scholarly journals Presence of Mycorrhizal Fungal Hyphae Rather than Living Roots Retards Root Litter Decomposition

Forests ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 502 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guigang Lin ◽  
Zhengxia Chen ◽  
De-Hui Zeng
Keyword(s):  
Mass Loss ◽  
Litter Decomposition ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Mycorrhizal Fungi ◽  
Arbuscular Mycorrhizal ◽  
Phenol Oxidase ◽  
Litter Mass ◽  
Root Litter ◽  
Fungal Hyphae ◽  
Litter Mass Loss

Although both living roots and mycorrhizal fungi are well known to interact with saprotrophic microbes to affect litter decomposition, their relative importance is largely unclear. Here, a two-year pot experiment was conducted with two ectomycorrhizal (Pinus elliottii and Pinus massoniana) and four arbuscular mycorrhizal (Cinnamomum camphora, Cunninghamia lanceolata, Michelia maudiae and Schima superba) subtropical tree species to evaluate the relative effects of living roots and mycorrhizal fungal hyphae on their own root litter decomposition and to test whether these effects differed between ectomycorrhizal and arbuscular mycorrhizal trees. To achieve these objectives, litterbags with 50-µm and 1-mm mesh sizes filled with root litter of a given tree species were simultaneously installed in pots planted with the same species and unplanted pots filled with composite soil for all species. Effects of living roots alone were calculated as differences in root litter decomposition between 50-µm and 1-mm mesh litterbags installed in planted pots. Mycorrhizal hyphal effects were calculated as differences in root litter decomposition between 50-µm litterbags installed in planted and unplanted pots. The presence of mycorrhizal fungal hyphae significantly reduced root litter mass loss and inhibited the activities of β-glucosidase and phenol oxidase, while effects of living roots alone were non-significant when all tree species were pooled and inconsistent at the tree species level. Mycorrhizal fungal hyphae induced decreases in root litter mass loss that were markedly related to their inhibitory effects on β-glucosidase and phenol oxidase activities. When tree species were grouped by their mycorrhizal types, non-significant differences were observed between ectomycorrhizal and arbuscular mycorrhizal trees in their living root or mycorrhizal fungal effects on root litter decomposition. These findings highlight the important roles of mycorrhizal fungi in mediating litter decomposition via interacting with saprotrophic microbes and suggest that changes in tree carbon allocation to mycorrhizal fungi owing to global change may affect soil carbon storage.

scholarly journals Tree Diversity, Initial Litter Quality, and Site Conditions Drive Early-Stage Fine-Root Decomposition in European Forests

Ecosystems ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janna Wambsganss ◽  
Grégoire T. Freschet ◽  
Friderike Beyer ◽  
Jürgen Bauhus ◽  
Michael Scherer-Lorenzen
Keyword(s):  
Mass Loss ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Litter Quality ◽  
Fine Root ◽  
Root Decomposition ◽  
Litter Mass ◽  
Root Litter ◽  
Litter Mass Loss ◽  
Fine Root Decomposition ◽  
Diversity Effects

AbstractDecomposition of dead fine roots contributes significantly to nutrient cycling and soil organic matter stabilization. Most knowledge of tree fine-root decomposition stems from studies in monospecific stands or single-species litter, although most forests are mixed. Therefore, we assessed how tree species mixing affects fine-root litter mass loss and which role initial litter quality and environmental factors play. For this purpose, we determined fine-root decomposition of 13 common tree species in four European forest types ranging from boreal to Mediterranean climates. Litter incubations in 315 tree neighborhoods allowed for separating the effects of litter species from environmental influences and litter mixing (direct) from tree diversity (indirect). On average, mass loss of mixed-species litter was higher than those of single-species litter in monospecific neighborhoods. This was mainly attributable to indirect diversity effects, that is, alterations in microenvironmental conditions as a result of tree species mixing, rather than direct diversity effects, that is, litter mixing itself. Tree species mixing effects were relatively weak, and initial litter quality and environmental conditions were more important predictors of fine-root litter mass loss than tree diversity. We showed that tree species mixing can alter fine-root litter mass loss across large environmental gradients, but these effects are context-dependent and of moderate importance compared to environmental influences. Interactions between species identity and site conditions need to be considered to explain diversity effects on fine-root decomposition.

Litter decomposition in a transect of Norway spruce forests: substrate quality and climate control

2000 ◽  
Vol 30 (7) ◽  
pp. 1136-1147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Björn Berg ◽  
Maj-Britt Johansson ◽  
Vernon Meentemeyer
Keyword(s):  
Mass Loss ◽  
Norway Spruce ◽  
Litter Decomposition ◽  
First Year ◽  
Lignin Concentration ◽  
Litter Mass ◽  
Substrate Quality ◽  
Litter Mass Loss ◽  
Mn Concentration ◽  
Mn Concentrations

We used a climatic transect of 14 stands of Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) at which locally collected needle litters was incubated. Our purpose was to show that climate is not necessarily the main rate-regulating factor even in a long climatic transect. The sites are found in Sweden from 56 to 66°N. There was virtually no relationship between climate (AET ranging between 371 and 545 mm) and first-year mass loss (range 19.4-32.8%). Instead, substrate quality (litter Mn concentration) explained 27% of the site-to-site variation in first-year mass loss. For the later stages of decomposition (second to fifth year), the sites could be divided into two groups; one in which lignin concentration regulated litter mass-loss rates, and one in which lignin concentration was not an important control. In this latter group, Mn concentrations were the component best correlated with litter mass loss. When combining all data, Mn concentration gave the best linear relationship. We repeated this procedure using first- to fifth-year mass-loss values and found the same pattern. We concluded that litter Mn concentrations is a key factor for Norway spruce litter decomposition because of its influence on lignin degradation and that the very early stage is short or nonexistant.

scholarly journals Site-Specific Microbial Decomposer Communities Do Not Imply Faster Decomposition: Results from a Litter Transplantation Experiment

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (9) ◽  
pp. 349 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bani ◽  
Borruso ◽  
Matthews Nicholass ◽  
Bardelli ◽  
Polo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mass Loss ◽  
Litter Decomposition ◽  
Carbon Sources ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Fungal Community Composition ◽  
Research Attention ◽  
Litter Mass ◽  
Depth Analysis ◽  
Litter Mass Loss ◽  
Transplantation Experiment

Microbes drive leaf litter decomposition, and their communities are adapted to the local vegetation providing that litter. However, whether these local microbial communities confer a significant home-field advantage in litter decomposition remains unclear, with contrasting results being published. Here, we focus on a litter transplantation experiment from oak forests (home site) to two away sites without oak in South Tyrol (Italy). We aimed to produce an in-depth analysis of the fungal and bacterial decomposer communities using Illumina sequencing and qPCR, to understand whether local adaptation occurs and whether this was associated with litter mass loss dynamics. Temporal shifts in the decomposer community occurred, reflecting changes in litter chemistry over time. Fungal community composition was site dependent, while bacterial composition did not differ across sites. Total litter mass loss and rates of litter decomposition did not change across sites. Litter quality influenced the microbial community through the availability of different carbon sources. Additively, our results do not support the hypothesis that locally adapted microbial decomposers lead to a greater or faster mass loss. It is likely that high functional redundancy within decomposer communities regulated the decomposition, and thus greater future research attention should be given to trophic guilds rather than taxonomic composition.

Litter mass-loss rates and decomposition patterns in some needle and leaf litter types. Long-term decomposition in a Scots pine forest. VII

1991 ◽  
Vol 69 (7) ◽  
pp. 1449-1456 ◽  
Author(s):  
Björn Berg ◽  
Gunnar Ekbohm
Keyword(s):  
Mass Loss ◽  
Leaf Litter ◽  
Litter Decomposition ◽  
Loss Rate ◽  
Mass Loss Rate ◽  
Nitrogen Concentration ◽  
White Birch ◽  
Litter Mass ◽  
Mass Losses ◽  
Litter Mass Loss

The decomposition dynamics of four types of needle litter and three types of leaf litter were followed for 4 years. Mass losses and certain chemical changes were studied. Most of the nutrient-rich litters appeared to decompose relatively quickly during the first 12–18 months. After 3–4 years, however, their accumulated mass losses were lower compared with litter types that intially had lower rates. Thus the more nutrient-rich litters had considerably lower mass-loss rates in the later stages. This pattern was even more pronouced for extract-free lignocellulose: its mass-loss rate was negatively related to the lignin concentration, which increased progressively as litter decomposition proceeded. During late stages in litter with a high nitrogen content, there was also a clear negative relation between nitrogen concentration and lignin mass-loss rate, as well as between nitrogen concentration and litter mass-loss rate. By extrapolation of measured mass-loss values, maximum values for accumulated litter–mass loss were estimated. A nonlinear statistical model predicted that the proportion of mass lost through decomposition should be 50% for grey alder leaves, 54% for green leaves of white birch, and 57% for brown leaves of white birch. For Scots pine the predicted maximums for accumulated mass loss were 68% for green needles and 89% for brown needles, whereas corresponding values for lodgepole pine needles were 81% (green) and 100% (brown). Lodgepole pine is an introduced species in this system. Key words: litter, decomposition, lignin, nitrogen, maxium mass loss.

Effects of management on plant litter traits and consequences for litter mass loss and Collembola functional diversity in a Mediterranean agro-forest system

Pedobiologia ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 75 ◽  
pp. 38-51 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eduardo Nascimento ◽  
Filipa Reis ◽  
Filipe Chichorro ◽  
Cristina Canhoto ◽  
Ana Lúcia Gonçalves ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mass Loss ◽  
Functional Diversity ◽  
Plant Litter ◽  
Litter Mass ◽  
Litter Traits ◽  
Litter Mass Loss

scholarly journals Invasion of a xeric forest by an exotic tree species in Argentina: Impacts on the diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and pre-existing mutualistic relationships

2021 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 269-275
Author(s):  
Camila Abarca ◽  
Marcelo Daniel Barrera ◽  
Marta Cabello ◽  
Fabricio Valdés ◽  
María Silvana Velázquez
Keyword(s):  
Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Mycorrhizal Fungi ◽  
Arbuscular Mycorrhizal ◽  
Exotic Tree

scholarly journals Aspects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in an atlantic forest chronosequence parque estadual turístico do Alto Ribeira (petar), SP

2004 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcos P.M. Aidar ◽  
Rosilaine Carrenho ◽  
Carlos A. Joly
Keyword(s):  
Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi ◽  
Atlantic Forest ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Mycorrhizal Fungi ◽  
Late Phase ◽  
Arbuscular Mycorrhizal ◽  
Diversity Indices ◽  
Mycorrhizal Colonization ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
Generic Level

Mycorrhizal colonization was assessed in roots of trees within an Atlantic Forest chronosequence, located in the southeastern of São Paulo State, Brazil, inside Tourist State Park of the High Ribeira Valley (PETAR). The phytosociological survey was carried out in three adjacent areas, all on calcareous soil, which correspond to different time intervals during which they have been left abandoned following a slash-and-burn agricultural perturbation. Early Phase (EP) with 15 years; Mid Phase (MP) with 25 years; and Late Phase (LP) with more than 36 years without clear-cut. The inventory indicated a continuum of tree species substitution, which is dominated by species of Leguminosae, especially Piptadenia gonoacantha (Mart.) J.F. Macbr. (Mimosoideae) in the earlier successional phases. Mycorrhizal colonization, estimated by the occurrence of the mycorrhizal structures in the tree species roots, diminished during the season with less rain (winter), and showed no significant differences between successional phases in the wet season (summer). Rather, the mycorrhizal colonization was correlated with occurrence of the tree’s successional status: being positively correlated with occurrence of pioneer species, and negatively correlated with late secondary species. Mycorrhizal colonization was also correlated negatively with soil organic matter and base saturation. Twenty five species of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi belonging to four genera were identified. Six species were only identified to generic level. The species Glomus etunicatum Becker & Gerd. represented 10% of the total number of spores and occurred in all phases and seasons, while the genus Glomus represented 57% of the total of spores found in the rhizosphere. The diversity indices evaluated for the mycohrriza community were: H’ = 2.3, J’ = 0.97 and R = 4.12. These results are a contribution to the knowledge of The Atlantic Forest biodiversity and may have implications to support programs regarding rehabilitation of degraded vegetation in one of the World’s most threatened Biomes.

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