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Shigyo N, Umeki K, Hirao T. Soil microbial identity explains home-field advantage for litter decomposition. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2024; 243:2146-2156. [PMID: 38736202 DOI: 10.1111/nph.19769] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2023] [Accepted: 03/25/2024] [Indexed: 05/14/2024]
Abstract
Unraveling the mechanisms of home-field advantage (HFA) is essential to gain a complete understanding of litter decomposition processes. However, knowledge of the relationships between HFA effects and microbial communities is lacking. To examine HFA effects on litter decomposition, we identified the microbial communities and conducted a reciprocal transplant experiment, including all possible combinations of soil and litter, between sites at two elevations in cool-temperate forests. Soil origin, rather than HFA, was an important factor in controlling litter decomposition processes. Microbiome-wide association analyses identified litter fungi and bacteria specific to the source soil, which completely differed at a low taxonomic level between litter types. The relative abundance of these microbes specific to source soil was positively correlated with litter mass loss. The results indicated that the unique relationships between plant litter and soil microbes through plant-soil linkages drive litter decomposition processes. In the short term, soil disturbances resulting from land-use changes have the potential to disrupt the effect of soil origin and hinder the advancement of litter decomposition. These findings contribute to an understanding of HFA mechanisms and the impacts of land-use change on decomposition processes in forest ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nobuhiko Shigyo
- The University of Tokyo Chichibu Forest, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 1-1-49 Hinoda-machi, Chichibu, Saitama, 368-0034, Japan
| | - Kiyoshi Umeki
- Graduate School of Horticulture, Chiba University, 648 Matsudo, Matsudo, Chiba, 271-8510, Japan
| | - Toshihide Hirao
- The University of Tokyo Chichibu Forest, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 1-1-49 Hinoda-machi, Chichibu, Saitama, 368-0034, Japan
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Oliva RL, Veen GF(C, Tanaka MO. Soil nutrient dissimilarity and litter nutrient limitation as major drivers of home field advantage in riparian tropical forests. Biotropica 2023. [DOI: 10.1111/btp.13214] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/16/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Rebeca Leme Oliva
- Graduate Program in Environmental Sciences (PPGCAm) Federal University of São Carlos São Carlos Brazil
| | - G. F. (Ciska) Veen
- Department of Terrestrial Ecology Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO‐KNAW) Wageningen The Netherlands
| | - Marcel Okamoto Tanaka
- Department of Environmental Sciences (DCAm) Federal University of São Carlos São Carlos Brazil
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Home-Field Advantage of Litter Decomposition Faded 8 Years after Spruce Forest Clearcutting in Western Germany. SOIL SYSTEMS 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/soilsystems6010026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
Home-field advantage (HFA) encompasses all the processes leading to faster litter decomposition in the ‘home’ environment compared to that of ‘away’ environments. To determine the occurrence of HFA in a forest and adjacent clear-cut, we set up a reciprocal litter decomposition experiment within the forest and clear-cut for two soil types (Cambisols and Gleysols) in temperate Germany. The forest was dominated by Norway spruce (Picea abies), whereas forest regeneration of European Beech (Fagus sylvatica) after clearcutting was encouraged. Our observation that Norway spruce decomposed faster than European beech in 70-yr-old spruce forest was most likely related to specialized litter-soil interaction under existing spruce, leading to an HFA. Elevated soil moisture and temperature, and promoted litter N release, indicated the rapid change of soil-litter affinity of the original spruce forest even after a short-term regeneration following clearcutting, resulting in faster beech decomposition, particularly in moisture- and nutrient-deficient Cambisols. The divergence between forest and clear-cut in the Cambisol of their litter δ15N values beyond nine months implied litter N decomposition was only initially independent of soil and residual C status. We conclude that clearcutting modifies the litter-field affinity and helps promote the establishment or regeneration of European beech in this and similar forest mountain upland areas.
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Crespo-Pérez V, Kazakou E, Roubik DW, Cárdenas RE. The importance of insects on land and in water: a tropical view. CURRENT OPINION IN INSECT SCIENCE 2020; 40:31-38. [PMID: 32563991 DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2020.05.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2019] [Revised: 05/18/2020] [Accepted: 05/24/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Tropical insects are astonishingly diverse and abundant yet receive only marginal scientific attention. In natural tropical settings, insects are involved in regulating and supporting ecosystem services including seed dispersal, pollination, organic matter decomposition, nutrient cycling, herbivory, food webs and water quality, which in turn help fulfill UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Current and future global changes that affect insect diversity and distribution could disrupt key ecosystem services and impose important threats on ecosystems and human well-being. A significant increase in our knowledge of tropical insect roles in ecosystem processes is thus vital to ensure sustainable development on a rapidly changing planet.
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Affiliation(s)
- Verónica Crespo-Pérez
- Laboratorio de Entomología, Museo de Zoología QCAZ I, Escuela de Ciencias Biológicas, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Av. 12 de Octubre 1076 y Roca, Apartado: 17-01-2184 Quito, Ecuador.
| | - Elena Kazakou
- CEFE, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, Institut Agro, IRD, Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier, Montpellier, France
| | - David W Roubik
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Republic of Panama
| | - Rafael E Cárdenas
- Laboratorio de Entomología, Museo de Zoología QCAZ I, Escuela de Ciencias Biológicas, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Av. 12 de Octubre 1076 y Roca, Apartado: 17-01-2184 Quito, Ecuador.
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Abstract
Soils are an important source of nitrogen in many of the world’s cropping systems. Especially in low-input production systems, nitrogen release from soil organic matter turn-over is the major part of the crop’s nitrogen supply and research suggests that this process is significantly affected by changes in climate. The knowledge of the amount of nitrogen being accountable for crop nutrition is purely empirical in many production areas in the world and data as a foundation of global-scale climate change and food security assessments is scarce. Here we demonstrate that nitrogen mineralisation in general follows similar rules as for carbon, but with different implications for agricultural systems. We analysed 340 data sets from previously published incubation experiments for potential nitrogen mineralisation which covered a large range of soils and climate conditions. We find that under warm and all-year humid conditions the share of potentially mineralisable nitrogen in the soil’s total nitrogen is significantly smaller than in dry or temperate environments. We conclude that – despite relatively high soil nitrogen stocks – soil-borne nitrogen supply for crop production is very low in tropical and humid subtropical environments, which is a critical piece of information for global assessments of agricultural production and food security.
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Both S, Riutta T, Paine CET, Elias DMO, Cruz RS, Jain A, Johnson D, Kritzler UH, Kuntz M, Majalap-Lee N, Mielke N, Montoya Pillco MX, Ostle NJ, Arn Teh Y, Malhi Y, Burslem DFRP. Logging and soil nutrients independently explain plant trait expression in tropical forests. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2019; 221:1853-1865. [PMID: 30238458 DOI: 10.1111/nph.15444] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2018] [Accepted: 08/12/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Plant functional traits regulate ecosystem functions but little is known about how co-occurring gradients of land use and edaphic conditions influence their expression. We test how gradients of logging disturbance and soil properties relate to community-weighted mean traits in logged and old-growth tropical forests in Borneo. We studied 32 physical, chemical and physiological traits from 284 tree species in eight 1 ha plots and measured long-term soil nutrient supplies and plant-available nutrients. Logged plots had greater values for traits that drive carbon capture and growth, whilst old-growth forests had greater values for structural and persistence traits. Although disturbance was the primary driver of trait expression, soil nutrients explained a statistically independent axis of variation linked to leaf size and nutrient concentration. Soil characteristics influenced trait expression via nutrient availability, nutrient pools, and pH. Our finding, that traits have dissimilar responses to land use and soil resource availability, provides robust evidence for the need to consider the abiotic context of logging when predicting plant functional diversity across human-modified tropical forests. The detection of two independent axes was facilitated by the measurement of many more functional traits than have been examined in previous studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sabine Both
- Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Aberdeen, 23 St Machar Drive, Aberdeen, AB24 3UU, UK
- Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, Armidale, 2351, NSW, Australia
| | - Terhi Riutta
- Environmental Change Institute, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3QY, UK
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, Buckhurst Road, Ascot, SL5 7PY, UK
| | - C E Timothy Paine
- Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, Armidale, 2351, NSW, Australia
| | - Dafydd M O Elias
- Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Bailrigg, Lancaster, LA1 4YQ, UK
- Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Lancaster Environment Centre, Library Avenue, Bailrigg, Lancaster, LA1 4AP, UK
| | - R S Cruz
- Instituto de Ciencias de la Naturaleza, Territorio y Energías Renovables, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, Lima, Perú
| | - Annuar Jain
- The South East Asia Rainforest Research Partnership (SEARRP), Danum Valley Field Centre, PO Box 60282, 91112, Lahad Datu, Sabah, Malaysia
| | - David Johnson
- School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PT, UK
| | - Ully H Kritzler
- School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PT, UK
| | - Marianne Kuntz
- Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Aberdeen, 23 St Machar Drive, Aberdeen, AB24 3UU, UK
| | - Noreen Majalap-Lee
- Forest Research Centre, Peti Surat 1407, 90715, Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia
| | - Nora Mielke
- Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Aberdeen, 23 St Machar Drive, Aberdeen, AB24 3UU, UK
| | - Milenka X Montoya Pillco
- Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Aberdeen, 23 St Machar Drive, Aberdeen, AB24 3UU, UK
| | - Nicholas J Ostle
- Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Bailrigg, Lancaster, LA1 4YQ, UK
- Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Lancaster Environment Centre, Library Avenue, Bailrigg, Lancaster, LA1 4AP, UK
| | - Yit Arn Teh
- Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Aberdeen, 23 St Machar Drive, Aberdeen, AB24 3UU, UK
| | - Yadvinder Malhi
- Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, Armidale, 2351, NSW, Australia
| | - David F R P Burslem
- Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Aberdeen, 23 St Machar Drive, Aberdeen, AB24 3UU, UK
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Ashton LA, Griffiths HM, Parr CL, Evans TA, Didham RK, Hasan F, Teh YA, Tin HS, Vairappan CS, Eggleton P. Termites mitigate the effects of drought in tropical rainforest. Science 2019; 363:174-177. [DOI: 10.1126/science.aau9565] [Citation(s) in RCA: 73] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2018] [Accepted: 12/06/2018] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Termites perform key ecological functions in tropical ecosystems, are strongly affected by variation in rainfall, and respond negatively to habitat disturbance. However, it is not known how the projected increase in frequency and severity of droughts in tropical rainforests will alter termite communities and the maintenance of ecosystem processes. Using a large-scale termite suppression experiment, we found that termite activity and abundance increased during drought in a Bornean forest. This increase resulted in accelerated litter decomposition, elevated soil moisture, greater soil nutrient heterogeneity, and higher seedling survival rates during the extreme El Niño drought of 2015–2016. Our work shows how an invertebrate group enhances ecosystem resistance to drought, providing evidence that the dual stressors of climate change and anthropogenic shifts in biotic communities will have various negative consequences for the maintenance of rainforest ecosystems.
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Jucker T, Hardwick SR, Both S, Elias DMO, Ewers RM, Milodowski DT, Swinfield T, Coomes DA. Canopy structure and topography jointly constrain the microclimate of human-modified tropical landscapes. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2018; 24:5243-5258. [PMID: 30246358 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.14415] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2018] [Accepted: 07/02/2018] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
Local-scale microclimatic conditions in forest understoreys play a key role in shaping the composition, diversity and function of these ecosystems. Consequently, understanding what drives variation in forest microclimate is critical to forecasting ecosystem responses to global change, particularly in the tropics where many species already operate close to their thermal limits and rapid land-use transformation is profoundly altering local environments. Yet our ability to characterize forest microclimate at ecologically meaningful scales remains limited, as understorey conditions cannot be directly measured from outside the canopy. To address this challenge, we established a network of microclimate sensors across a land-use intensity gradient spanning from old-growth forests to oil-palm plantations in Borneo. We then combined these observations with high-resolution airborne laser scanning data to characterize how topography and canopy structure shape variation in microclimate both locally and across the landscape. In the processes, we generated high-resolution microclimate surfaces spanning over 350 km2 , which we used to explore the potential impacts of habitat degradation on forest regeneration under both current and future climate scenarios. We found that topography and vegetation structure were strong predictors of local microclimate, with elevation and terrain curvature primarily constraining daily mean temperatures and vapour pressure deficit (VPD), whereas canopy height had a clear dampening effect on microclimate extremes. This buffering effect was particularly pronounced on wind-exposed slopes but tended to saturate once canopy height exceeded 20 m-suggesting that despite intensive logging, secondary forests remain largely thermally buffered. Nonetheless, at a landscape-scale microclimate was highly heterogeneous, with maximum daily temperatures ranging between 24.2 and 37.2°C and VPD spanning two orders of magnitude. Based on this, we estimate that by the end of the century forest regeneration could be hampered in degraded secondary forests that characterize much of Borneo's lowlands if temperatures continue to rise following projected trends.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tommaso Jucker
- Forest Ecology and Conservation group, Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- CSIRO Land and Water, Floreat, WA, Australia
| | - Stephen R Hardwick
- Blackett Laboratory, Department of Physics, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Sabine Both
- School of Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, Armidale, NSW, Australia
- Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK
| | - Dafydd M O Elias
- Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK
- Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster, UK
| | | | | | - Tom Swinfield
- Forest Ecology and Conservation group, Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - David A Coomes
- Forest Ecology and Conservation group, Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
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Both S, Elias DMO, Kritzler UH, Ostle NJ, Johnson D. Land use not litter quality is a stronger driver of decomposition in hyperdiverse tropical forest. Ecol Evol 2017; 7:9307-9318. [PMID: 29187970 PMCID: PMC5696412 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.3460] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2017] [Revised: 07/28/2017] [Accepted: 08/19/2017] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
In hyperdiverse tropical forests, the key drivers of litter decomposition are poorly understood despite its crucial role in facilitating nutrient availability for plants and microbes. Selective logging is a pressing land use with potential for considerable impacts on plant-soil interactions, litter decomposition, and nutrient cycling. Here, in Borneo's tropical rainforests, we test the hypothesis that decomposition is driven by litter quality and that there is a significant "home-field advantage," that is positive interaction between local litter quality and land use. We determined mass loss of leaf litter, collected from selectively logged and old-growth forest, in a fully factorial experimental design, using meshes that either allowed or precluded access by mesofauna. We measured leaf litter chemical composition before and after the experiment. Key soil chemical and biological properties and microclimatic conditions were measured as land-use descriptors. We found that despite substantial differences in litter quality, the main driver of decomposition was land-use type. Whilst inclusion of mesofauna accelerated decomposition, their effect was independent of land use and litter quality. Decomposition of all litters was slower in selectively logged forest than in old-growth forest. However, there was significantly greater loss of nutrients from litter, especially phosphorus, in selectively logged forest. The analyses of several covariates detected minor microclimatic differences between land-use types but no alterations in soil chemical properties or free-living microbial composition. These results demonstrate that selective logging can significantly reduce litter decomposition in tropical rainforest with no evidence of a home-field advantage. We show that loss of key limiting nutrients from litter (P & N) is greater in selectively logged forest. Overall, the findings hint at subtle differences in microclimate overriding litter quality that result in reduced decomposition rates in selectively logged forests and potentially affect biogeochemical nutrient cycling in the long term.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sabine Both
- Institute of Biological and Environmental SciencesUniversity of AberdeenAberdeenUK
| | - Dafydd M. O. Elias
- Lancaster Environment CentreLancaster UniversityLancasterUK
- Centre for Ecology & HydrologyLancaster Environment CentreLancasterUK
| | - Ully H. Kritzler
- School of Earth and Environmental SciencesThe University of ManchesterManchesterUK
| | - Nick J. Ostle
- Lancaster Environment CentreLancaster UniversityLancasterUK
| | - David Johnson
- School of Earth and Environmental SciencesThe University of ManchesterManchesterUK
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