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Effects of forest gap on microbial biomass during litter decomposition of Toona ciliata in Pinus massoniana plantations.

ZHANG Ming-jin1,2,3,CHEN Liang-hua1,2,3, ZHANG Dan-ju1,2,3, ZHANG Yan1,2,3, LIU Hua1,2,3, LI Xun1,2,3, YANG Wan-qin1,2,3, ZHANG Jian1,2,3**   

  1. (1Key laboratory of Ecological Forestry Engineering of Sichuan Province, Institute of Ecology & Forest, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, China;
    2Longterm Research Station of Alpine Forest Ecosystems and Monitoring Station for Ecoenvironments in the Rainy Zone of Southwest China, Chengdu 611130, China; 3Collaborative Innovation Center of Ecological Security in the  Upper Reaches of Yangtze River, Chengdu 611130, China)
  • Online:2015-10-10 Published:2015-10-10

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Abstract: To understand the effects of forest gap on microbial biomass in the process of leaf litter decomposition, seven gap sizes (G1: 100 m2, G2: 225 m2, G3: 400 m2, G4: 625 m2, G5: 900 m2, G6: 1225 m2, G7: 1600 m2) were created in a 42-year-old Pinus massoniana plantation, and uncut pure stand was used as a control. We investigated the dynamics of microbial biomass C (MBC), N (MBN) and MBC/MBN in the process of leaf litter decomposition of Toona ciliata after 30, 90, and 180 days of incubation, and compared the differences of such parameters between the center and edge of the gaps. Our results showed that: (1) the gap size significantly affected MBN, MBC and MBC/MBN. Overall, the microbial biomass in small and moderate forest gaps (G1-G5) was higher than that in large forest gaps. (2) There was no significant difference in MBC, MBN and MBC/MBN between the center and the edge of each size of gap. (3) Decomposition time exhibited very sig〖HJ*3〗nificant effects on MBC, MBN and MBC/MBN. After 90 days of incubation, MBC and MBC/MBN were the highest, whereas MBN was the lowest. (4) MBC showed a very close correlation with both temperature and water content, while MBN and MBC/MBN were related to temperature significantly. Taken together, our results indicated that the alteration of soil temperature and moisture due to the formation of forest gaps significantly affected the microbial biomass in the process of T. ciliata litter decomposition, the small and moderate gaps (G1-G5) could significantly increase microbial biomass, and the variation of MBC showed an opposite trend to MBN along with decomposition time.

Key words: soil micro-food web, plant-soil feedback., energy channel, ecosystem function