Contribution of soil fauna to litter decomposition of Abies faxoniana and Rhododendron lapponicum across an alpine timberline ecotone in Western Sichuan, China.

doi:10.13287/j.1001-9332.201611.025

Abstract

Abstract: Soil fauna is an important biological factor in regulation litter decomposition. In order to quantify the contributions of soil fauna to the mass losses of litter of two dominant species fir (Abies faxoniana) and rhododendron (Rhododendron lapponicum) in the alpine timberline ecotone (coniferous forest-timberline-alpine meadow) of western Sichuan, China, a field litterbag experiment was conducted from May 2013 to November 2014. Samples of air-dried leaf litter were placed in nylon litterbags of two different mesh sizes, i.e. 3.00 mm (with the soil animals) and 0.04 mm (excluded the soil animals). The results showed that the decomposition rate of A. faxoniana (k: 0.209-0.243) was higher than that of R. lapponicum (k: 0.173-0.189) across the timberline ecotone. Soil fauna had significant contributions to litter decomposition of two species, the contributions of soil fauna to mass loss showed a decreasing trend with increasing altitude. From the coniferous forest to the alpine meadow, the mass losses caused by soil fauna for the fir litter accounted for 15.2%, 13.2% and 9.8%, respectively and that for the rhododendron litter accounted for 20.1%, 17.5% and 12.4%, respectively. Meanwhile, the daily average contributions caused by soil fauna for the fir and rhododendron litter decomposition accounted for 0.17%, 0.13%, 0.12% and 0.26%, 0.25%, 0.23%, respectively. Relatively, soil fauna had more influence on alpine rhododendron decomposition. Two-way ANOVA showed that species, altitude and their interaction had significant impact on the litter mass loss and decomposition rate caused by soil fauna. The daily average contribution caused by soil fauna for the fir and rhododendron litter decomposition accounted for 0.25% and 0.44% in the first growing season, then 0.10% and 0.19% in the second growing season, both were higher than that of snow-covered season (0.07% and 0.12%). Regression analysis showed that the environmental factors (daily average temperature, freezing and thawing cycles and snow thickness) explained 42.7% and 50.9% in the mass loss as well as 43.2% and 55.6% in the contribution rate of fir and rhododendron litter decomposition. These results suggest that soil fauna contributes strongly to litter decomposition in the alpine ecosystem, and it is of great significance to thorough understanding and recognizing material cycle through the role of soil fauna in the litter decomposition.

WANG Li-feng, HE Run-lian, YANG Lin, CHEN Ya-mei, LIU Yang, ZHANG Jian. Contribution of soil fauna to litter decomposition of Abies faxoniana and Rhododendron lapponicum across an alpine timberline ecotone in Western Sichuan, China.[J]. Chinese Journal of Applied Ecology, 2016, 27(11): 3689-3697.

References

[1] Waez-Mousavi SM, Habashi H. Evaluating humus forms variation in an unmanaged mixed beech forest using two different classification methods. Forest Biogeosciences and Forestry, 2012, 5: 272-275
[2] Navarro FB, Romero-Freire A, Del CassAstillo T. Effects of thinning on litter fall were found after years in a Pinus halepensis afforestation area at tree and stand levels. Forest Ecology and Management, 2013, 289: 354-362
[3] Xu GL, Kuster TM, Gunthardt-Goeoerg MS. Seasonal exposure to drought and air warming affects soil Collembola and mites. PLoS One, 2012, 7(8): e43102
[4] Cragg RG, Bardgett RD. How changes in soil faunal diversity and composition within a trophic group influence decomposition processes. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 2001, 33: 2073-2081
[5] Carrillo Y, Ball BA, Bradford MA. et al. Soil fauna alter the effects of litter composition on nitrogen cycling in a mineral soil. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 2011, 43: 1440-1449
[6] Chamberlain PM, Mcnamara NP, Chaplow J, et al. Translocation of surface litter carbon into soil by Collembola. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 2006, 38: 2655-2664
[7] Xin J-L (忻介六). Knowledge of Soil Fauna. Beijing: Science Press, 1986 (in Chinese)
[8] Byzov B, Tretyakova E, Zvyagintsev D, et al. Effects of soil invertebrates on the survival of some genetically engineered bacteria in leaf litter and soil. Biology and Fertility of Soils, 1996, 23: 221-228
[9] Yang WQ, Wang KY, Kellomaiki S. Litter dynamics of three subalpine forests in Western Sichuan. Pedosphere, 2005, 15: 653-659
[10] Liu Y (刘洋), Zhang J (张健), Yang W-Q (杨万勤). Responses of alpine biodiversity to climate change. Biodiversity Science(生物多样性), 2009, 17(1): 88-96 (in Chinese)
[11] Yin X-Q (殷秀琴), Li J-X (李金霞), Dong W-H (董玮华), Microelement contents of litter, soil fauna and soil in Pinus koraiensis and broadleaved mixed forest. Chinese Journal of Applied Ecology (应用生态学报), 2007, 18(2): 277-282(in Chinese)
[12] Kullman L, Zhang XY. 20^th century climate warming and tree-limit rise in the Southern Scandes of Sweden. Ambio, 2001, 30: 72-80
[13] Wang S-J (王邵军), Ruan H-H (阮宏华), Wang J-S (汪家社), et al. Composition structure of soil fauna community under the typical vegetations in the Wuyi Mountains, China. Acta Ecologica Sinica (生态学报), 2010, 30(19): 5174-5184 (in Chinese)
[14] Hättenschwiler S, Coq S, Barantal S, et al. Leaf traits and decomposition in tropical rainforests: Revisiting some commonly held views and towards a new hypothesis. New Phytologist, 2011, 189: 950-965
[15] Luo Y-Y (罗媛媛), Yuan J-F (袁金凤), Sheng G-C (沈国春), et al. Decomposition of Schima superba leaf litter and dynamics change of soil meso-micro arthropods community structure in evergreen broadleaved forest fragments. Chinese Journal of Applied Ecology (应用生态学报), 2010, 21(2): 265-271(in Chinese)
[16] Xia L (夏磊), Wu F-Z (吴福忠), Yang W-Q (杨万勤), et al. Contribute of soil to the mass loss of Betula albosinensis leaf litter at early decomposition stage of subalpine forest litter in western Sichuan. Chinese Journal of Applied Ecology (应用生态学报), 2012, 23(2): 301-306(in Chinese)
[17] Huang X (黄旭), Zhang J (张健), Liu Y (刘洋), et al. Soil fauna diversity of the subalpine forest pasture in western Sichuan. Acta Ecologica Sinica (生态学报), 2010, 30(19): 5161-5173 (in Chinese)
[18] He R-L (和润莲), Chen Y-M (陈亚梅), Deng C-C (邓长春), et al. Litter decomposition and soil fauna diversity of two understory plant debris in the alpine timberline ecotone of west Sichuan in a snow cover season. Chinese Journal of Applied Ecology (应用生态学报), 2015, 26(3): 723-731 (in Chinese)
[19] Zwahlen C, Hilbeck A, Nentwig W. Field decomposition of transgenic Bt maize residue and the impact on non-target soil invertebrates. Plant and Soil, 2007, 300: 245-257
[20] Crutsinger GM, Sanders NJ, Classen AT. Comparing intra- and inter-specific effects on litter decomposition in an old-field ecosystem. Basic and Applied Ecology, 2009, 10: 535-543
[21] Konestabo HS, Michelsen A, Holmstrup M. Responses of springtail and mite populations to prolonged periods of soil freeze-thaw cycles in a sub-arctic ecosystem. Applied Soil Ecology, 2007, 36: 136-146
[22] Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chineses Academy of Sciences(中国科学院地理科学与资源研究所), the Geographical Society of China (中国地理学会). China Flora and Fauna Observation Report. Beijing: China Science and Technology Press, 1992 (in Chinese)
[23] Olson JS. Energy storage and the balance of producers and decomposers in ecological systems. Ecology, 1963, 44: 322-331
[24] Tourna M, Freitag TE, Nicol GW. Growth, activity and temperature responses of ammonia-oxidizing archaea and bacteria in soil microcosms. Environments, 2012, 77: 90-95
[25] Wardle DA, Bardgett RD, Klironomos JN, et al. Ecological linkages between aboveground and belowground biota. Science, 2004, 304: 1629-1633
[26] Tan B (谭波), Wu F-Z (吴福忠), Yang W-Q (杨万勤), et al. Population structure of soil arthropod in different age Pinus massoniana plantations. Chinese Journal of Applied Ecology (应用生态学报), 2013, 24(4): 1118-1124 (in Chinese)
[27] Deng C-C (邓长春), Jiang X-M (蒋先敏), Liu Y (刘洋), et al. Litter decomposition of Rhododendron lapponicum in alpine timberline ecotone. Acta Ecologica Sinica (生态学报), 2015, 35(6): 1769-1778(in Chinese)
[28] Yang L (杨林), Deng C-C (邓长春), Chen Y-M (陈亚梅), et al. Relationships between decomposition rate of leaf litter and initial quality across the alpine timberline ecotone in Western Sichuan, China. Chinese Journal of Applied Ecology (应用生态学报), 2015, 26(12): 3602-3610 (in Chinese)
[29] Gholz HL, Wedin DA, Smitherman SM. Long term dynamics of pine and hardwood litter in contrasting environments: Toward a global model of decomposition. Global Change Biology, 2000, 6: 751-765
[30] Trofymow JA, Moore TR, Titus B, et al. Rates of litter decomposition over 6 years in Canadian forests: Influence of litter quality and climate. Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 2002, 32: 789-804
[31] Gavazov KS. Dynamics of alpine plant litter decomposition in a changing climate. Plant and Soil, 2010, 337: 19-32
[32] Zhu X-Y (朱新玉), Gao B-J (高宝嘉), Bi H-M (毕华铭), et al. A community diversity of soil arthropods in forest steppe ecotone. Chinese Journal of Applied Eco-logy (应用生态学报), 2007, 18(11): 2567-2572 (in Chinese)
[33] Magura T, Tothmerese B, Molnar T. Forest edge and diversity: Carabids along forest-grassland transects. Biodiversity and Conservation, 2001, 10: 287-300
[34] Zhu F-Y (朱芬萌), An S-Q (安树青), Guan B-H (关保华), et al. A review of ecotone: Concepts, attri-butes, theories and research advances Acta Ecologica Sinica (生态学报), 2007, 27(7): 3032-3042 (in Chinese)
[35] Holtmeier FK. Mountain Timberlines: Ecology, Patchiness, and Dynamics. Dordrecht, the Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2009
[36] He R-L (和润莲), Chen Y-M (陈亚梅), Deng C-C (邓长春), et al. Invertebrate diversity in foliar litter of three shrubs in the alpine timberline of western Sichuan. Acta Ecologica Sinica (生态学报), 2016, 36(17): doi: 10.5846/stxb201502250380 (in Chinese)
[37] Wang QK, Zhong M, He TX. Home-field advantage of litter decomposition and nitrogen release in forest ecosystems. Biology and Fertility of Soils, 2013, 49: 427-434
[38] Freschet GT, Aerts R, Cornelissen JHC, et al. Multiple mechanisms for trait effects on litter decomposition: Moving beyond home-field advantage with a new hypothesis. Journal of Ecology, 2012, 100: 619-630
[39] Ayres E, Steltzer H, Breana L, et al. Home-field advantage accelerates leaf litter decomposition in forests. Soil Biology & Biochemistry, 2009, 41: 606-610
[40] He R-L (和润莲), Chen Y-M (陈亚梅), Deng C-C (邓长春), et al. Seasonal responses of the soil meso-and microfauna to litter decomposition in alpine meadow of western Sichuan. Chinese Journal of Applied and Environmental Biology (应用与环境生态学报), 2015,21(2): 350-357 (in Chinese)
[41] Wang SJ, Ruan HH, Wang B. Effects of soil microarthropods on plant litter decomposition on across an elevation gradient in the Wuyi Mountains. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 2009, 41: 891-897
[42] Peng Y, Yang WQ, Li J, et al. Contribution of soil fauna to foliar litter-mass loss in winter in an ecotone between dry valley and montane forest in the upper reaches of the Minjiang River. PLoS One, 2015, 10(4): e0124605
[43] Bokhorst S, Bjerke JW, Melillo J.Impacts of extreme winter warming events on litter decomposition in asub-Arctic heathland. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 2010, 42: 611-617
[44] Solomon S. Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis: Working Group I Contribution to the Fourth Assessment Report of the IPCC. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007
[45] Zhang H-Z (张洪芝), Wu P-F (吴鹏飞), Yang D-X (杨大星), et al. Dynamics of soil meso- and microfauna communities in Zoige alpine meadows on the eastern edge of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, China. Acta Ecologica Sinica (生态学报), 2011, 31(15): 4385-4397 (in Chinese)
[46] GalizziI MC, Zilli F, Marchese M. Diet and functional feeding groups of Chironomidae (Diptera) in the Middle Paraná River floodplain (Argentina). Iheringia Série Zoologia, 2012, 102: 117-121