Atmospheric nitrogen （N） deposition caused by anthropogenic activities may alter litter decomposition and species composition, and then affect N cycling and carbon （C） sequestration in an ecosystem. Using the litt...Atmospheric nitrogen （N） deposition caused by anthropogenic activities may alter litter decomposition and species composition, and then affect N cycling and carbon （C） sequestration in an ecosystem. Using the litterbag method, we studied the effects of N addition （CK： no N addition; low-N： 1 g N m-2 y-l; high-N： 2 g N m-2 y-l） on changes in mass remaining of shoot litter decomposition of three grasses （Stipa baicalensis, Carex pediformis and Leymus chinensis） over 28 months in the Hulun Buir meadow steppe of Inner Mongolia. The results showed that the addition of high and low N had no significant effect on the decomposition of single-species litter, but low N addition slightly inhibited the decomposition of litter mixtures. In addition, litter decomposition was strongly species dependent. Our results suggest that species type is likely the main determinant of litter decomposition, and low N deposition in natural ecosystems does not influence single-species litter decomposition.展开更多
During the past two centuries, global changes (i.e., enhanced nitrogen deposition) have exerted profound effects on ecological processes of steppe ecosystems. We used litterbag method and mixed litters of three differ...During the past two centuries, global changes (i.e., enhanced nitrogen deposition) have exerted profound effects on ecological processes of steppe ecosystems. We used litterbag method and mixed litters of three different plant species tissues (Stipa baicalensis: Sb, Leymus chinensis: Lc and Artemisia frigid: Af), endemic to Stipa baicalensis Steppe, and measured the mass loss of mixtures over 417 days under the N addition treatment. We studied the effect of N addition (N0: no N addition;N15: 1.5 g N/m<sup>2</sup>·a;N30: 3.0 g N/m<sup>2</sup>·a;N50: 5.0 g N/m<sup>2</sup>·a;N100: 10.0 g N/m<sup>2</sup>·a;N150: 15.0 g N/m<sup>2</sup>·a) on the rate of mixed litter decomposition and nutrient dynamics change. The decomposition constant (k) of leaf mixtures was higher than that of root mixtures. The k values of leaf mixed combinations were 0.880 (Sb + Lc), 1.231 (Lc + Af), 1.027 (Sb + Lc + Af), respectively. The k value of stem was 0.806 (Lc + Af) and the root mixed combinations were 0.665 (Sb + Lc), 0.979 (Lc + Af) and 1.164 (Sb + Lc + Af), respectively. The results indicated that N addition had significantly effect on the mixed litter decomposition and nutrient releasing. The rate of plant tissues litter decomposition had different response to N addition. In the context of N addition, litter decomposition rate and nutrient dynamics were changed by synthetic effect of decaying time, specie types and N addition dose. Our findings suggested that prairie plants may adapt to environmental change by adjusting litter quality, thus retaining the stability of the steppe ecosystem.展开更多
基金the National Basic Research Program of China (2010CB833501 973 Program)National Major Research Program of China about climate change (2010CB950603)
文摘Atmospheric nitrogen （N） deposition caused by anthropogenic activities may alter litter decomposition and species composition, and then affect N cycling and carbon （C） sequestration in an ecosystem. Using the litterbag method, we studied the effects of N addition （CK： no N addition; low-N： 1 g N m-2 y-l; high-N： 2 g N m-2 y-l） on changes in mass remaining of shoot litter decomposition of three grasses （Stipa baicalensis, Carex pediformis and Leymus chinensis） over 28 months in the Hulun Buir meadow steppe of Inner Mongolia. The results showed that the addition of high and low N had no significant effect on the decomposition of single-species litter, but low N addition slightly inhibited the decomposition of litter mixtures. In addition, litter decomposition was strongly species dependent. Our results suggest that species type is likely the main determinant of litter decomposition, and low N deposition in natural ecosystems does not influence single-species litter decomposition.
文摘During the past two centuries, global changes (i.e., enhanced nitrogen deposition) have exerted profound effects on ecological processes of steppe ecosystems. We used litterbag method and mixed litters of three different plant species tissues (Stipa baicalensis: Sb, Leymus chinensis: Lc and Artemisia frigid: Af), endemic to Stipa baicalensis Steppe, and measured the mass loss of mixtures over 417 days under the N addition treatment. We studied the effect of N addition (N0: no N addition;N15: 1.5 g N/m<sup>2</sup>·a;N30: 3.0 g N/m<sup>2</sup>·a;N50: 5.0 g N/m<sup>2</sup>·a;N100: 10.0 g N/m<sup>2</sup>·a;N150: 15.0 g N/m<sup>2</sup>·a) on the rate of mixed litter decomposition and nutrient dynamics change. The decomposition constant (k) of leaf mixtures was higher than that of root mixtures. The k values of leaf mixed combinations were 0.880 (Sb + Lc), 1.231 (Lc + Af), 1.027 (Sb + Lc + Af), respectively. The k value of stem was 0.806 (Lc + Af) and the root mixed combinations were 0.665 (Sb + Lc), 0.979 (Lc + Af) and 1.164 (Sb + Lc + Af), respectively. The results indicated that N addition had significantly effect on the mixed litter decomposition and nutrient releasing. The rate of plant tissues litter decomposition had different response to N addition. In the context of N addition, litter decomposition rate and nutrient dynamics were changed by synthetic effect of decaying time, specie types and N addition dose. Our findings suggested that prairie plants may adapt to environmental change by adjusting litter quality, thus retaining the stability of the steppe ecosystem.
