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

Abstract. Litters of reproductive organs have rarely been studied despite their role in allocating nutrients for offspring reproduction. This study determines the mechanism through which flower litters efficiently increase the available soil nutrient pool. Field experiments were conducted to collect plant litters and calculate biomass production in an alpine meadow of the eastern Tibetan Plateau. C, N, P, lignin, cellulose content, and their relevant ratios of litters were analyzed to identify their decomposition features. A pot experiment was performed to determine the effects of litter addition on the soil nutrition pool by comparing the treated and control samples. The litter-bag method was used to verify decomposition rates. The flower litters of phanerophyte plants were comparable with non-flower litters. Biomass partitioning of other herbaceous species accounted for 10–40 % of the aboveground biomass. Flower litter possessed significantly higher N and P levels but less C ∕ N, N ∕ P, lignin ∕ N, and lignin and cellulose concentrations than leaf litter. The litter-bag experiment confirmed that the flower litters of Rhododendron przewalskii and Meconopsis integrifolia decompose approximately 3 times faster than mixed litters within 50 days. Pot experiment findings indicated that flower litter addition significantly increased the available nutrient pool and soil microbial productivity. The time of litter fall significantly influenced soil available N and P, and soil microbial biomass. Flower litters fed the soil nutrition pool and influenced nutrition cycling in alpine ecosystems more efficiently because of their non-ignorable production, faster decomposition rate, and higher nutrient contents compared with non-flower litters. The underlying mechanism can enrich nutrients, which return to the soil, and non-structural carbohydrates, which feed and enhance the transitions of soil microorganisms.

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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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