Premise Of The Study: The relationship between tree species abundance and diversity and soil chemistry has been studied in several ecosystems and at different spatial scales. However, species-specific assessments have mainly been conducted in temperate ecosystems and in monospecific settings, calling for studies from diverse, mixed forests from different ecosystems.
Methods: In a subtropical forest in southern China, under four dominant tree canopy species (, , , and ), we assessed species' effect on inter- and intraspecific percentages of litter mass loss, and the effect of species on soil nutrients and soil microbial biomass.
Results: Our results show significant differences in litter decomposition for all four species; however, the percentage of litter mass loss was stable under different species. Microbial biomass and soil nutrients presented strong differences under different tree species. Species-specific differences in soil characteristics were seen for carbon-nitrogen-phosphorus relationships. Surprisingly, the correlations between carbon and phosphorus and between nitrogen and phosphorus showed opposite slopes in soils collected under different tree species.
Discussion: Our results provide insights into the importance of tree species identity in providing variety to ecosystem processes occurring on the forest floor. We recommend this methodological approach-combining analysis of litter decomposition, soil nutrient concentrations, and microbial biomass-when dealing with species-rich forests.
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| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6476167 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/aps3.1241 | DOI Listing |
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