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. 2018 Aug 29;8(18):9439-9450.
doi: 10.1002/ece3.4433. eCollection 2018 Sep.

Secondary compounds of Pinus massoniana alter decomposers' effects on Quercus variabilis litter decomposition

Hong Lin  1 , Yunxia Zhao  1 , Numaimaiti Muyidong  1 , Kai Tian  1 , Zaihua He  1 , Xiangshi Kong  1 , Shucun Sun  1 , Xingjun Tian  1   2
Affiliations

Secondary compounds of Pinus massoniana alter decomposers' effects on Quercus variabilis litter decomposition

Hong Lin et al. Ecol Evol. .

Abstract

A major gap to understand the effects of plant secondary compounds on litter decomposition in the brown food web is lack of information about how these secondary compounds modify the activities of soil decomposers. To address this question, we conducted an experiment where aqueous extracts and tannins prepared from Pinus massoniana needles were added to soils collected either from P. massoniana (pine soil) or Quercus variabilis (oak soil). Our objective was to investigate the cascading effects of the two compounds on isopod (Armadillidium vulgare) activity and subsequent change in Q. variabilis litter decomposition. We found that in pine soil, both aqueous extracts and tannins (especially at high concentrations) had positive effects on litter decomposition rates when isopods were present. While without isopods, litter decomposition was enhanced only by high concentrations of aqueous extracts, and tannins had no significant effect on decomposition. In oak soil, high concentrations of aqueous extracts and tannins inhibited litter decomposition and soil microbial biomass, regardless of whether isopods were present or not. Low concentrations of aqueous extracts increased litter decomposition rates and soil microbial biomass in oak soil in the absence of isopods. Based on our results, we suggest that the high concentration of secondary compounds in P. massoniana is a key factor influencing the effects of decomposers on litter decomposition rates, and tannins form a major part of secondary compounds. These funding particularly provide insight into form- and concentration-oriented effects of secondary compounds and promote our understanding of litter decomposition and soil nutrient cycling in forest ecosystem.

Keywords: aqueous extracts; isopod; litter decomposition; plant–soil interactions; secondary compounds; tannins.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Effects of treatments (control, high aqueous, low aqueous, high tannins, and low tannins) on cumulative mass loss of Quercus variabilis litter with or without isopods (Armadillidium vulgare) in two soil types (oak soil and pine soil). Data with different letters indicate a significant difference (p < 0.05) from repeated‐measure ANOVA. Error bars indicate standard deviation (SD, n = 4)
Figure 2
Figure 2
Decomposition rate (mean k values, month−1) of Quercus variabilis litter with or without isopods (Armadillidium vulgare) in two soil types (oak soil and pine soil) under different treatments (control, high aqueous, low aqueous, high tannins, and low tannins). Data with different letters indicates a significant difference (p < 0.05). *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01 and ***p < 0.001 by t test. Error bars indicate standard deviation (SD, n = 4)
Figure 3
Figure 3
The mean of substrate‐induced respiration (SIR rate, μl CO2 hr−1 g−1 soil) with or without isopods (Armadillidium vulgare) in two soil types (oak soil and pine soil) under different treatments (control, high aqueous, low aqueous, high tannins, and low tannins). Data with different letters indicates a significant difference (p < 0.05) from repeated‐measure ANOVA. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01 and ***p < 0.001 by t test. Error bars indicate standard deviation (SD, n = 4)
Figure 4
Figure 4
The total numbers of dead isopods (Armadillidium vulgare) (ind.) in two soil types (oak soil and pine soil) under different treatments (control, high aqueous, low aqueous, high tannins, and low tannins). Data with different letters indicates a significant difference (p < 0.05). *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01 and ***p < 0.001 by t test. Error bars indicate standard deviation (SD, n = 4)
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