ABSTRACT
Bamboo (Phyllostachys pubescens) expansion into adjacent forests is a widespread phenomenon in subtropical regions, and it has greatly changed the dominance hierarchy from trees to bamboos. This process may be accompanied by changes in productivity, nutrients accumulation and biogeochemical cycles. We compared the net primary production (NPP) and major pools and fluxes of nitrogen (N) in bamboo-dominant forest (BDF) and neighboring secondary evergreen broadleaved forest (EBF) in South China using the space-for-time substitution method. We found that the mean NPP of the BDF was 30.0 t ha-1 yr-1, which was 51.5% greater than that of the EBF (19.8 t ha-1 yr-1). The plant N pool for the BDF was 37.5% larger than that of the EBF, whereas the soil inorganic N pool significantly decreased by 31.2% with conversion of the EBF to BDF. Additionally, the ratio of N return to N uptake was 0.69 in the BDF and 0.88 in the EBF because of the lower litter N return of the BDF compared with that of the EBF. These results indicated that the expansion of P. pubescens significantly increased the NPP and plant N accumulation but reduced the soil N available pool and slowed the N cycling rate, which could lead to soil degradation.
Subject(s)
Forests , Nitrogen Cycle , Poaceae/growth & development , Trees/metabolism , Tropical Climate , Biomass , Ecosystem , Nitrogen/metabolismABSTRACT
The effects of Phyllostachys edulis and Oligostachyum oedogonatum expansion on species diversity of broad-leaved forests were investigated in Wuyishan National Nature Reserve, Jiangxi Province, China. Ph. edulis and/or O. oedogonatum expansion changed community structure and species composition. The co expansion of the two bamboos in high intensity (Ph. edulis was 30-50 ind·100 m-2, O. oedogonatum was 300-500 ind·100 m-2) changed the density ratio of arbor and shrub from 2:8 to 1:9, and density ratio of bamboo and tree from 0:10 to 9:1. The main effects of Ph. edulis and O. oedogonatum on the species diversity were significant. Ph. edulis mainly influe-nced arbor layer, while O. oedogonatum influenced shrub layer more, and the interaction effect of two bamboos was not remarkable. There existed addition effects between Ph. edulis and O. oedogonatum on species diversity. The co-occurrence of two bamboos in high intensity decreased the Shannon index of community by 91.3%. Ph. edulis and O. oedogonatum did not compete obviously unless in high density. It was addition effect rather than interaction effect that changed the community structure and reduced species diversity when broad leaved forest suffered invasion by Ph. edulis and O. oedogonatum.
Subject(s)
Biodiversity , Forests , Poaceae , China , TreesABSTRACT
By the methods of space-time substitution and PVC tube closed-top in situ incubation, this paper studied the soil mineralized-N content, N mineralization rate, and N uptake rate in Phyllostachys edulis-broadleaf mixed forest (PBMF) formed by P. edulis expansion and its adjacent evergreen broadleaf forest (EBF) in Dagangshan Mountain of Jiangxi Province, China. There existed the same spatiotemporal variation trend of soil total mineralized-N (TMN) content between the two forests. The annual average N mineralization rate was slightly lower in PBMF than in EBF. In PBMF, soil N mineralization was dominated by ammonification; while in EBF, soil ammonification and nitrification were well-matched in rate, and soil nitrification was dominated in growth season (from April to October). The N uptake by the plants in PBMF and EBF in a year was mainly in the form of NH4+-N, but that in EBF in growth season was mainly in the form of NO3- -N. These findings indicated that the expansion of P. edulis into EBF could promote the ammonification of soil N, weakened soil nitrification and total N mineralization, and also, increased the NH4+-N uptake but decreased the NO3- -N and TMN uptake by the plants.
