Abstract
Soil phosphorus (P) is one of the essential macronutrients for plant growth. Phosphatase-mediated P mineralization in particular is critical for the biogeochemical cycling of P, and its activity reflects the organic P (Po) mineralization potential in soils. In recent years, global climate change has led to changes in precipitation, which inevitably has affected the P cycle as well. To study these effects of precipitation on soil acid phosphomonoesterase (AcPME) activity, the following combined thinning and precipitation treatments were conducted across Larix principis-rupprechtii Mayr. plantations in China: control (CK), light (LT), moderate (MT), and high thinning (HT). The precipitation treatments included natural precipitation (NP), 30% reduced precipitation (RP30), and 60% reduced precipitation (RP60). Soil moisture, microbial biomass carbon (MBC), and soil P fractions were also determined to link their effects on soil AcPME. The results show that soil AcPME activity was significantly higher in the rainy season, which is associated with higher microbial activity and increased P demand, than in the dry season. Generally, soil AcPME activity was found to increase with thinning intensity. In the dry season, the NP treatment was more conducive to improving soil AcPME activity. In the rainy season, the RP60 treatment inhibited soil AcPME activity under all thinning treatments. The RP30 treatment was only found to offer a significant boost for MT. These results indicate that the potential transformation rate of Po may be more dependent on water in the dry season than in the rainy season. If drought occurs, the Po mineralization rate would decrease for all L. principis-rupprechtii plantations, but excessive rainfall in the rainy season would also impact the turnover of Po into MT adversely.
Highlights
Soil phosphorus (P) occurs in both inorganic (Pi ) and organic (Po ) forms, and consists of compounds with varying degrees of solubility and bioavailability [1]
The natural precipitation (NP) treatment was more conducive to improving soil acid phosphomonoesterase (AcPME) activity
The NP treatment was more conducive to improving soil AcPME activity in all thinning scenarios, but precise effects differed among the different degrees of thinning (Figure 2a)
Summary
Soil phosphorus (P) occurs in both inorganic (Pi ) and organic (Po ) forms, and consists of compounds with varying degrees of solubility and bioavailability [1]. Apart from the weathering of parent material in soils [2,3], P input depends on the mineralization of soil organic matter [4,5], soil-nesting insect pollinators [6], and soil-dwelling arthropods [7], who alter soil microbial communities and their function associated with. P mineralization by altering frass and waste inputs, and by selectively consuming plant materials. Phosphatases, which originate from fungi, bacteria, and root exudates, catalyze the hydrolysis of ester bonds between phosphate and carbon compounds in organic substrates to enhance P availability to ecosystems [9,10].
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