Articles | Volume 13, issue 19
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-5619-2016
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-5619-2016
Research article
 | 
10 Oct 2016
Research article |  | 10 Oct 2016

Flower litters of alpine plants affect soil nitrogen and phosphorus rapidly in the eastern Tibetan Plateau

Jinniu Wang, Bo Xu, Yan Wu, Jing Gao, and Fusun Shi

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Cited articles

Aber, J. D. and Melillo, J. M.: Litter decomposition: measuring relative contributions of organic matter and nitrogen to forest soils, Can. J. Bot., 58, 416–421, 1980.
Aber, J. D., Melillo, J. M., and Mcclaugherty, C. A.: Predicting Long-Term Patterns of Mass-Loss, Nitrogen Dynamics, and Soil Organic-Matter Formation from Initial Fine Litter Chemistry in Temperate Forest Ecosystems, Can. J. Bot., 68, 2201–2208, 1990.
Aerts, R.: Climate, leaf litter chemistry and leaf litter decomposition in terrestrial ecosystems: A triangular relationship, Oikos, 79, 439–449, 1997.
Angers, D. A. and Recous, S.: Decomposition of wheat straw and rye residues as affected by particle size, Plant Soil., 189, 197–203, 1997.
Arroyo, M. T. K., Pacheco, D. A., and Aguilera, P.: Floral allocation at different altitudes in highly autogamous alpine Chaetanthera euphrasioides (Asteraceae) in the central Chilean Andes, Alpine Bot., 123, 7–12, 2013.
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Short summary
Flower litters fed soil nutrition pool more efficiently because of their faster decomposition rate and higher nutrient contents. The underlying mechanism can enrich nutrients, which return to the soil, and non-structural carbohydrates, which feed and enhance the transitions of soil microorganisms. It can be realized that nature is more complex and magical than we thought. There are still some miraculous points of interaction between soil and plant to be explored in the future.
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