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- Title
Mycorrhizal type determines the magnitude and direction of root-induced changes in decomposition in a temperate forest.
- Authors
Brzostek, Edward R.; Dragoni, Danilo; Brown, Zachary A.; Phillips, Richard P.
- Abstract
Although it is increasingly being recognized that roots play a key role in soil carbon (C) dynamics, the magnitude and direction of these effects are unknown. Roots can accelerate soil C losses by provisioning microbes with energy to decompose organic matter or impede soil C losses by enhancing microbial competition for nutrients., We experimentally reduced belowground C supply to soils via tree girdling, and contrasted responses in control and girdled plots for three consecutive growing seasons. We hypothesized that decreases in belowground C supply would have stronger effects in plots dominated by ectomycorrhizal ( ECM) trees rather than arbuscular mycorrhizal ( AM) trees., In ECM-dominated plots, girdling decreased the activity of enzymes that break down soil organic matter ( SOM) by c. 40%, indicating that, in control plots, C supply from ECM roots primes microbial decomposition. In AM-dominated plots, girdling had little effect on SOM-degrading enzymes, but increased the decomposition of AM leaf litter by c. 43%, suggesting that, in control plots, AM roots may intensify microbial competition for nutrients., Our findings indicate that root-induced changes in soil processes depend on forest composition, and that shifts in the distribution of AM and ECM trees owing to climate change may determine soil C gains and losses.
- Subjects
MYCORRHIZAL plants; PLANT roots; FORESTS &; forestry; CARBON in soils; MICROORGANISMS; TREE girdling
- Publication
New Phytologist, 2015, Vol 206, Issue 4, p1274
- ISSN
0028-646X
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1111/nph.13303