Does mixing of beech (Fagus sylvatica) and spruce (Picea abies) litter hasten decomposition?

• Published in: Plant and soil Vol. 377; no. 1-2; pp. 217 - 234
• Main Authors: Berger, Torsten W, Berger, Pétra
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer-Verlag 01.04.2014; Springer; Springer International Publishing; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Acid soils; Admixtures; Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Average linear density; bags; biogeochemical cycles; Biological and medical sciences; Biomass; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Decay; Decomposition; Ecology; Environmental conditions; environmental factors; Fagus sylvatica; Forest litter; Forest soils; Forest stands; forests; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General agronomy. Plant production; Life Sciences; Lignin; Litter; Mineral soils; mixing; Nutrient cycles; nutrients; Picea abies; Pine needles; Plant litter; Plant Physiology; Plant populations; Plant Sciences; Plant species; pure stands; Regular; Regular Article; Slope stability; Soil nutrients; Soil Science & Conservation; Soil-plant relationships. Soil fertility; Soil-plant relationships. Soil fertility. Fertilization. Amendments; Species composition; species diversity; Trees; Decomposition; Litterbag; Mixing effects; Litter quality; Mixing; Litter; Fagaceae; Dicotyledones; Angiospermae; Softwood forest tree; Gymnospermae; Hardwood forest tree; Coniferales; Spermatophyta; Soil plant relation; Picea abies; Fagus sylvatica
• ISSN: 0032-079X; 1573-5036
• DOI: 10.1007/s11104-013-2001-9

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: It is of practical relevance to know how much beech must be admixed to pure spruce stands in order to increase litter decomposition and associated nutrient cycling, since the formation of thick organic layers is commonly ascribed to the recalcitrance of spruce needles. We addressed the impact of tree species mixture within forest stands and within litter on mass loss and nutritional release from litter. METHODS: Litter decomposition was measured in three adjacent stands of pure spruce (Picea abies), mixed beech-spruce and pure beech (Fagus sylvatica) on a nutrient-rich site and a nutrient-poor site over a 2-year period using litterbags which were filled with five different mixtures of beech and spruce litter. RESULTS: Mass loss of beech litter was not higher than mass loss of spruce litter. Decay was primarily affected by tree species composition of the incubation stand and was faster in (mixed) beech forests stands than in spruce forests, while the influence of litter species and their mixtures on decay rates was small. Net transfers of nutrients between the two litter species (direct effects) in the mixed bags were minimal, since initial beech and spruce litter did not have different litter quality. However, in a few cases indirect effects (e.g., changing decomposer abundance and activity) caused non-additive patterns for the totals within the mixed bags, hastening decomposition within the first year. CONCLUSIONS: Greater accumulation of litter in spruce compared to beech stands is not a consequence of the inherent recalcitrance of needles. Adverse environmental conditions in spruce stands retard decomposition. Indirect effects on decomposition caused by stand mixture are not mimicked by litter mixtures within mesh bags.