Dynamics of microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen during foliar litter decomposition under artificial forest gap in Pinus massoniana plantation

doi:10.13287/j.1001-9332.201603.037

Abstract

Abstract: Nowadays large areas of plantations have caused serious ecological problems such as soil degradation and biodiversity decline. Artificial tending thinning and construction of mixed forest are frequently used ways when we manage plantations. To understand the effect of this operation mode on nutrient cycle of plantation ecosystem, we detected the dynamics of microbial bio-mass carbon and nitrogen during foliar litter decomposition of Pinus massoniana and Toona ciliate in seven types of gap in different sizes (G₁: 100 m², G₂: 225 m², G₃: 400 m², G₄: 625 m², G₅: 900 m², G₆: 1225 m², G₇: 1600 m²) of 42-year-old P. massoniana plantations in a hilly area of the upper Yang-tze River. The results showed that small and medium-sized forest gaps(G₁-G₅) were more advantageous for the increment of microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen in the process of foliar litter decomposition. Along with the foliar litter decomposition during the experiment (360 d), microbial biomass carbon (MBC), microbial biomass nitrogen (MBN) in P. massoniana foliar litter and MBN in T. ciliata foliar litter first increased and then decreased, and respectively reached the maxima 9.87, 0.22 and 0.80 g·kg^-1 on the 180^th d. But the peak (44.40 g·kg^-1) of MBC in T. ciliata foliar litter appeared on the 90^th d. Microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen in T. ciliate was significantly higher than that of P. massoniana during foliar litter decomposition. Microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen in foliar litter was not only significantly associated with average daily temperature and the water content of foliar litter, but also closely related to the change of the quality of litter. Therefore, in the thinning, forest gap size could be controlled in the range of from 100 to 900 m² to facilitate the increase of microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen in the process of foliar litter decomposition, accelerate the decomposition of foliar litter and improve soil fertility of plantations.

ZHANG Ming-jin,CHEN Liang-hua, ZHANG Jian, YANG Wan-qin, LIU Hua, LI Xun, ZHANG Yan. Dynamics of microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen during foliar litter decomposition under artificial forest gap in Pinus massoniana plantation[J]. Chinese Journal of Applied Ecology, 2016, 27(3): 672-680.

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