Impacts of litter and understory removal on soil properties in a subtropical Acacia mangium plantation in China

被引：34
作者：
Yanmei Xiong
Hanping Xia
Zhi’an Li
Xi’an Cai
Shenglei Fu
机构：
[1] Chinese Academy of Sciences,South China Botanical Garden
[2] Heshan National Field Research Station of Forest Ecosystem,Heshan Hilly Land Interdisciplinary Experimental Station
[3] Chinese Academy of Sciences,undefined
来源：
Plant and Soil | 2008年 / 304卷
关键词：
Litter decomposition; Soil fertility; Soil microbial biomass; Soil pH; Soil water content;
D O I：
暂无
中图分类号：
学科分类号：
摘要：
In forest ecosystems, the effects of litter or understory on soil properties are far from being fully understood. We conducted a study in a pure Acacia mangium Willd. plantation in southern China, by removing litter or understory or both components and then comparing these treatments with a control (undisturbed), to evaluate their respective effects on soil physical, chemical and biological properties. In addition, a litter decomposition experiment was conducted to understand the effects of understory on litter decomposition. Our data showed that the presence of understory favored litter decomposition to a large extent. In 1 year, 75.2 and 37.2% of litter were decomposed in the control and understory removal treatment (UR), respectively. Litter had a profound significance in retaining soil water and contributing to soil fertility, including organic matter (OM), available phosphorus (P) and alkali-hydrolyzable nitrogen (N), but understory exerted less influence than litter on soil physical and chemical properties. Both litter and understory played an important role in soil biological activity as indicated by microbial biomass carbon (MBC), while there were no significant impacts on soil exchangeable potassium (K) after either or both were removed. Contrary to our hypothesis, the effects of understory or litter removal were not always negative. A significant soil pH increase with litter removal was a positive factor for acid soil in the studied site. Except for soil moisture, significant effects, caused by removal of litter or/and understory, on measured soil chemical characteristics were only observed in the top 10 cm soil layer, but not in the 10–20 cm layer. Soil available P and exchangeable K contents were significantly higher in the rainy season than in the dry season, however, for the other soil properties, not substantially affected by season.
引用
收藏
页码：179 / 188
页数：9
相关论文
共 115 条
  • [21] Verhoef H(2007)Effects of forest litter on soil temperature and soil freezing in autumn and winter Plant Soil 292 243-258
  • [22] Bolan NS(1978)Effects of understory removal, N fertilization, and litter layer removal on soil N cycling in a 13-year-old white spruce plantation infested with Canada bluejoint grass Ecology 59 465-472
  • [23] Hedley MJ(1992)Macroclimate and lignin control of litter decomposition rates Vegetation 102 13-32
  • [24] White RE(2003)The use of understory species as indicators of landform ecosystem type in heavily disturbed forest: an evaluation in the Haut-Saint-Laurent, Quebec For Ecol Manage 175 573-583
  • [25] Camprodon J(1993)Nitrogen availability in disturbed, rehabilitated and mature forests of tropical China Can J For Res 23 1955-1968
  • [26] Brotons L(2005)Competition for water and nutrients in forests Front Ecol Environ 3 421-428
  • [27] Chapin FS(1999)Understory vegetation as a forest ecosystem driver: evidence from the northern Swedish boreal forest Agrofor Syst 46 147-160
  • [28] de Santo AV(1996)Alkalinity effects of different tree litters incubated in an acid soil of N.S.W., Australia Plant Soil 179 293-302
  • [29] Berg B(1997)Leaf litter ash alkalinity and neutralisation of soil acidity Agrofor Syst 35 71-94
  • [30] Rutigliano FA(2006)Single-tree influences on soil properties in agroforestry: lessons from natural forest and savanna ecosystems Soil Biol Biochem 38 2390-2400
12345678910