Open AccessLitterfall as a niche construction process in a northern hardwood forest
Author(s) -
Bigelow Seth W.,
Canham Charles D.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
ecosphere
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.255
H-Index - 57
ISSN - 2150-8925
DOI - 10.1890/es14-00442.1
Subject(s) - biological dispersal , plant litter , ecology , soil water , litter , nutrient , biology , agronomy , population , demography , sociology
Northern hardwood forests can exhibit considerable temporal stability in their species composition, which litterfall may help to maintain by modifying the soil environment to create an ecological inheritance. We evaluated the evidence for this niche‐construction perspective by carrying out a spatially explicit analysis of redistribution of calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), and potassium (K) via leaf litterfall of the six dominant tree species in a temperate forest in northwest Connecticut, USA. We combined stem maps with litterfall measurements to fit models of leaf litterfall for individual species, and we chemically analyzed leaves, surface soil extractions, and unweathered soil particles. Analysis of elemental oxides in unweathered soil particles suggested that species did not differ in ability to gain access to rock‐bound nutrients. Nevertheless, species had a significant effect on quantity of Ca cycled in litter—the two calcicoles (species with affinity for calcium‐rich soils) occurred most commonly on the richest soils, and the Ca concentration in their senescent leaves increased sharply across the soil fertility gradient. No species effects on Mg or K redistribution were seen. Litter dispersal distances cut across calcium affinities: e.g., of the four calcifuges (plants with affinity for acidic soils) two had distant litter dispersal (modal dispersal distance ≥ 4 m) and two had close litter dispersal (modal dispersal distance < 0.3 m). Dispersal distance was associated with leaf size: the three species with the smallest leaves had the most concentrated litterfall shadows. One of these, eastern hemlock, has a recognized ability to exclude other species in part by creating an acidic low‐nutrient soil environment. Overall, the ability of trees to generate soil conditions that were aligned with their own resource use was expressed most clearly in the calcium content of their leaves. We concluded that tree‐environment interactions at the site displayed several of the criteria for niche construction.