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Simulated leaf litter addition causes opposite priming effects on natural forest and plantation soils

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A Correction to this article was published on 13 October 2018

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Abstract

The conversion of natural forests to tree plantations alters the quality and decreases the quantity of litter inputs into the soil, but how the alteration of litter inputs affect soil organic matter (SOM) decomposition remain unclear. We examined SOM decomposition by adding 13C-labeled leaf-litter of Chinese fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata (Lamb.) Hook) to soils from a natural evergreen broad-leaved forest and an adjacent Chinese fir plantation converted from a natural evergreen broad-leaved forest 42 years ago. Over 195 days, we monitored CO2 efflux and its δ13C, microbial biomass, and the composition of microbial groups by phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs). To distinguish priming mechanisms, partitioning of C sources in CO2 and microbial biomass was determined based on δ13C. Leaf-litter addition to natural forest increased microbial biomass and induced up to 14% faster SOM decomposition (positive priming) than that in soil without litter. In contrast, negative priming in soils under plantation indicated preferential use of added leaf-litter rather than recalcitrant SOM. This preferential use of leaf-litter was supported by an increased fungal to bacterial ratio and litter-derived (13C) microbial biomass, reflecting increased substrate recalcitrance, the respective changes in microbial substrate utilization and increased C use efficiency. The magnitude and direction of priming effects depend on microbial preferential utilization of new litter or SOM. Concluding, the impact of coniferous leaf-litter inputs on the SOM priming is divergent in natural evergreen broad-leaved forests and plantations, an important consideration in understanding long-term C dynamics and cycling in natural and plantation forest ecosystems.

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Change history

  • 13 October 2018

    The author regret that a typographical error was present in the Fig. 2 of the published original version of this article; the text “Natual” in the image should have been “Natural”. The correct Fig. 2 is now presented correctly in this article.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Soil Science Consulting (https://soilscicon.wordpress.com) for help in the preparation of the manuscript.

Funding

The research was funded by the National Key Research and Development Program (No. 2016YFD0600204), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. U1405231, U1505233, and 31470501), and the National “973” Program of China (No. 2014CB954003). The publication was supported by the Government Program of Competitive Growth of Kazan Federal University and with the support of the “RUDN University program 5-100.”

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory for Subtropical Mountain Ecology (Ministry of Science and Technology and Fujian Province Funded), College of Geographical Science, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, 350007, China

    Maokui Lyu, Jinsheng Xie, Minhuang Wang, Xi Qiu, Yinbang Ren, Yusheng Yang & Yakov Kuzyakov

  2. Institute of Geography Sciences, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, 350007, China

    Jinsheng Xie & Yusheng Yang

  3. Earth Systems Research Center, University of New Hampshire, 8 College Road, Durham, NH, 03824, USA

    Matthew A. Vadeboncoeur

  4. Department of Geography, Minjiang University, Fuzhou, 350108, China

    Miaohua Jiang

  5. Institute of Environmental Sciences, Kazan Federal University, 420049, Kazan, Russia

    Yakov Kuzyakov

  6. Soil Science Consulting, 37077, Göttingen, Germany

    Yakov Kuzyakov

  7. Agro-Technology Institute, RUDN University, Moscow, Russia

    Yakov Kuzyakov

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  1. Maokui Lyu
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  2. Jinsheng Xie
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  9. Yakov Kuzyakov
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Correspondence to Jinsheng Xie or Yusheng Yang.

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Lyu, M., Xie, J., Vadeboncoeur, M.A. et al. Simulated leaf litter addition causes opposite priming effects on natural forest and plantation soils. Biol Fertil Soils 54, 925–934 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00374-018-1314-5

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