Nutrient dynamic of Norway spruce (Picea abies (L) Karst) litter mixed with litter of Beech (Fagus orientalis lipsky), Alder (Alnus subcordata C.A.Meyer) and Maple (Acer velutinum Boiss.) in pure Norway spruce plantation of Lajim site

Document Type : Research article

Authors

1 P.D. student of forestry, Faculty of Natural Resources and Marine Science, Tarbiat Modarres University

2 Associate professor, Faculty of Natural Resources and Marine Science, Tarbiat Modarres University

3 Assistant professor, Faculty of Natural Resources, Kordestan University, Sanandaj

4 Ph.D. student, Department of Forest Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, University of Helsinki

Abstract

Plant litter decomposition plays an important role in forest soil fertility due to nutrient cycling and soil organic matter formation. Litter decomposition, results in return of leaves nutrient to soil and supply of necessary elements for plant growth. In fact, nutrient availability is highly related to litter nutrient dynamic in soil. In this study the nutrient dynamic of Norway spruce litter was investigated in both pure and mixed condition to determine whether its nutrient dynamic is affected by its composition with broad-leaved litters or not. For this reason, Norway spruce litters were treated for 400 days at pure and mixed conditions with Beech (Fagus orientalis lipsky), Alder (Alnus subcordata C.A.Meyer) and Maple (Acer velutinum Boiss.) litters in pure Norway spruce plantation at Lajim site, using litter bag method. The results showed that the non-additive effect of litter composition on dynamic of lignin and manganese was neutral, but on dynamic of nitrogen, potassium and magnesium was positive, whereas on dynamic of calcium was negative. The finding of this study showed that litter mineralization rate of nitrogen in the three treatments of litter composition was higher than the its rate in the pure Norway spruce litter, whereas the mineralization rate of manganese was negative at the end of the study time in all the combinations, except for Norway spruce mixed with beech.

Keywords


- Berg, B., McClaugherty C. and Johansson, M.B., 1997. Chemical changes in decomposing plant litter can be systemized with respect to the litter's initial chemical composition. Department of Forest Ecology and Forest Soils, Swed. Univ. Agric. Sci. Rep., 74: 1-85.
- Berg, B., Gundersen, P., Akselsson, C., Johansson, M.B., Nilsson, A. and Vesterdal, L., 2007. Carbon sequestration rates in Nordic forest soils- Some results from three approaches. Silva Fennica, 41 (3): 541–558.
- Berg, B. and McClaugherty, C., 2008. Plant Litter: Decomposition, Humus Formation, Carbon Sequestration. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, Heidelberg, 338 p.
- Bremner, J.M. and Mulvaney, C.S., 1982. Nitrogen-Total. In: Page, A.L., Miller, R.H. and Keeney, D.R., (Eds.). Methods of Soil Analysis, Part 2. Chemical and Microbiological Properties, ASA, SSSA, Madison, WI: 595-624.
- Finzi, A. and Canham, C.D., 1998. Non-additive effects of bitter Mixtures on net N mineralization in a southern New England forest. Forest Ecology and Management, 105: 129-136.
- Gartner, T.B. and Cardon, Z.G., 2004. Decomposition dynamics in mixed-species leaf litter a review. Oikos, 104: 230-246.
- Guo, L.B. and Sims, R.E.H., 1999. Litter decomposition and nutrient release via litter decomposition in New Zealand eucalypt short rotation forests. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, 75: 133-144.
- Hättenschwiler, S. and Gasser, P., 2005. Soil animals alter plant litter diversity effects on decomposition. Proc Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 102: 1519-1524.
- Hoorens, B., Aerts, R. and Stroetenga, M., 2002. Litter quality and interactive effects in litter mixtures: more negative interactions under elevated CO2. J. Eco. L., 90: 1009-1016.
- Issac, R.A. and Johnson, W.C., 1975. Collaborative study of wet and dry techniques for the elemental analysis of plant tissue by atomic absorption spectrometer. J. Assoc. Agri. Chem., 58: 436-440.
- Laskowski, R., Berg, B., Johansson, M. and McClaugherty, C., 1995. Release pattern for potassium from decomposing forest leaf litter. Long-term decomposition in a Scots pine forest XI. Can. J. Bot., 73: 2019-2027.
- Maisto, G., De Marco, A., Meola, A., Sessa, L. and Virzo De Santo, A., 2010. Nutrient dynamics in litter mixtures of four Mediterranean maquis species decomposing in situ. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 43: 520-530.
- Melillo, J.M., Aber, J.D. and Muratore, J.F., 1982. Nitrogen and Lignin control of hardwood leaf litter dynamics in forest ecosystems. Ecology, 63: 621-626.
- Pérez-Corona, M.E., Hernández, C.P. and Castro, F.B., 2006. Decomposition of Alder, Ash and Poplar Litter in a Mediterranean River Area. Communication in Soil Science and Plant Analysis, 37: 1111-1125.
- Perez Harguindeguy, N., Blundo, C., Gurvich, D., Diaz, S. and Cuevas, M., 2008. More than the sum of its parts? Assessing litter heterogeneity effects on the decomposition of litter mixtures through leaf chemistry. Plant Soil, 303: 151-159.
- Polyakova, O. and Billor, N., 2007. Impact of deciduous tree species on litter fall quality, decomposition rates and nutrient circulation in pine stands. Forest Ecology and Management, 253: 11-18.
- Radaei, M., 1998. Effect of Norway spruce (Picea abies) plantation on the soil physical and chemical properties. M.Sc. Thesis, University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resource of Gorgan, 120 p.
- Rouhi-Moghaddam, E., Hosseini, S.M., Ebrahimi, E., Tabari, M. and Rahmani, A., 2008. Comparison of growth, nutrition and soil properties of pure stands of Quercus castaneifolia and mixed with Zelkova carpinifolia in the Hyrcanian forests of Iran. Forest Ecology and Management, 255: 1149-1160.
- Salamanca, E.F., Kaneko, N. and Katagiri, S., 1998. Effects of leaf litter mixtures on the decomposition of Quercus serrata and Pinus densiflora using field and laboratory microcosm methods. Ecol. Eng., 10: 53-73.
- Thelin, G., Rosengren, U., Callesen, I. and Ingerslev, M., 2002. The nutrient status of Norway spruce in pure and in mixed-species stands. Forest Ecology and Management, 160: 115-125.
- Virzo De santo, A., De Marco, A., Fierro, A., Berg, B. and Rutigliano, F.A., 2009. Factors regulating litter mass and lignin degradation in late decomposition stages. Plant and Soil, 318: 217-228.
- Wardle, D.A., Bonner, K.I. and Barker, G.M., 1997. Biodiversity and plant litter: experimental evidence which does not support the view that enhanced species richness improves ecosystem function. Oikos, 79: 247-258.