Changes in litter quality induced by nutrient addition alter litter decomposition in an alpine meadow on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.
The effects of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) addition on litter decomposition are poorly understood in Tibetan alpine meadows. Leaf litter was collected from plots within a factorial N × P addition experiment and allowed to decompose over 708 days in an unfertilized plot to determine the effects of N and/or P addition on litter decomposition. Results showed that nutrient addition significantly affected initial P and P-related biochemical properties of litter from all four species. However, the responses of litter N and N-related biochemical properties to nutrient addition were quite species-specific. Litter C decomposition and N release were species-specific. However, N and P addition significantly affected litter P release. Ratios of Hemicellulose + Cellulose to N and P were significantly related to litter C decomposition; C:N ratio was a determinant of litter N release; and C:P and (Hemicellulose + Cellulose):P controlled litter P release. Overall, litter C decomposition was controlled by litter quality of different plant species, and strongly affected by P addition. Increasing N availability is likely to affect litter C decomposition more indirectly by shifting plant species composition than directly by improving litter quality, and may accelerate N and P cycles, but shift the ecosystem to P limitation.
Key Laboratory of Adaptation and Evolution of Plateau Biota, Haibei Alpine Meadow Ecosystem Research Station, Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining 810008, China.|University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
Wenyan
W
Zhu
Department of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, and Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
Jinzhou
J
Wang
Key Laboratory of Adaptation and Evolution of Plateau Biota, Haibei Alpine Meadow Ecosystem Research Station, Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining 810008, China.
Zhenhua
Z
Zhang
Key Laboratory of Adaptation and Evolution of Plateau Biota, Haibei Alpine Meadow Ecosystem Research Station, Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining 810008, China.|University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
Fei
F
Ren
Key Laboratory of Adaptation and Evolution of Plateau Biota, Haibei Alpine Meadow Ecosystem Research Station, Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining 810008, China.
Litong
L
Chen
Key Laboratory of Adaptation and Evolution of Plateau Biota, Haibei Alpine Meadow Ecosystem Research Station, Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining 810008, China.
Jin-Sheng
JS
He
D002244:Carbon / Q000032:analysis; D017753:Ecosystem; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000032:analysis; D010758:Phosphorus / Q000032:analysis; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000737:chemistry*; D018609:Tibet
D010758:Phosphorus; D002244:Carbon; D009584:Nitrogen
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