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Huang C, Wu X, Liu X, Fang Y, Liu L, Wu C. Functional fungal communities dominate wood decomposition and are modified by wood traits in a subtropical forest. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 806:151377. [PMID: 34740660 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.151377] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2021] [Revised: 10/28/2021] [Accepted: 10/29/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Wood decomposition is a fundamental process of the carbon cycle in forest ecosystems and differs under varying environmental conditions. However, it remains unclear whether exposure situation and litter removal affect wood decomposition, especially in subtropical forests. Therefore, we chose wood from four dominant species and carried out an experiment with treatments consisting of placing wood in ground contact with and without litter input and above ground exposure. The experiment was performed for 2.5 consecutive years in the subtropical forest of Southwest China to reveal the potential effects of microenvironmental changes due to above ground exposure and nutrient input changes due to litter removal. In this study, neither above ground exposure nor litter removal significantly changed the fungal communities, microbial respiration rates or decomposition rates of the wood, but significant differences among tree species were observed. The abundance of Ascomycota (70.2%) was higher than that of Basidiomycota (24.3%), and there was a significant negative relationship between their abundances, suggesting competition. Moreover, negative (Ascomycota) and positive (Basidiomycota) relationships with microbial respiration and explained 21.5 and 25.5% of the variation in microbial respiration, respectively. The wood density was directly controlled by the sugar, cellulose, and lignin contents and influenced the water content in the wood. The abundances of saprotrophic and pathotrophic fungi were significantly and directly regulated by the water content of the wood. The abundance of pathotrophic fungi was unaffected by wood traits, but these fungi may limit saprotrophic fungal colonization, thereby affecting microbial respiration and decomposition processes. We confirmed that the saprotrophic fungal abundance, rather than fungal diversity, determined wood microbial respiration. These results are of great significance for the comprehensive assessment of wood decomposition and the carbon cycle in subtropical forests, although long-term fungal community dynamics and decomposition rates under different conditions require further study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Changjiang Huang
- Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Environmental Hormone and Reproduction, Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Embryo Development and Reproductive Regulation, Fuyang Normal University, Fuyang, 236037, China
| | - Xiaoqing Wu
- Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Environmental Hormone and Reproduction, Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Embryo Development and Reproductive Regulation, Fuyang Normal University, Fuyang, 236037, China.
| | - Xiaoyu Liu
- Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Environmental Hormone and Reproduction, Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Embryo Development and Reproductive Regulation, Fuyang Normal University, Fuyang, 236037, China
| | - Yuting Fang
- Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Environmental Hormone and Reproduction, Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Embryo Development and Reproductive Regulation, Fuyang Normal University, Fuyang, 236037, China
| | - Lei Liu
- Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Environmental Hormone and Reproduction, Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Embryo Development and Reproductive Regulation, Fuyang Normal University, Fuyang, 236037, China
| | - Chuansheng Wu
- Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Environmental Hormone and Reproduction, Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Embryo Development and Reproductive Regulation, Fuyang Normal University, Fuyang, 236037, China.
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Roeder KA, Benson BR, Weiser MD, Kaspari M. Testing the role of body size and litter depth on invertebrate diversity across six forests in North America. Ecology 2021; 103:e03601. [PMID: 34820828 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.3601] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2021] [Revised: 11/01/2021] [Accepted: 11/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Ecologists search for rules by which traits dictate the abundance and distribution of species. Here we search for rules that apply across three common taxa of litter invertebrates in six North American forests from Panama to Oregon. We use image analysis to quantify the abundance and body size distributions of mites, springtails, and spiders in 21 1-m2 plots per forest. We contrast three hypotheses: two of which focus on trait-abundance relationships and a third linking abundance to species richness. Despite three orders of magnitude variation in size, the predicted negative relationship between mean body size and abundance per area occurred in only 18% of cases, never for large bodied taxa like spiders. We likewise found only 18% of tests supported our prediction that increasing litter depth allows for high abundance; two-thirds of which occurred at a single deciduous forest in Massachusetts. In contrast, invertebrate abundance constrained species richness 76% of the time. Our results suggest that body size and habitat volume in brown food webs are rarely good predictors of variation in abundance, but that variation in diversity is generally well predicted by abundance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karl A Roeder
- USDA, Agricultural Research Service, North Central Agricultural Research Laboratory, Brookings, South Dakota, 57006, USA.,Department of Biology, Geographical Ecology Group, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, 73019, USA
| | - Brittany R Benson
- Department of Biology, Geographical Ecology Group, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, 73019, USA.,Ecology Research Group, Faculty of Biosciences and Aquaculture, Nord University, Steinkjer, 7729, Norway
| | - Michael D Weiser
- Department of Biology, Geographical Ecology Group, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, 73019, USA
| | - Michael Kaspari
- Department of Biology, Geographical Ecology Group, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, 73019, USA
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Characterizing the Assemblage of Wood-Decay Fungi in the Forests of Northwest Arkansas. J Fungi (Basel) 2021; 7:jof7040309. [PMID: 33923852 PMCID: PMC8073185 DOI: 10.3390/jof7040309] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2021] [Revised: 04/09/2021] [Accepted: 04/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The study reported herein represents an effort to characterize the wood-decay fungi associated with three study areas representative of the forest ecosystems found in northwest Arkansas. In addition to specimens collected in the field, small pieces of coarse woody debris (usually dead branches) were collected from the three study areas, returned to the laboratory, and placed in plastic incubation chambers to which water was added. Fruiting bodies of fungi appearing in these chambers over a period of several months were collected and processed in the same manner as specimens associated with decaying wood in the field. The internal transcribed spacer (ITS) ribosomal DNA region was sequenced, and these sequences were blasted against the NCBI database. A total of 320 different fungal taxa were recorded, the majority of which could be identified to species. Two hundred thirteen taxa were recorded as field collections, and 68 taxa were recorded from the incubation chambers. Thirty-nine sequences could be recorded only as unidentified taxa. Collectively, the specimens of fungi collected in the forests of northwest Arkansas belong to 64 and 128 families and genera, respectively.
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Deadwood Characteristics in Mature and Old-Growth Birch Stands and Their Implications for Carbon Storage. FORESTS 2020. [DOI: 10.3390/f11050536] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
As one of the most abundant tree species in the hemiboreal zone, birch is important from both commercial and biodiversity perspectives. While old-growth deciduous stands are important for biodiversity conservation with an emphasis on deadwood availability, the role that deadwood in these stands plays in carbon sequestration remains unclear. We studied mature (71–110 years old) and old-growth (121–150 years old) birch stands on fertile mineral soils. The marginal mean deadwood volume was 43.5 ± 6.4 m3 ha−1 in all mature stands, 51.3 ± 7.1 m3 ha−1 in recently unmanaged mature stands, and 54.4 ± 4.4 m3 ha−1 in old-growth stands; the marginal mean deadwood carbon pool for each stand type was 5.4 ± 0.8 t·ha−1, 6.3 ± 0.9 t·ha−1, and 7.9 ± 0.6 t·ha−1, respectively. Deadwood volume was not related to stand productivity in terms of stand basal area, stand height, or stand age. The difference between mature and old-growth stands remained non-significant (p < 0.05). A high volume of deadwood was almost continuously present throughout the landscape in assessed unmanaged sites; moreover, 88% of sample plots in old-growth stands and 63% of sample plots in mature stands had a deadwood volume higher than 20 m3·ha−1. Old-growth stands had a slightly greater volume of large deadwood than unmanaged mature stands; in both, almost half of the deadwood was more than 30 cm in diameter and approximately one-fifth had a diameter greater than 40 cm. Both groups of stands had similar proportions of coniferous and deciduous deadwood and lying and standing deadwood. Old-growth stands had a higher volume of recently and weakly decayed wood, indicating increased dieback during recent years.
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Kirker GT, Bishell A, Cappellazzi J, Palmer J, Bechle N, Lebow P, Lebow S. Role of Leaf Litter in Above-Ground Wood Decay. Microorganisms 2020; 8:microorganisms8050696. [PMID: 32397554 PMCID: PMC7286020 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms8050696] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2020] [Revised: 05/05/2020] [Accepted: 05/07/2020] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
The effects of leaf litter on moisture content and fungal decay development in above-ground wood specimens were assessed. Untreated southern pine specimens were exposed with or without leaf litter contact. Two types of leaf litter were evaluated; aged (decomposed) and young (early stages of decomposition). The moisture content of specimens was monitored, and specimens were periodically removed for visual evaluation of decay development. In addition, amplicon-based sequencing analysis of specimens and associated leaf litter was conducted at two time points. Contact with either type of leaf litter resulted in consistently higher moisture contents than those not in contact with leaf litter. Visually, evident decay developed most rapidly in specimens in contact with the aged leaf litter. Analysis of amplicon-based sequencing revealed that leaf litter contributes a significant amount of the available wood decay fungal community with similar communities found in the litter exposed wood and litter itself, but dissimilar community profiles from unexposed wood. Dominant species and guild composition shifted over time, beginning initially with more leaf saprophytes (ascomycetes) and over time shifting to more wood rotting fungi (basidiomycetes). These results highlight the importance of the contributions of leaf litter to fungal colonization and subsequent decay hazard for above-ground wood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Grant T. Kirker
- USDA-FS Forest Products Laboratory, Madison, WI 53726, USA; (A.B.); (N.B.); (P.L.); (S.L.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +1-608-231-9256
| | - Amy Bishell
- USDA-FS Forest Products Laboratory, Madison, WI 53726, USA; (A.B.); (N.B.); (P.L.); (S.L.)
| | - Jed Cappellazzi
- Dept. of Wood Science and Engineering, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97731, USA;
| | - Jonathan Palmer
- Northern Research Station, USDA Forest Service, Madison, WI 53726, USA;
| | - Nathan Bechle
- USDA-FS Forest Products Laboratory, Madison, WI 53726, USA; (A.B.); (N.B.); (P.L.); (S.L.)
| | - Patricia Lebow
- USDA-FS Forest Products Laboratory, Madison, WI 53726, USA; (A.B.); (N.B.); (P.L.); (S.L.)
| | - Stan Lebow
- USDA-FS Forest Products Laboratory, Madison, WI 53726, USA; (A.B.); (N.B.); (P.L.); (S.L.)
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Oberle B, Lee MR, Myers JA, Osazuwa-Peters OL, Spasojevic MJ, Walton ML, Young DF, Zanne AE. Accurate forest projections require long-term wood decay experiments because plant trait effects change through time. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2020; 26:864-875. [PMID: 31628697 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.14873] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2019] [Revised: 10/09/2019] [Accepted: 10/10/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Whether global change will drive changing forests from net carbon (C) sinks to sources relates to how quickly deadwood decomposes. Because complete wood mineralization takes years, most experiments focus on how traits, environments and decomposer communities interact as wood decay begins. Few experiments last long enough to test whether drivers change with decay rates through time, with unknown consequences for scaling short-term results up to long-term forest ecosystem projections. Using a 7 year experiment that captured complete mineralization among 21 temperate tree species, we demonstrate that trait effects fade with advancing decay. However, wood density and vessel diameter, which may influence permeability, control how decay rates change through time. Denser wood loses mass more slowly at first but more quickly with advancing decay, which resolves ambiguity about the after-life consequences of this key plant functional trait by demonstrating that its effect on decay depends on experiment duration and sampling frequency. Only long-term data and a time-varying model yielded accurate predictions of both mass loss in a concurrent experiment and naturally recruited deadwood structure in a 32-year-old forest plot. Given the importance of forests in the carbon cycle, and the pivotal role for wood decay, accurate ecosystem projections are critical and they require experiments that go beyond enumerating potential mechanisms by identifying the temporal scale for their effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brad Oberle
- Division of Natural Sciences, New College of Florida, Sarasota, FL, USA
- Center for Conservation and Sustainable Development, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Marissa R Lee
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
| | - Jonathan A Myers
- Department of Biology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | | | - Marko J Spasojevic
- Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, University of California Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA
| | - Maranda L Walton
- Department of Biology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Darcy F Young
- Department of Biological Sciences, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Amy E Zanne
- Department of Biological Sciences, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA
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Sayer EJ, Rodtassana C, Sheldrake M, Bréchet LM, Ashford OS, Lopez-Sangil L, Kerdraon-Byrne D, Castro B, Turner BL, Wright SJ, Tanner EV. Revisiting nutrient cycling by litterfall—Insights from 15 years of litter manipulation in old-growth lowland tropical forest. ADV ECOL RES 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/bs.aecr.2020.01.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
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Gora EM, Lucas JM. Dispersal and nutrient limitations of decomposition above the forest floor: Evidence from experimental manipulations of epiphytes and macronutrients. Funct Ecol 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.13440] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Evan M. Gora
- Department of Biology University of Louisville Louisville KY USA
| | - Jane M. Lucas
- Department of Soil and Water Systems University of Idaho Moscow ID USA
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Acanakwo EF, Sheil D, Moe SR. Wood decomposition is more rapid on than off termite mounds in an African savanna. Ecosphere 2019. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.2554] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Erik Francis Acanakwo
- Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resource Management Norwegian University of Life Sciences P.O. Box 5003 1432 Ås Norway
| | - Douglas Sheil
- Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resource Management Norwegian University of Life Sciences P.O. Box 5003 1432 Ås Norway
| | - Stein R. Moe
- Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resource Management Norwegian University of Life Sciences P.O. Box 5003 1432 Ås Norway
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