Roma Zytkowiak

TREE SPECIES EFFECTS ON DECOMPOSITION AND FOREST FLOOR DYNAMICS IN A COMMON GARDEN

We studied the effects of tree species on leaf litter decomposition and forest floor dynamics in a common garden experiment of 14 tree species (Abies alba, Acer platanoides, Acer pseudoplatanus, Betula pendula, Carpinus betulus, Fagus sylvatica, Larix decidua, Picea abies, Pinus nigra, Pinus sylvestris, Pseudotsuga menziesii, Quercus robur, Quercus rubra, and Tilia cordata) in southwestern Poland. We used three simultaneous litter bag experiments to tease apart species effects on decomposition via leaf litter chemistry vs. effects on the decomposition environment. Decomposition rates of litter in its plot of origin were negatively correlated with litter lignin and positively correlated with mean annual soil temperature (MAT(soil)) across species. Likewise, decomposition of a common litter type across all plots was positively associated with MAT(soil), and decomposition of litter from all plots in a common plot was negatively related to litter lignin but positively related to litter Ca. Taken together, these results indicate that tree species influenced microbial decomposition primarily via differences in litter lignin (and secondarily, via differences in litter Ca), with high-lignin (and low-Ca) species decomposing most slowly, and by affecting MAT(soil), with warmer plots exhibiting more rapid decomposition. In addition to litter bag experiments, we examined forest floor dynamics in each plot by mass balance, since earthworms were a known component of these forest stands and their access to litter in litter bags was limited. Forest floor removal rates estimated from mass balance were positively related to leaf litter Ca (and unrelated to decay rates obtained using litter bags). Litter Ca, in turn, was positively related to the abundance of earthworms, particularly Lumbricus terrestris. Thus, while species influence microbially mediated decomposition primarily through differences in litter lignin, differences among species in litter Ca are most important in determining species effects on forest floor leaf litter dynamics among these 14 tree species, apparently because of the influence of litter Ca on earthworm activity. The overall influence of these tree species on leaf litter decomposition via effects on both microbial and faunal processing will only become clear when we can quantify the decay dynamics of litter that is translocated belowground by earthworms.

Tree Species Effects on Soil Organic Matter Dynamics: The Role of Soil Cation Composition

A bstractWe studied the influence of tree species on soil carbon and nitrogen (N) dynamics in a common garden of replicated monocultures of fourteen angiosperm and gymnosperm, broadleaf and needleleaf species in southwestern Poland. We hypothesized that species would influence soil organic matter (SOM) decomposition primarily via effects on biogeochemical recalcitrance, with species having tissues with high lignin concentrations retarding rates of decomposition in the O and A horizons. Additionally, because prior work demonstrated substantial divergence in foliar and soil base cation concentrations and soil pH among species, we hypothesized that species would influence chemical stabilization of SOM via cation bridging to mineral surfaces in the A-horizon. Our hypotheses were only partially supported: SOM decomposition and microbial biomass were unrelated to plant tissue lignin concentrations, but in the mineral horizon, were significantly negatively related to the percentage of the cation exchange complex (CEC) occupied by polyvalent acidic (hydrolyzing) cations (Al and Fe), likely because these cations stabilize SOM via cation bridging and flocculation and/or because of inhibitory effects of Al or low pH on decomposers. Percent CEC occupied by exchangeable Al and Fe was in turn related to both soil clay content (a parent material characteristic) and root Ca concentrations (a species characteristic). In contrast, species influenced soil N dynamics largely via variation in tissue N concentration. In both laboratory and in situ assays, species having high-N roots exhibited faster rates of net N mineralization and nitrification. Nitrification:mineralization ratios were greater, though, under species with high exchangeable soil Ca2+. Our results indicate that tree species contribute to variation in SOM dynamics, even in the mineral soil horizons. To our knowledge the influence of tree species on SOM decomposition via cation biogeochemistry has not been demonstrated previously, but could be important in other poorly buffered systems dominated by tree species that differ in cation nutrition or that are influenced by acidic deposition.

Responses of leaf structure and photosynthetic properties to intra-canopy light gradients: A common garden test with four broadleaf deciduous angiosperm and seven evergreen conifer tree species

Spectra of leaf traits in northern temperate forest canopies reflect major differences in leaf longevity between evergreen conifers and deciduous broadleaf angiosperms, as well as plastic modifications caused by within-crown shading. We investigated (1) whether long-lived conifer leaves exhibit similar intra-canopy plasticity as short-lived broadleaves, and (2) whether global interspecific relationships between photosynthesis, nitrogen, and leaf structure identified for sun leaves adequately describe leaves differentiated in response to light gradients. We studied structural and photosynthetic properties of intra-tree sun and shade foliage in adult trees of seven conifer and four broadleaf angiosperm species in a common garden in Poland. Shade leaves exhibited lower leaf mass-per-area (LMA) than sun leaves; however, the relative difference was smaller in conifers than in broadleaves. In broadleaves, LMA was correlated with lamina thickness and tissue density, while in conifers, it was correlated with thickness but not density. In broadleaves, but not in conifers, reduction of lamina thickness was correlated with a thinner palisade layer. The more conservative adjustment of conifer leaves could result from a combination of phylogenetic constraints, contrasting leaf anatomies and shoot geometries, but also from functional requirements of long-lived foliage. Mass-based nitrogen concentration (Nmass) was similar between sun and shade leaves, and was lower in conifers than in deciduous broadleaved species. Given this, the smaller LMA in shade corresponded with a lower area-based N concentration (Narea). In evergreen conifers, LMA and Narea were less powerful predictors of area-based photosynthetic rate (Amax(area)) in comparison with deciduous broadleaved angiosperms. Multiple regression for sun and shade leaves showed that, in each group, Amax(mass) was related to Nmass but not to LMA, whereas LMA became a significant codeterminant of Amax(mass) in analysis combining both groups. Thus, a fundamental mass-based relationship between photosynthesis, nitrogen, and leaf structure reported previously also exists in a dataset combining within-crown and across-functional type variation.

Soil modification by different tree species influences the extent of seedling ectomycorrhizal infection.

Established vegetation can facilitate the ectomycorrhizal infection of seedlings, but it is not known whether this interaction is limited by the phylogenetic relatedness of trees and seedlings. We use a series of bioassay experiments to test whether soil modification by different ectomycorrhizal tree species causes different levels of seedling infection, whether the extent of seedling infection is a function of the relatedness of tree and seedling, and whether the effect of trees on seedlings is mediated by biotic or abiotic soil factors. We found that soils from under different tree species do vary in their mycorrhizal infectiveness. However, this variation is not related to the genetic relatedness of trees and seedlings but instead, appears to be an attribute of the overstory species, irrespective of seedling species, mediated through a suite of humus- and base-cation-related abiotic effects on soils. Modification of abiotic soil properties by overstory trees should be considered as an important factor in the effect of different overstory trees on the extent of seedling mycorrhizal infection.

Influence of mineral fertilization on food quality of oak leaves and utilization efficiency of food components by the gypsy moth

Host plant quality is a key determinant of the performance of larvae of herbivorous insects. The effects of nitrogen and dolomite fertilization on the quality of pedunculate oak, Quercus robur L. (Fagaceae) foliage, as a food for gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar L. (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae) larvae were evaluated. The seedlings were divided into five fertilization treatments (nonfertilized control, commercial nutrient solution, commercial nutrient solution + (NH4)2SO4, commercial nutrient solution + KNO3, and commercial nutrient solution + dolomite). The experiment was performed in Petri dishes, in each of which a fresh leaf from one treatment and one larva were placed. Insect performance assays, survival, development, growth, and food utilization were evaluated for each fertilization treatment. Leaf samples were assayed for nitrogen and other main nutrients, soluble carbohydrates, and phenolic compounds. The fertilizer treatment with added ammonium improved gypsy moth performance, and the amount of food eaten was the lowest in this treatment. Utilization of elements from the food depended on the element and on the fertilization treatment. The insect bodies retained 50–64% of the nitrogen and 55–79% of the phosphorus. The results show that the efficiency of conversion of ingested food (ECI) and the efficiency of conversion of digested food (ECD) differ among the fertilization treatments, but it is not possible to define a general trend. Our results suggest that fertilization (especially ammonium) of host plants can increase herbivore performance, decrease the amount of food needed, and increase its utilization efficiency.