Patrick Saccone

The effects of snowpack properties and plant strategies on litter decomposition during winter in subalpine meadows

AimsClimate-induced changes in snow cover are likely to affect cold arctic and alpine ecosystems functioning and major processes such as wintertime plant litter decomposition. However, it remains poorly studied in subalpine systems where the snowpack may be irregular. In this paper we explored the dynamic of the winter plant litter decomposition process, its magnitude and its relationship with the snowpack properties.MethodsIn subalpine grasslands of the Central French Alps, we performed a litter bag experiment monitoring over a whole winter the litter decomposition from the exploitative Dactylis glomerata and the conservative Festuca paniculata, under two contiguous experimental sites with snowpacks differing in depth and physical properties.ResultsLitter decomposition rates were stable during winter and 3-fold higher under deeper and permanent snowpack with higher thermal resistance. Litter quality appeared only significant under thinner snowpack with higher decomposition rates for the exploitative species. A snowpack with higher thermal resistance created an insulating layer promoting the decomposition process.ConclusionThese results suggest that the temporal (permanence vs. intermittency) and physical (depth and thermal resistance) characteristics of the snowpack should be considered when studying the response of winter ecosystems functioning to global changes.

Microbes on the cliff: alpine cushion plants structure bacterial and fungal communities.

Plants affect the spatial distribution of soil microorganisms, but the influence of the local abiotic context is poorly documented. We investigated the effect of a single plant species, the cushion plant Silene acaulis, on habitat conditions, and microbial community. We collected soil from inside (In) and outside (Out) of the cushions on calcareous and siliceous cliffs in the French Alps along an elevation gradient (2,000–3,000 masl). The composition of the microbial communities was assessed by Capillary-Electrophoresis Single Strand Conformation Polymorphism (CE-SSCP). Univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to characterize the response of the microbial beta-diversity to soil parameters (total C, total N, soil water content, N-NH4+,N-NO3-, and pH). Cushions affected the microbial communities, modifying soil properties. The fungal and bacterial communities did not respond to the same abiotic factors. Outside the cushions, the bacterial communities were strongly influenced by bedrock. Inside the cushions, the bacterial communities from both types of bedrock were highly similar, due to the smaller pH differences than in open areas. By contrast, the fungal communities were equally variable inside and outside of the cushions. Outside the cushions, the fungal communities responded weakly to soil pH. Inside the cushions, the fungal communities varied strongly with bedrock and elevation as well as increases in soil nutrients and water content. Furthermore, the dissimilarities in the microbial communities between the In and Out habitats increased with increasing habitat modification and environmental stress. Our results indicate that cushions act as a selective force that counteracts the influence of the bedrock and the resource limitations on the bacterial and fungal communities by buffering soil pH and enhancing soil nutrients. Cushion plants structure microbial communities, and this effect increases in stressful, acidic and nutrient-limited environments.

The effects of snow-N deposition and snowmelt dynamics on soil-N cycling in marginal terraced grasslands in the French Alps

Atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition increasingly impacts remote ecosystems. At high altitudes, snow is a key carrier of water and nutrients from the atmosphere to the soil. Medium-sized subalpine grassland terraces are characteristic of agricultural landscapes in the French Alps and influence spatial and temporal snow pack variables. At the Lautaret Pass, we investigated snow and soil characteristics along mesotopographic gradients across the terraces before and during snowmelt. Total N concentrations in the snowpack did not vary spatially and were dominated by organic N forms either brought by dry deposition trapped by the snow, or due to snow-microbial immobilization and turnover. As expected, snowpack depth, total N deposited with snow and snowmelt followed the terrace toposequence; more snow-N accumulated towards the bank over longer periods. However, direct effects of snow-N on soil-N cycling seem unlikely since the amount of nitrogen released into the soil from the snowpack was very small relative to soil-N pools and N mineralization rates. Nevertheless, some snow-N reached the soil at thaw where it underwent biotic and abiotic processes. In situ soil-N mineralization rates did not vary along the terrace toposequence but soil-N cycling was indirectly affected by the snowpack. Indeed, N mineralization responded to the snowmelt dynamic via induced temporal changes in soil characteristics (i.e. moisture and T°) which cascaded down to affect N-related microbial activities and soil pH. Soil-NH4 and DON accumulated towards the bank during snowmelt while soil-NO3 followed a pulse-release pattern. At the end of the snowmelt season, organic substrate limitation might be accountable for the decrease in N mineralization in general, and in NH4+ production in particular. Possibly, during snowmelt, other biotic or abiotic processes (nitrification, denitrification, plant uptake, leaching) were involved in the transformation and transfer of snow and soil-N pools. Finally, subalpine soils at the Lautaret Pass during snowmelt experienced strong biotic and abiotic changes and switched between a source and a sink of N.

How extreme summer weather may limit control of Festuca paniculata by mowing in subalpine grasslands

Background: The tussock grass Festuca paniculata can become strongly dominant in subalpine grasslands after cessation of mowing. The depletion of water-soluble carbohydrate (WSC) reserves has been suggested as a mechanism by which mowing can contain this species. By affecting plant physiology and especially by favouring WSC accumulation, extreme summer weather (i.e. exceptionally hot and dry) could however counterbalance the effects of mowing on WSC reserves in F. paniculata. The relevance of this hypothesis needs to be tested in the current context of climate and land-use changes. Aims: We investigated (1) the physiological mechanisms that control the growth of F. paniculata, (2) how they are affected by mowing and (3) whether extreme summer heat and drought could influence physiological mechanisms and thereby the ecological response of F. paniculata to mowing. Methods: In a field experiment we manipulated weather and mowing during two summers. For current summer weather (W0), ambient temperature was unchanged and precipitation was adjusted on the past 30-year average. Extreme summer weather (W+) corresponded to a seasonal change (+1 °C, –80% in precipitation compared to W0) and a three-week heatwave (+4.3 °C) in the first year. In addition, vegetation was either mown at 5 cm in late summer (M) or left unmown (U). Concentrations and absolute contents of WSC contained in tiller bases, leaf nitrogen concentration (LNC), vegetative multiplication, plant growth and leaf senescence were measured from one to four times, depending on the variable considered, throughout the summer of the second year of the experiment. Results: As compared to the unmown treatment, late-summer mowing decreased tillering, tussock size and LNC, regardless of the summer weather treatment. However, it depleted WSC pools, including fructans, only under current summer weather (W0). Conclusions: These results suggest that extreme summer heat and drought could alleviate the sensitivity of F. paniculata to mowing. They raise the question of the consequences of recurrent summer extremes for conservation management in subalpine grasslands.