Pauline F. Grierson

Relationships among net primary productivity, nutrients and climate in tropical rain forest: a pan-tropical analysis

Tropical rain forests play a dominant role in global biosphere-atmosphere CO(2) exchange. Although climate and nutrient availability regulate net primary production (NPP) and decomposition in all terrestrial ecosystems, the nature and extent of such controls in tropical forests remain poorly resolved. We conducted a meta-analysis of carbon-nutrient-climate relationships in 113 sites across the tropical forest biome. Our analyses showed that mean annual temperature was the strongest predictor of aboveground NPP (ANPP) across all tropical forests, but this relationship was driven by distinct temperature differences between upland and lowland forests. Within lowland forests (< 1000 m), a regression tree analysis revealed that foliar and soil-based measurements of phosphorus (P) were the only variables that explained a significant proportion of the variation in ANPP, although the relationships were weak. However, foliar P, foliar nitrogen (N), litter decomposition rate (k), soil N and soil respiration were all directly related with total surface (0-10 cm) soil P concentrations. Our analysis provides some evidence that P availability regulates NPP and other ecosystem processes in lowland tropical forests, but more importantly, underscores the need for a series of large-scale nutrient manipulations - especially in lowland forests - to elucidate the most important nutrient interactions and controls.

Plant species affect acid phosphatase, ergosterol and microbial P in a Jarrah (Eucalyptus marginata Donn ex Sm.) forest in south-western Australia

Dry sclerophyll forest dominated by Jarrah (Eucalyptus marginata Donn ex Sm.) covers about 1.6 Mha of south-western Australia and is, relative to other eucalypt forests, low in many nutrients, especially N and P. If fire is excluded from these forests, Banksia grandis Willd. (Proteaceae) often grows in dense thickets as the dominant understorey. Jarrah has an extensive surface (0-20 cm) system of fine lateral roots with ectomycorrhizal associations, while B. grandis produces a mat of cluster (proteoid) roots (0-20 cm) in the late winter and early spring. We measured seasonal changes in acid phosphatase activity and concentrations of ergosterol, microbial P and other P fractions (NaOH-extractable inorganic and organic P, Bray inorganic P) in soil from a forest where B. grandis was either present (Jarrah + Banksia) or absent (Jarrah). Acid phosphatase activity was between 30 and 40 μmol p-NP g -1 h -1 in the moist winter and spring, but declined to less than 10 μmol p-NP g -1 h -1 during the dry summer. Microbial P varied from less than 10 μg g -1 in the late summer to more than 50 μg g -1 during the wetter times of the year. Ergosterol also increased about four-fold as soil moisture content increased (P ≤ 0.05). Acid phosphatase was significantly and positively related to both ergosterol and microbial P in both Jarrah + Banksia and Jarrah soils, but the intercepts and slopes of the regressions varied seasonally and were not significantly different (P ≤ 0.05) between species composition. About 50% of the variation in phosphatase activity in Jarrah soils was explained by variation in fungal biomass (ergosterol), regardless of season, while in Jarrah + Banksia soils, 74% was explained by fungal biomass when soils were dry, decreasing to less than 10% as soil moisture increased. Linear regression models showed that ergosterol and microbial P are good predictors of acid phosphatase activity in soil, but their relative importance is dependent on plant species composition and season. We propose that the relative importance of fungal biomass as a determinant of phosphatase activity in the soil decreases as the seasonal flush of cluster roots dominate in the Jarrah + Banksia soils, while in Jarrah soils the phosphatase flush is primarily due to increased activity of the fungal biomass. Seasonal and spatial heterogeneity in microbial P, ergosterol and in the source of acid phosphatase in the soil are therefore a consequence of plant species composition and root type and will influence nutrient availability at the ecosystem scale.

The origin and function of dissolved organic matter in agro‐urban coastal streams

[1] Streams draining urban and agriculture catchments are often a source of inorganic nutrients to downstream aquatic ecosystems, but little is known about how changes in land use influence the quality and biodegradability of dissolved organic matter (DOM). We used parallel factor analysis of excitation‐emission fluorescence spectroscopy and biodegradation incubations to examine how DOM composition influences bioavailable dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in surface waters of urban and agricultural catchments during summer (low flow), winter (high flow) and spring (flow recession). Percent bioavailable DOC was variable for all catchments (2–57%) and negatively related to percent humic‐like fluorescence, but positively related to percent protein‐like fluorescence and simple fluorescence metrics of DOM precursor material (fluorescence index and b:a values). Conversely, highly variable DOC concentrations (2–140 mg L −1 ) were negatively related to protein‐like fluorescence and positively related to humic‐like fluorescence. Elevated concentrations of DOC (>30 mg L −1 ) in agro‐urban streams revealed fluorescence indices (<1.3) typical of wetland and forest‐dominated ecosystems, suggesting that enriched stream DOM is either derived from the destabilization of legacy soil carbon or currently produced from remnant wetlands and patches of native vegetation. Overall, we demonstrate that fluorescence characteristics can be used to predict bioavailable DOC in human‐dominated catchments to better understand the flow of carbon and nutrients in aquatic food webs for improved monitoring and management of coastal ecosystems.

Nitrogen dynamics in an Australian semiarid grassland soil

We conducted a four-week laboratory incubation of soil from a Themeda triandra Forsskal grassland to clarify mechanisms of nitrogen (N) cycling processes in relation to carbon (C) and N availability in a hot, semiarid environment. Variation in soil C and N availability was achieved by collecting soil from either under tussocks or the bare soil between tussocks, and by amending soil with Themeda litter. We measured N cycling by monitoring: dissolved organic nitrogen (DON), ammonium (NH4+), and nitrate (NO3-) contents, gross rates of N mineralization and microbial re-mineralization, NH4+ and NO3- immobilization, and autotrophic and heterotrophic nitrification. We monitored C availability by measuring cumulative soil respiration and dissolved organic C (DOC). Litter-amended soil had cumulative respiration that was eightfold greater than non-amended soil (2000 compared with 250 microg C/g soil) and almost twice the DOC content (54 compared with 28 microg C/g soil). However, litter-amended soils had only half as much DON accumulation as non-amended soils (9 compared with 17 microg N/g soil) and lower gross N rates (1-4 compared with 13-26 microg N x [g soil](-1) x d(-1)) and NO3- accumulation (0.5 compared with 22 microg N/g soil). Unamended soil from under tussocks had almost twice the soil respiration as soil from between tussocks (300 compared with 175 microg C/g soil), and greater DOC content (33 compared with 24 microg C/g soil). However, unamended soil from under tussocks had lower gross N rates (3-20 compared with 17-31 microg N x [g soil](-1) d(-1)) and NO3- accumulation (18 compared with 25 microg N/g soil) relative to soil from between tussocks. We conclude that N cycling in this grassland is mediated by both C and N limitations that arise from the patchiness of tussocks and seasonal variability in Themeda litterfall. Heterotrophic nitrification rate explained >50% of total nitrification, but this percentage was not affected by proximity to tussocks or litter amendment. A conceptual model that considers DON as central to N cycling processes provided a useful initial framework to explain results of our study. However, to fully explain N cycling in this semiarid grassland soil, the production of NO3- from organic N sources must be included in this model.

Spatial scale invariance of southern Australian forest fires mirrors the scaling behaviour of fire-driving weather events

Power law frequency-size distributions of forest fires have been observed in a range of environments. The scaling behaviour of fires, and more generally of landscape patterns related to recurring disturbance and recovery, have previously been explained in the frameworks of self-organized criticality (SOC) and highly optimized tolerance (HOT). In these frameworks the scaling behaviour of the fires is the global structure that either emerges spontaneously from locally operating processes (SOC) or is the product of a tuning process aimed at optimizing the trade-offs between system yield and tolerance to risks (HOT). Here, we argue that the dominant role of self-organized or optimised fuel patterns in constraining unplanned-fire sizes, implicit in the SOC and HOT frameworks, fails to recognise the strong exogenous controls of fire spread (i.e. by weather, terrain, and suppression) observed in many fire-prone landscapes. Using data from southern Australia we demonstrate that forest fire areas and the magnitudes of corresponding weather events have distributions with closely matching scaling exponents. We conclude that the spatial scale invariance of forest fires may also be a mapping of the meteorological forcing pattern.

Phosphorus mineralization and microbial biomass in a Florida Spodosol: effects of water potential, temperature and fertilizer application

Abstract Phosphorus mineralization and microbial biomass were measured in the surface 5 cm of a Spodosol (sandy, siliceous hyperthermic Ultic Alaquod) from north-central Florida. Soils from fertilized and unfertilized plantations of loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) were incubated at a range of water potentials (∼0, –3, –8, –10 and –1500 kPa) and temperatures (15  °C, 25  °C and 38  °C) for 14 days and 42 days. Increasing water potential and temperature increased specific P mineralization (mineralization expressed as a percentage of total P) regardless of fertilizer treatment. An increase in water potential from –10 kPa to –0.1 kPa resulted in an increase of between 38% and 239% in the concentration of KCl-extractable inorganic P, depending on incubation temperature and time. An increase in incubation temperature from 15  °C to 38  °C resulted in an increase of between 13% and 53% in KCl-extractable inorganic P. Changes in specific P mineralization with change in water potential or temperature were not affected by fertilizer application. This suggests that, although specific P mineralization was greater in the fertilized soils, environmental control of P mineralization was the same for both treatments. Specific P mineralization was most sensitive when soils were at higher water potentials, and decreased logarithmically to water potentials of between –3 kPa and –8 kPa. Specific P mineralization was relatively insensitive to changes in water potential when water potential was lower than –8 kPa. Microbial biomass C showed no consistent responses to changes of temperature or water potential and was not significantly correlated with specific P mineralization. Our results suggest that field estimates of P mineralization in these Spodosols may be improved by accounting for changes in soil water potential and temperature.

Drought variability in the eastern Australia and New Zealand summer drought atlas (ANZDA, CE 1500–2012) modulated by the Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation

Agricultural production across eastern Australia and New Zealand is highly vulnerable to drought, but there is a dearth of observational drought information prior to CE 1850. Using a comprehensive network of 176 drought-sensitive tree-ring chronologies and one coral series, we report the first Southern Hemisphere gridded drought atlas extending back to CE 1500. The austral summer (December–February) Palmer drought sensitivity index reconstruction accurately reproduces historically documented drought events associated with the first European settlement of Australia in CE 1788, and the leading principal component explains over 50% of the underlying variance. This leading mode of variability is strongly related to the Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation tripole index (IPO), with a strong and robust antiphase correlation between (1) eastern Australia and the New Zealand North Island and (2) the South Island. Reported positive, negative, and neutral phases of the IPO are consistently reconstructed by the drought atlas although the relationship since CE 1976 appears to have weakened.

Non-destructive measurement of acid phosphatase activity in the rhizosphere using nitrocellulose membranes and image analysis

We developed a method using nitrocellulose membranes and image analysis to localise and quantify acid phosphatase activity in the rhizosphere of two plant species, one with cluster roots (Dryandra sessilis (Knight) Domin) and another with ectomycorrhizal roots (Pinus taeda L.). Membranes were placed in contact with roots and then treated with a solution of x, α-naphthyl phosphate and Fast Red TR. Acid phosphatase activity was visualised as a red imprint on the membrane. We quantified acid phosphatase activity by image analysis of scanned imprints. The method was used to estimate the spatial distribution of acid phosphatase activity within particular root classes (lateral roots, mycorrhizal roots, root clusters). Over 95% of the acid phosphatase activity of the root system of D. sessilis was associated with cluster roots, and between 20 and 32% of the root surface active. About 26 % of the acid phosphatase activity of the root system of P. taeda was associated with mycorrhizal roots and unsuberised white root tips and less than 10% of the root surface was active, irrespective of root type. This non-destructive method can be used for rapid, semi-quantitative assessment of acid phosphatase activity in the laboratory and in situ.

Growth, chemical composition, and carbon isotope discrimination of pistachio (Pistacia vera L.) rootstock seedlings in response to salinity

Pistachio is considered a potential crop for many semi-arid regions affected by salinisation. We examined the effects of salinity on growth of 3 pistachio rootstocks: Badami-e-zarand, Sarakhs, and Ghazvini. Rootstocks were grown in soil in 8-L polyethylene pots and irrigated every 3 days with treatments of 0, 75, 150, or 225 mM NaCl. We measured above-ground biomass, allocation of C to root systems and foliage, and carbon isotope discrimination (� ) and proline accumulation after 30 days and again after 60 days. Relative growth rate (RGR) decreased with time for all treatments and rootstocks. RGR and net assimilation rates (NARw) decreased with increasing salinity. In all rootstocks, NARw, but not leaf weight ratio (LWR), was significantly correlated with RGR, indicating that NARw was an important factor underlying growth responses among rootstocks. Increased salinity did not affect leaf water potential (� leaf ), even though proline concentrations increased with increasing NaCl concentration, particularly in the Ghazvini rootstocks. Both Cl − and Na + concentrations in leaves increased from 30 to 60 days but not in roots and stems. The Sarakhs rootstocks accumulated more of Cl − and Na + compared with other rootstocks. K + concentration in the roots and stems of all rootstocks also decreased with increasing salinity at both 30 and 60 days. Concentrations of Ca 2+ in stems and root systems, but not in leaves, were also reduced by increased salinity in all rootstocks but only after 60 days. Carbon isotope discrimination (� ) decreased with increased salinity in the leaves, stems, and roots; however, there was no significant difference in carbon isotope discrimination among rootstocks. We conclude that the Ghazvini rootstock was the most salt tolerant among the rootstocks tested. Carbon isotope discrimination in pistachio rootstocks may be a useful indicator of cumulative salinity history of the plant but is not a suitable indicator for pre-screening of pistachio rootstocks for salinity resistance. Additional keywords: proline, relative growth rate (RGR), NaCl, δ 13 C, mineral nutrition, salinity resistance, root growth.

Dissolved organic carbon biolability decreases along with its modernization in fluvial networks in an ancient landscape

The metabolism of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) along fluvial networks determines what fraction of organic matter is exported to the ocean. Although it is thought fresh rather than older DOC is preferred by bacteria, old DOC can also be highly bioavailable to stream bacterial communities. In strongly seasonal and oligotrophic regions, we argue that groundwater inputs of old DOC may increase the bioavailability of stream organic matter. We sampled 22 streams along a gradient of size (wetted widths from 1 to 60 m) and one groundwater spring in the Kimberley region of northwest Australia to determine how the age and bioavailability of streamwater DOC varied with stream size. Our hypothesis was that stream DOC would become more enriched in 14C (younger) and less bioavailable as streams increased in size and depleted 14C-DOC was metabolized by stream microbial communities. We also used fluorescence characterization of DOC, ultraviolet absorbance at 254nm (SUVA254), δ13C-DOC and lignin phenol yields to assess how these indicators of DOC character influenced the bioavailability and age of stream DOC. Stream evaporation/inflow ratios (E/I, used as a proxy for catchment water residence time), determined from changes in stream δ18O along the gradient of stream size, were positively related to DOC concentration and carbon-normalized lignin yields, while δ13C-DOC became more depleted with increasing E/I. Stream Δ14C-DOC varied from −452.1‰ (groundwater) to 48.9‰ and showed progressive enrichment as streams increased in size and accumulated DOC mainly from terrestrial plant material. Older DOC corresponded to higher bioavailability (R2 = 0.67, P < 0.01), suggesting that old bioavailable DOC, which has escaped from subterranean food webs utilizing 14C-depleted carbon, is common to one of the oldest landscapes on earth. Therefore, rapid biotic uptake of old bioavailable DOC originating in groundwater springs and the accumulation of modern, terrestrially derived DOC work in opposite directions affecting DOC dynamics along fluvial networks. We suggest the metabolism of old DOC along fluvial networks provides a biogeochemical link between non-contemporary carbon fixation and modern river productivity.