Premium
Mass loss and nutrient release from decomposing evergreen and deciduous Nothofagus litters from the Chilean Andes
Author(s) -
DECKER KELLY L. M.,
BOERNER RALPH E. J.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
austral ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.688
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 1442-9993
pISSN - 1442-9985
DOI - 10.1111/j.1442-9993.2006.01670.x
Subject(s) - evergreen , deciduous , nothofagus , litter , fagaceae , evergreen forest , plant litter , biology , ecology , botany , nutrient
Leaf litter decomposition experiments were conducted on two deciduous ( Nothofagus obliqua (roble)) and Nothofagus pumilio (lenga)) and one evergreen ( Nothofagus dombeyi ) Nothofagus (Nothofagaceae) species from a single Chilean forest in order to understand how congeneric trees with differing leaf lifespans impact the soil in which they grow. Single‐species litter samples were decomposed in a mixed hardwood forest in Ohio and in a deciduous‐evergreen Nothofagus forest in Chile. In the Ohio forest, the two deciduous species’ litters decomposed at k ≈ 1.00 per year and the evergreen at k ≈ 0.75 per year. In Chile k ranged from k ≈ 0.06 ( N. obliqua ) to k ≈ 0.23 ( N. pumilio ) per year. In both experiments, N and P were released faster from the deciduous litters than from evergreen litter. In Ohio, evergreen litter immobilized more N and P for a longer time period than did deciduous litter. As N. dombeyi stands tend to have lower available soil N and P in this particular mixed Nothofagus forest, the increased time of N and P immobilization by N. dombeyi litter suggests a feedback role of the tree itself in perpetuating low N and P soil conditions.