Variations in above- and below-ground vascular plant biomass and water table on a temperate ombrotrophic peatland

Botany ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 87 (9) ◽  
pp. 845-853 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. T. Murphy ◽  
A. McKinley ◽  
T. R. Moore
Keyword(s):  
Water Table ◽  
Plant Biomass ◽  
Vascular Plant ◽  
Belowground Biomass ◽  
Plant Responses ◽  
Wetland Ecosystems ◽  
Coarse Root ◽  
Ground Biomass ◽  
Water Tables ◽  
Below Ground

In wetland ecosystems, little is known about the relationships between above- and below-ground plant biomass and water table, a primary driver of their distribution in these systems. These relationships can provide a means for estimating belowground stocks over large areas with variable biomass and predicting vascular plant responses to changing water tables resulting from climate change. We measured above- and below-ground vascular plant biomass across species and microtopography (i.e., hummocks and lawns) in a bog in eastern Ontario. We examined the relationships between above- and below-ground vascular plant biomass their variation with water table and species richness. We took 56 cores during a growing season, separating above- and below-ground biomass by species and plant part (small and coarse root, leaf, stem). Hummocks had greater above- and below-ground biomass, and significantly greater aboveground:belowground ratios than lawns. Lawns had a more even distribution of biomass across species than hummocks aboveground, indicating that only a few species (e.g., Vaccinium myrtilloides Michx. and Chamaedaphne calyculata Moench) are able to thrive in the driest bog conditions. Additionally, fewer species contributed to root biomass at depth, suggesting possible resource partitioning among species. Lower water tables lead to greater belowground biomass. Total above- to below-ground plant biomass relationships were strongest when separated by plant species.

scholarly journals Species richness alters spatial nutrient heterogeneity effects on above-ground plant biomass

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 20170510 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nianxun Xi ◽  
Chunhui Zhang ◽  
Juliette M. G. Bloor
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Plant Density ◽  
Plant Biomass ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Nutrient Heterogeneity ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Ground Biomass ◽  
Below Ground ◽  
Heterogeneity Effects ◽  
Community Production

Previous studies have suggested that spatial nutrient heterogeneity promotes plant nutrient capture and growth. However, little is known about how spatial nutrient heterogeneity interacts with key community attributes to affect plant community production. We conducted a meta-analysis to investigate how nitrogen heterogeneity effects vary with species richness and plant density. Effect size was calculated using the natural log of the ratio in plant biomass between heterogeneous and homogeneous conditions. Effect sizes were significantly above zero, reflecting positive effects of spatial nutrient heterogeneity on community production. However, species richness decreased the magnitude of heterogeneity effects on above-ground biomass. The magnitude of heterogeneity effects on below-ground biomass did not vary with species richness. Moreover, we detected no modification in heterogeneity effects with plant density. Our results highlight the importance of species richness for ecosystem function. Asynchrony between above- and below-ground responses to spatial nutrient heterogeneity and species richness could have significant implications for biotic interactions and biogeochemical cycling in the long term.

scholarly journals Cálculo y valoración del almacenamiento de carbono del humedal altoandino de Chalhuanca, Arequipa (Perú)

2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 139-148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tania Alvis-Ccoropuna ◽  
◽  
José Francisco Villasante-Benavides ◽  
Gregory Anthony Pauca-Tanco ◽  
Johana del Pilar Quispe-Turpo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Content ◽  
Carbon Storage ◽  
Statistical Tests ◽  
Economic Value ◽  
Belowground Biomass ◽  
Organic Soil ◽  
Total Carbon ◽  
Ground Biomass ◽  
Type Device ◽  
Below Ground

High Andean wetlands are important ecosystems due to their ecosystem services. Carbon storage is a result of the low decomposition rate due to flooded soils and low temperatures. Consequently, this study estimated the carbon content stored in the high Andean wetland of Chalhuanca and calculated the economic value of this service. For this purpose, 30 samples were taken at random, establishing three carbon pools: aboveground biomass (leaves and stems), belowground biomass (roots), and organic soil. The samples were obtained with an auger-type device; each sample was dried at 65°C for at least 24 hours and the carbon content was determined using the Walkey-Black method and calculations and statistical tests were performed. The total carbon stored in relation to the area of the wetland was approximately 795,415.65 tons of CO2. The fraction of carbon per sample is higher in aerial biomass (49%), followed by organic soil (43.1%) and below ground biomass. On the other hand, the amount of carbon stored differs significantly between reservoirs, since organic soil stores the highest amount with 218.3 TC/ha (90%), followed by below-ground biomass (roots) with 19.7 TC/ha (8%), and above-ground biomass (leaves and stems) with 4.8 TC/ha (2%). Finally, the ecosystem service of carbon storage amounts to a cost of 6462.18 USD/ha, 5703132.34 USD in sum.

scholarly journals Strong stoichiometric resilience after litter manipulation experiments; a case study in a Chinese grassland

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 757-767 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Xiao ◽  
I. A. Janssens ◽  
Y. Zhou ◽  
J. Su ◽  
Y. Liang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Plant Biomass ◽  
Net Primary Production ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Litter Addition ◽  
Ground Biomass ◽  
P Content ◽  
Litter Manipulation ◽  
Soil Inorganic N ◽  
Below Ground

Abstract. Global climate change has generally modified net primary production (NPP) which leads to increasing litter inputs in some ecosystems. Therefore, assessing the impacts of increasing litter inputs on soil nutrients, plant growth and ecological carbon (C) : nitrogen (N) : phosphorus (P) stoichiometry is critical for an understanding of C, N and P cycling and their feedback processes to climate change. In this study, we added plant above-ground litter, harvested near the experimental plots, to the 10–20 cm subsoil layer of a steppe community at rates equivalent to annual litter input of 0, 15, 30, 60 and 120%, respectively, covering the entire range of the expected NPP increases in this region due to climate change (10–60%). We measured the resulting C, N and P content of different pools (above- and below-ground plant biomass, litter, microbial biomass). Small litter additions, which are more plausible compared to the expected increase predicted by Earth system models, had no effect on the variables examined. Nevertheless, high litter addition (120% of the annual litter inputs) significantly increased soil inorganic N and available P, above-ground biomass, below-ground biomass and litter. Our results suggest that while very high litter addition can strongly affect C : N : P stoichiometry, the grassland studied here is resilient to more plausible inputs in terms of stoichiometric functioning.

Abundance and composition of plant biomass as potential controls for mire net ecosytem CO2exchange

Botany ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 90 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna M. Laine ◽  
Jill Bubier ◽  
Terhi Riutta ◽  
Mats B. Nilsson ◽  
Tim R. Moore ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Composition ◽  
Water Table ◽  
Photosynthetic Capacity ◽  
Plant Biomass ◽  
Vascular Plant ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
High Impact ◽  
Ecosystem Carbon ◽  
Internal Variation ◽  
Ecosystem Carbon Exchange

We compared the amount and composition of different aboveground biomass (BM) fractions of four mires with their net ecosystem CO2exchange (NEE) measured by eddy covariance. We found clear differences in response of green biomass (GBM) of plant functional types (PFTs) to water table (WT), which resulted in larger spatial variation in GBM within a mire than variation between mires. GBM varied between mires from 126 ± 7 to 336 ± 16 g·m–2(mean ± SE), while within mire variation at largest was from 157 ± 17 to 488 ± 20 g·m–2(mean ± SE). GBM of dominant PFTs appeared to be better in explaining the peak growing season NEE than the total BM or GBM of a mire. The differences in photosynthetic capacity between PTFs had a major role, and thus a smaller GBM with different species composition could result in higher NEE than larger GBM. Vascular plant GBM, especially that of sedges, appeared to have a high impact on NEE. Eleven PFTs, defined here, appeared to capture well the internal variation within mires, and the differences in GBM between communities were explained by the water table response of PFTs. Our results suggest the use of photosynthesizing BM, separated into PFTs, in modelling ecosystem carbon exchange instead of using just total BM.

scholarly journals Serapan Karbon oleh Mangium dan Sengon Berumur Empat Tahun pada Lahan Pascatambang yang Sudah Direklamasi

2015 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 42
Author(s):  
Ali Munawar ◽  
Wiryono Wiryono
Keyword(s):  
Plant Biomass ◽  
Acacia Mangium ◽  
Co2 Absorption ◽  
Legume Species ◽  
Fresh Weight ◽  
Paraserianthes Falcataria ◽  
Fast Growing ◽  
Ground Biomass ◽  
Below Ground ◽  
Photosynthetic Reactions

Revegetation is an important part of reclamation activities of mined land, partly due to potential CO2 absorption from theatmosphere, particularly through photosynthetic reactions. This research was aimed to calculate the amount of C absorbedby two major fast growing legume species in most reclaimed mined lands in Indonesia, mangium (Acacia mangium) andalbizia (Paraserianthes falcataria) at four years of age. Three tree samples of each species were destructively taken fromthe reclaimed mined land belong to PT Bukit Asam (PERSERO) Tbk, Tanjung Enim, South Sumatra to obtain plant biomassproduction of both above and below ground. The above ground plant biomass was separated into leaf, branches & twigs,and stem. All these components and the below ground biomass (roots) were then weighed for fresh weight determination.About 200 g of these tree components were dried in an oven at 70oC to obtain their dry weights, and then ground into 60mesh diameter for C analysis using wet destruction method of Walkley and Black. The results showed that up to the fourthyear, mangium sequestered C almost double of that sequestered by sengon stands, 21.66 and 10.35 kg C/tree respectively.

scholarly journals Caution Is Needed in Quantifying Terrestrial Biomass Responses to Elevated Temperature: Meta-Analyses of Field-Based Experimental Warming Across China

Forests ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 619 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kai Yan ◽  
Shuang Zhang ◽  
Yahuang Luo ◽  
Zhenghong Wang ◽  
Deli Zhai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Woody Plants ◽  
Plant Biomass ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Woody Species ◽  
Biomass Accumulation ◽  
Response Patterns ◽  
Ground Biomass ◽  
Plant Phylogeny ◽  
Below Ground ◽  
Meta Analyses

Certainty over warming-induced biomass accumulation is essential for addressing climate change. However, no previous meta-analysis has investigated this accumulation across the whole of China; also unclear are the differences between herbaceous and woody species and across plant phylogeny, which are critical for corresponding re-vegetation. We extracted data from 90 field-based experiments to reveal general patterns and driving factors of biomass responses all over China. Based on traditional meta-analyses, a warmer temperature significantly increased above- (10.8%) and below-ground (14.2%) biomass accumulation. With increasing warming duration (WarmD) and plant clade age, both above-ground and below-ground biomass showed significant increases. However, for herbaceous versus woody plants, and the whole community versus its dominant species, responses were not always constant; the combined synergies would affect accumulative response patterns. When considering WarmD as a weight, decreases in total above-ground biomass response magnitude were presented, and the increase in below-ground biomass was no longer significant; notably, significant positive responses remained in tree species. However, if phylogenetic information was included in the calculations, all warming-induced plant biomass increases were not significant. Thus, it is still premature to speculate whether warming induces biomass increases in China; further long-term experiments are needed regarding phylogeny-based responses and interspecies relations, especially regarding woody plants and forests.

scholarly journals Strong stoichiometric resilience after litter manipulation experiments; a case study in a Chinese grassland

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 10487-10512 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. W. Xiao ◽  
I. A. Janssens ◽  
Y. Zhou ◽  
J. Q. Su ◽  
Y. Liang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Plant Biomass ◽  
Net Primary Production ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Belowground Biomass ◽  
Dry Mass ◽  
Plant Litter ◽  
Litter Addition ◽  
Litter Manipulation ◽  
Below Ground

Abstract. Global climate change has generally increased net primary production which leads to increasing litter inputs. Therefore assessing the impacts of increasing litter inputs on soil nutrients, plant growth and ecological Carbon (C) : nitrogen (N) : phosphorus (P) stoichiometry is critical for an understanding of C, N and P cycling and their feedback processes to climate change. In this study, we added plant litter to the 10–20 cm subsoil layer under a steppe community at rates equivalent to 0, 150, 300, 600 and 1200 g (dry mass) m−2 and measured the resulting C, N and P content of different pools (above and below ground plant biomass, litter, microbial biomass). High litter addition (120% of the annual litter inputs) significantly increased soil inorganic N and available P, aboveground biomass, belowground biomass and litter. Nevertheless small litter additions, which are more realistic compared to the future predictions, had no effect on the variables examined. Our results suggest that while very high litter addition can strongly affect C : N : P stoichiometry, the grassland studied here is quite resilient to more realistic inputs in terms of stoichiometric functioning. This result highlights the complexity of the ecosystem's response to climate change.

Fine-scale vegetation distribution in a cool temperate peatland

2006 ◽  
Vol 84 (6) ◽  
pp. 910-923 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jill L. Bubier ◽  
Tim R. Moore ◽  
Gareth Crosby
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Variability ◽  
Water Table ◽  
Plant Biomass ◽  
Vascular Plant ◽  
Environmental Data ◽  
Percent Cover ◽  
Fine Scale ◽  
Cool Temperate ◽  
Strong Control ◽  
Foliar Biomass

Carbon (C) modeling and carbon dioxide (CO2) flux measurements in peatlands are dependent on the distribution and productivity of vegetation in a system with a high degree of spatial variability, often linked to the position of the water table. We tested the hypothesis that at a fine-scale (tens of metres) water table position exerts a strong control on species abundance, plant biomass, particularly photosynthetically active tissues, leaf area index (LAI), and areal foliar N and chlorophyll at Mer Bleue, a cool temperate peatland in eastern Canada. Total aboveground biomass ranged from 147 to 1011 g·m–2, with shrubs contributing between 42% and 72% of the total in the transects. We found significant (P < 0.05) positive relationships between foliar and total vascular plant biomass and mean water table position, and significant decreases in the shrub foliar:woody biomass ratio and moss biomass with a lower water table. However, there was no significant relationship between water table position and photosynthetically active tissues (vascular plant leaves and moss capitulum), ranging from 114 to 672 g·m–2) and the areal mass of N in these tissues, ranging from 1.5 to 6.7 g·m–2. Multivariate analyses of vegetation and environmental data showed that species distribution could be explained by both water table and chemistry gradients and that unimodal rather than linear responses best described the species and water table relationships. LAI ranged from 0.1 to over 3 and was correlated with both water table position and with vascular foliar biomass. Percent cover of shrubs was correlated with foliar biomass and LAI. Our results suggest that the less labour-intensive estimates of percent cover can be used to predict the vascular plant foliar biomass and LAI measurements. The lack of relationship between photosynthetically active tissues, tissue N concentrations, and water table may also explain the surprising lack of spatial variability in peak growing season eddy flux net ecosystem CO2 exchange in three different areas of the peatland.

Interspecific competition and tolerance to defoliation in four grassland species

2004 ◽  
Vol 82 (7) ◽  
pp. 871-877 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ek del-Val ◽  
Michael J Crawley
Keyword(s):  
Plant Biomass ◽  
Plant Competition ◽  
Plant Performance ◽  
Plant Responses ◽  
Plant Tolerance ◽  
Grassland Species ◽  
Rumex Acetosella ◽  
Below Ground ◽  
Trifolium Repens L ◽  
Biomass Compensation

Herbivory and competition are known to influence plant performance. Recent investigations showed that tolerance is an important strategy for plant survival under herbivory, but few have examined its interaction with plant competition. We evaluated in a greenhouse experiment if plant tolerance to defoliation is related to species presence in a grazed habitat and how plant tolerance to herbivory changes in a competitive environment. Regrowth capacity of four grassland species, Trifolium repens L., Rumex acetosella L., Vicia sativa L. subsp. nigra (L.) Ehrh., and Senecio jacobaea L., was evaluated as the capacity to compensate for 75% of aboveground biomass removed. Target plants were also grown in competition with Festuca rubra L. subsp. rubra, and different clipping treatments were applied. Plant biomass (above- and below-ground) was measured after 5 months. Rumex acetosella, T. repens, and S. jacobaea were able to compensate fully when grown alone. In competition, only R. acetosella was still able to regrow. In no case did clipping the competitor improve target plant performance (i.e., no beneficial effect from competitor release). These results highlight the importance of considering plant competition when studying plant responses to herbivory.Key words: herbivory, regrowth, competitor release, biomass compensation.

ESTIMATION OF ABOVE GROUND BIOMASS OF THE THREE SITES (GRAZED SITE, PROTECTED SITE AND SEED SOWN SITE) FOR COMPARING THEIR PRODUCTIVITY IN KASHMIR VALLEY

2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
AFSHAN ANJUM BABA ◽  
SYED NASEEM UL-ZAFAR GEELANI ◽  
ISHRAT SALEEM ◽  
MOHIT HUSAIN ◽  
PERVEZ AHMAD KHAN ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Protected Areas ◽  
Aboveground Biomass ◽  
Plant Biomass ◽  
Summer Season ◽  
Above Ground Biomass ◽  
Spring Season ◽  
Kashmir Valley ◽  
Ground Biomass ◽  
Maximum Value ◽  
Protected Site

The plant biomass for protected areas was maximum in summer (1221.56 g/m2) and minimum in winter (290.62 g/m2) as against grazed areas having maximum value 590.81 g/m2 in autumn and minimum 183.75 g/m2 in winter. Study revealed that at Protected site (Kanidajan) the above ground biomass ranged was from a minimum (1.11 t ha-1) in the spring season to a maximum (4.58 t ha-1) in the summer season while at Grazed site (Yousmarag), the aboveground biomass varied from a minimum (0.54 t ha-1) in the spring season to a maximum of 1.48 t ha-1 in summer seasonandat Seed sown site (Badipora), the lowest value of aboveground biomass obtained was 4.46 t ha-1 in spring while as the highest (7.98 t ha-1) was obtained in summer.

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