Abstract
Spatial patterns of litterfall and soil nitrogen (N) mineralization were investigated in an old growth hemlock-hardwood forest to test the hypothesis that the lignin/N ratio of litterfall is negatively correlated with soil N availability. Litterfall was measured at 50 small subplots on a 7.2-ha mapped plot in Sylvania Wilderness Area, Michigan, where there is pronounced patchiness of species in the canopy. Nitrogen mineralization and nitrification were measured concurrently at the subplots using buried-bag incubations. Total aboveground litterfall was 3723 kg·ha-1 per year with leaf litterfall contributing 69% of the total, and N mineralization was 68.0 kg·ha-1 per year. The lignin/N ratios of leaf litter and total litterfall were negatively correlated with soil N mineralization and nitrification at the 50 subplots. Nitrogen mineralization rates, especially percent nitrification, were higher where basswood and sugar maple litterfall dominated and lower where hemlock litterfall was high, demonstrating the importance of litterfall and leaf litter chemistry to soil N pattern on a fine spatial scale. The effect of leaf litter chemistry on soil N may be a positive feedback mechanism that maintains the landscape-scale canopy mosaic at Sylvania.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.