plant litter is an important factor for soil conservation and sustainability that could modify soil chemical properties and increase the plant biomass production. the aim of this research was to compare plant litter chemical composition and its effects on soil properties in three species including hordeum bulbosum, poa bulbosa, bromus tectorum. first, soil samples were taken in the depth of 0-3...

Plant litter is an important factor for soil conservation and sustainability that could modify soil chemical properties and increase the plant biomass production. The aim of this research was to compare plant litter chemical composition and its effects on soil properties in three species including Hordeum bulbosum, Poa bulbosa, Bromus tectorum. First, soil samples were taken in the depth of 0-3...

Decomposition is a critical source of plant nutrients, and drives the largest flux of terrestrial C to the atmosphere. Decomposing soil organic matter typically contains litter from multiple plant species, yet we lack a mechanistic understanding of how species diversity influences decomposition processes. Here, we show that soil C and N cycling during decomposition are controlled by the composi...

Decomposition of litter mixtures generally cannot be predicted from the component species incubated in isolation. Therefore, such non-additive effects of litter mixing on soil C and N dynamics remain poorly understood in terrestrial ecosystems. In this study, litters of Mongolian pine and three dominant understory species and soil were collected from a Mongolian pine plantation in Northeast Chi...

Question: What are the physical and chemical effects of plant litter on annual grassland community composition, aboveground net primary production (ANPP), and density? Location: California annual grassland. Methods: We manipulated litter and light levels independently and in concert. Litter removal and litter addition treatments tested both the physical and chemical impacts of litter’s presence...

abstract soil microbial activity and biochemical processes are often limited by carbon availability in arid- and semi-arid regions, probably due to the low organic matter content. consequently, return of plant residues to soil is a convenient and effortless practice for increasing microbial activities and biochemical reactions. the primary objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of v...

A feedback between decomposition and litter chemical composition occurs with decomposition altering composition that in turn influences the decomposition rate. Elucidating the temporal pattern of chemical composition is vital to understand this feedback, but the effects of plant species and climate on chemical changes remain poorly understood, especially over multiple years. In a 10-year decomp...

Plant chemical composition and the soil community are known to influence litter and soil organic matter decomposition. Although these two factors are likely to interact, their mechanisms and outcomes of interaction are not well understood. Studies of their interactive effects are rare and usually focus on carbon dynamics of litter, while nutrient dynamics in the underlying soil have been ignore...

A strategic selection of tree species will shift the type and quality of litter input, and subsequently magnitude and composition of the soil organic carbon (SOC) through soil microbial community. We conducted a manipulative experiment in randomized block design with leaf litter inputs of four native subtropical tree species in a Pinus massoniana plantation in southern China and found that the ...

Plant leaf litter is an important source of soil chemicals that are essential for the ecosystem and changes in leaf litter chemical traits during decomposition will determine the availability of multiple chemical elements recycling in the ecosystem. However, it is unclear whether the changes in litter chemical traits during decomposition and their similarities across species can be predicted, r...