Litterfall and nutrient return along a disturbance gradient in a tropical montane forest
Litterfall and nutrient return along a disturbance gradient in a tropical montane forest
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DOI：
10.1016/j.foreco.2015.05.028
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发表时间：
2015-10
影响因子：
3.7
通讯作者：
E. Paudel;G. Dossa;Jian-chu Xu;R. Harrison
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
E. Paudel;G. Dossa;Jian-chu Xu;R. Harrison
凋落物在陆地生态系统养分循环和土壤肥力维持中起着重要作用。在不同的生境中，凋落物的年度和季节变化已经被调查过，然而，养分供应的季节性较少有文献记载。我们研究了两年多的凋落物和一年多的季节性凋落物养分输入，跨越了从成熟森林到单一栽培茶园的热带干扰梯度。成熟林和更新林的凋落物总产量差异不显著。然而，茶园的凋落物产量明显较低。森林生境中的总凋落物表现出明显的季节模式，在旱季(3月至5月)达到高峰，正如其他热带季节性森林所报告的那样。与预期相反，尽管植物种类组成发生了实质性变化，但在整个干扰梯度上，凋落物养分浓度没有显著差异。凋落物养分浓度在不同季节也没有显著变化，这也与我们的预期相反。因此，养分输入完全是由季节凋落模式驱动的。我们的结果表明，在景观尺度上，与人为干扰有关的物种组成的更替可能并不总是导致凋落物质量的变化，这可能是因为不同群落之间可能存在类似的叶类型光谱。季节性枯枝落叶模式被更普遍地研究，它可能被证明是森林养分输入的合理替代。
Litterfall plays an important role in nutrient cycling and maintenance of soil fertility in terrestrial ecosystems. Annual and seasonal variation in litterfall have been investigated in various habitats, however, seasonality in nutrient supply is less well documented. We studied litterfall over two years and seasonal litter nutrient input over one year across a tropical disturbance gradient from mature forest to monoculture tea plantation. Total litter production in the mature forests and regenerating forests was not significantly different. However, tea plantations had significantly lower litter production. Total litterfall in forest habitats showed a clear seasonal pattern with a peak during the dry season (Mar.–May), as has been reported for other tropical seasonal forests. Contrary to expectations, there was no significant difference in litter nutrient concentrations across the disturbance gradient, although there was a substantial change in plant species composition. Litter nutrient concentrations also did not vary significantly across seasons, again contrary to our expectations. Thus, nutrient input was driven solely by the seasonal litterfall pattern. Our results suggest that at a landscape scale turnover in species composition linked to anthropogenic disturbance may not always lead to changes in litter quality, presumably because a similar spectra of leaf types may exist across communities. Seasonal litterfall patterns, which have been more commonly studied, may prove a reasonable proxy for nutrient input in forests.