Carbon versus nitrogen release from root and leaf litter is modulated by litter position and plant functional type

作者：Enkhmaa Erdenebileg, Congwen Wang, Wanying Yu, Xuehua Ye, Xu Pan, Zhenying Huang, Guofang Liu, Johannes H. C. Cornelissen · 发表于：Journal of Ecology · 年份：2022 · DOI：10.1111/1365-2745.14026 · 被引用次数：44 · 研究领域：Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics、Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies、Plant Water Relations and Carbon Dynamics

Abstract Litters of leaves and roots of different qualities occur naturally above‐ and below‐ground, respectively, where they decompose in contrasting abiotic and biotic environments. Therefore, ecosystem carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) dynamics can be strongly affected by the combination of litter position and quality. However, it is poorly understood how C versus N turnover of litters depend on the interplay among plant functional type (PFT), organs, traits and litter position. In a semi‐arid inland dune, soil surface and buried leaf litters and buried fine roots of 25 species across three PFTs (herbs, legume shrubs and nonlegume shrubs) were incubated for 3, 6, 9, 12, 18 and 24 months to investigate litter decomposition and C and N dynamics. Morphological and chemical (nutrient and NMR carbon) traits of initial litters of leaves and fine roots were determined. The litter decomposition rates ( k values) of surface leaves and buried fine roots did not differ, but buried fine roots and buried leaf litter decomposed faster than surface leaf litter. Ratios of k values of surface leaves to buried leaves decreased with leaf C:N ratio. Herbs and legume shrubs decomposed faster than nonlegume shrubs for buried fine roots, but not for leaves. At given C loss, buried fine roots had higher N loss than leaf litters; legume shrubs with relatively higher N or lower C:N ratio had higher N loss than nonlegume shrubs. Stronger positive relationships between C and N losses were shown in leaves a...