 Elsevier Ltd.
PY - 2015/11/1
Y1 - 2015/11/1
N2 - Nitrogen (N) exerts strong effects on litter decomposition through altering microbial abundance and community composition. However, the effect of N addition on plant-soil interactions such as home-field advantage (HFA: enhanced decomposition at a home environment compared to a guest environment) in relation to litter decomposition remains unclear. To fill this knowledge gap, we conducted a reciprocal litter transplant plus N addition experiment in Mytilaria laosensis and Cunninghamia lanceolata plantations for two years in subtropical China where anthropogenic N input is amongst the highest in the world. We found positive HFA effects (in which the calculation incorporates litter of both species) with litter mass loss 11.2% faster at home than in the guest environment in the N addition (50 kg N ha-1 yr-1) treatment, but no significant HFA effects were found in the control treatment. The magnitude of the HFA effect on carbon (C) release increased with N addition, while that on N release decreased. The HFA effects on phosphorus, potassium, calcium, sodium, and magnesium release were positive overall, but varied through time and the magnitude of the effects were different among elements. The greater HFA effects in the N addition treatment were associated with greater differences in microbial biomass and community composition between home and guest environments than in the control treatment. Our results indicate that anthropogenic N enrichment could lead to enhanced HFA effects, through modification of microbial communities, and thereby affect C sequestration and N cycling in subtropical forests.
AB - Nitrogen (N) exerts strong effects on litter decomposition through altering microbial abundance and community composition. However, the effect of N addition on plant-soil interactions such as home-field advantage (HFA: enhanced decomposition at a home environment compared to a guest environment) in relation to litter decomposition remains unclear. To fill this knowledge gap, we conducted a reciprocal litter transplant plus N addition experiment in Mytilaria laosensis and Cunninghamia lanceolata plantations for two years in subtropical China where anthropogenic N input is amongst the highest in the world. We found positive HFA effects (in which the calculation incorporates litter of both species) with litter mass loss 11.2% faster at home than in the guest environment in the N addition (50 kg N ha-1 yr-1) treatment, but no significant HFA effects were found in the control treatment. The magnitude of the HFA effect on carbon (C) release increased with N addition, while that on N release decreased. The HFA effects on phosphorus, potassium, calcium, sodium, and magnesium release were positive overall, but varied through time and the magnitude of the effects were different among elements. The greater HFA effects in the N addition treatment were associated with greater differences in microbial biomass and community composition between home and guest environments than in the control treatment. Our results indicate that anthropogenic N enrichment could lead to enhanced HFA effects, through modification of microbial communities, and thereby affect C sequestration and N cycling in subtropical forests.
KW - Cunninghamia lanceolata
KW - Microbial community composition
KW - Nutrient release
KW - Reciprocal litter transplant
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U2 - 10.1016/j.soilbio.2015.07.026
DO - 10.1016/j.soilbio.2015.07.026
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84940021753
SN - 0038-0717
VL - 90
SP - 188
EP - 196
JO - Soil Biology and Biochemistry
JF - Soil Biology and Biochemistry
ER -