home icon user icon
Welcome to International Network for Natural Sciences | INNS Pub.
Home My Account
Submit Manuscript
double_slash
breadcumb_bg

Litter fall quantity, root density, biomass and decomposition rate in Dalbergia sissoo: a nutrient cycling perspective

Paper Details

Research Paper 01/06/2017
Views (394) Download (14)
current_issue_feature_image
publication_file

Litter fall quantity, root density, biomass and decomposition rate in Dalbergia sissoo: a nutrient cycling perspective

Hina Tariq, Nizami Syed Moazzam, Lubna Ansari, Iqra Naeem, Talal Asif, Abdul Raqeeb, Rukhsana Kausar
J. Bio. Env. Sci.10( 6), 38-49, June 2017.
Certificate: JBES 2017 [Generate Certificate]
Key: Dalbergia sissooLitter decompositionLitter fallRoot decomposition

Abstract

Plant litter decomposition plays a crucial role in the formation of soil organic material during nutrient cycling. This study determined the root density, biomass, decomposition rate and elemental composition of root and leaf litter in Dalbergia sissoo. Litter trappers were installed under the tree canopy and litter bag method was used to investigate the decay rate of roots and leaves. The study revealed significant difference (P<0.001) in leaves and roots decomposition over the time. It was revealed that root density and root biomass were 2.41×105 m ha-1 and 2 .0 t ha-1 respectively. The total litter production was 2.53 t ha-1 yr-1. The mass loss/decomposition of fine, medium and coarse roots during the year was 23.84, 18.68 and 36.377% respectively. The total leaf decomposition/mass loss during the year was 36.83%. The initial elemental composition percentage of carbon was high in leaves than roots whereas, Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium concentrations were significantly higher in roots as compared to leaves. The results are helpful for future studies gearing towards the nutrient budgets in D. sissoo plantations.

VIEWS 54
Cover PDF

Berg B. 1984. Decomposition of root litter and some factors regulating the process: long-term litter decomposition in a Scots pine forest.  Soil Biology and Biochemistry 16, 609–617.

Bray JR, Gorham E. 1964. Litter productions in forests of the world. Journal of Advance Ecological Research 2, 101-157.

Briones M, Garnett M, Ineson P. 2010. Soil biology and warming play a key role in the release of old Carbon from organic soils.  Soil Biol. Biochem. 42, 960–967.

CABI. 2005. Forestry compendium. CABI, Centre for Agricultural Bioscience International. Wallingford, UK.

Camire C, Cote B, Brulotte S. 1991. Decomposition of roots of black alder and hybrid poplar in short-rotation plantings: nitrogen and lignin control. Journal of Plant  and Soil 138, 123–132.

Chaturvedi OP, Das DK. 2002. Studies on rooting patterns of 5 Year old important agroforestry tree species in North Bihar, India. Forest Trees and Livelihoods. 12(4), 329-339.

Cusack DF, Chou WW, Yang WH, Harmon ME, Silver WL. 2009. Controls on long-term root and leaf litter decomposition in neo tropical forests. Global Change Biology 15, 1339-1355.

Dutta DK, Banerjee SK, Gupta SK. 2001. Decomposition of broad leaved and coniferous forest litter. Journan India. Society Soil Science. 49(3), 496-499.

Edmonds RL, Thomas TB. 1995. Decomposition and nutrient release from green needles of western hemlock and Pacific silver fir in an old-growth temperate rain forest Olympic National Park, Washington. Candian Journal Forest Research 25(7), 1049-1057.

Flanagan PW, Cleve KV. 1983. Nutrient cycling in relation to decomposition and organic matter quality in taiga ecosystems. Candian Journal Forest Research 13, 795-817.

Foster JR, Lang GE. 1982. Decomposition of red spruce and balsam fir boles in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Candian Journal Forest Research 12,617–626.

Fujii S, Takeda H. 2012. Succession of collembolan communities during decomposition of leaf and root litter: Effects of litter type and position. Journal of Soil Biology and Biochemistry 54, 77-85.

Gessner MO, Swan CM, Dang CK, McKie BG, Bardgett RD, Wall DH, Hättenschwiler S. 2010. Diversity meets decomposition. Trends in Ecological Evolution 25: 372–380.

Graham MH, Haynes RJ. 2005. Organic matter accumulation and fertilizer induced acidification interact to affect soil microbial and enzyme activity on a long-term sugarcane management experiment. Biology and Fertility of Soils. 41, 249-256.

Gulis V, Rosemond, Suberkropp K, Weyers SH, Benstead JP.  2004. Effects of nutrient enrichment on the decomposition of wood and associated microbial activity in streams. Journal of Fresh water Biology 49(11), 1437-1447.

Hobbie SE,  Reich BP, Oleksyn J, Ogdahl M, Zytkowiak R,  Hale CM, Karolewski P. 2006. Tree species effects on decomposition and forest floor dynamics in a common garden. Journal of Ecology 87, 2288–2297.

Hobbie SE, Oleksyn J, Eissenstat DM, Reich BP. 2010. Fine root decomposition rates do not mirror those of leaf litter among temperate tree species. Joyrnal. Oecologia. 162, 505–513.

Janssens IA, Dieleman W,  Luyssaert S, Subke JA, Reichstein M, Ceulemans R, Ciais P, Dolman AJ, Grace J,  Matteucci G,  Papale D,  Piao SL,  Schulze ED,  Tang J, Law BE. 2010. Reduction of forest soil respiration in response to nitrogen deposition. Nature Geosciences 3, 315–322.

Joergensen RG,  Kubler H,  Meyer B, Wolters V. 1995. Microbial biomass in soils of beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) forests. Journal Biology and Soil Fertility 19, 215–219.

Koukoura Z. 1998. Decomposition and nutrient release from C3 and C4 plant litters in a natural grassland. Acta Oecologia 19(2), 115-123.

Kumar BM, Deepu JK. 1992. Litter production and decomposition dynamics in moist deciduous forests of the western Ghats in peninsular India. Forest Ecology and Management 50, 181-201.

Lee M, Nakane K, Nakatsubo T, Koizumi H. 2003. Seasonal changes in the contribution of root respiration to total soil respiration in a cool-temperate deciduous forest. Journal of Plant and Soil 255(1), 311-318.

Liu P, Huang J, Han X, Sun OJ, Zhou Z. 2006. Differential responses of litter decomposition to increased soil nutrients and water between two contrasting grassland plant species of Inner Mongolia, China. Applied Soil Ecology 34, 266-275.

Loranger G,  Ponge JF, Imbert D, Lavelle P. 2002. Leaf decomposition in two semi-evergreen tropical forests: influence of litter quality. Journal of Biology and Fertilizer Soils 35(4), 247-252.

Martens DA. 2000. Plant residue biochemistry regulates soil carbon cycling and carbon sequestration. Soil Biology. Biochem. 32(3), 361-369.

McClaugherty CA, Aber JD, Melillo JM. 1982. The role of fine roots in the organic matter and nitrogen budgets of two forested ecosystems. Ecology  63, 1481-1490.

Mishra A, Sharma SD, Khan GH. 2002. Rehabilitation of degraded sodic lands during a decade of Dalbergia sissoo plantation in Sultanpur district of Uttar Pradesh, India. Land Degradation and Development 13(5), 375-386.

Moore JC, Berlow EL, Coleman DC, Ruiter PC, Dong Q, Hastings A, Johnson NC,  McCann KS, Melville K, Morin PJ, Nadelhoffer K. 2004. Detritus, trophic dynamics and biodiversity. Ecological Letters 7(7), 584-600.

Olajuyigbe S, Tobin B, Hawkins M, Nieuwenhuis M. 2012. The measurement of woody root decomposition using two methodologies in a Sitka spruce forest ecosystem. Journal of Plant and Soil. 360, 77-91.

Olsen JS. 1963. Energy storage and the balance of producers and decomposers in ecological systems. Ecology 44, 322-331.

Osono T, Hirose D, Fujimaki R. 2006. Fungal colonization as affected by litter depth and decomposition stage of needle litter. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 38, 2743-2752.

Pascoal C, Cassio F. 2004. Contribution of fungi and bacteria to leaf litter decomposition in a polluted river. Journal of Applied Environmental Microbiology 70(9), 5266-5273.

Powers JS, Montgonery RA,  Adair EC,  Brearley FQ, DeWalt SJ, Castanho CT, Chave Journal, Deinert E. Ganzhorn JU, Gilbert ME, Gonzales-Iturbe J,  Bunyavejchewin S, Grau HR,  Harms KE, Hiremath A, Iriarte-Vivar S, Manzane E, de Oliveria AA, Pooter L, Ramanamanjato J, Salk C, Varela A, Wieblen GD, Lerdau MT. 2009. Decomposition in tropical forests: a pan-tropical study of the effects of litter type, litter placement and mesofaunal exclusion across a precipitation gradient. Ecology 97, 801-811.

Prescott CE. 2002. The influence of the forest canopy on nutrient cycling. Journal. Tree Physiology 22, 1193–1200.

Prescott CE, Grayston SJ. 2013. Tree species influence on microbial communities in litter and soil: current knowledge and research needs. Forest Ecology and Management 309, 19-27.

Ruskin FR. 1983. Firewood crops. Shrub and tree species for energy production. Canadian  Journal of Science 2, 6-9.

Shah HM, Mukhtar I, Khan SN. 2010. Medicinal importance and association of pathological constraints with Dalbergia sissoo. Pakistan. Journal of Phytopathology 22, 135–138.

Shaheen A, Shafiq M,  Naeem MA, Jilani G. 2008. Soil characteristics and plant nutrient status in the eroded lands of Fatehjang in the Pothawar Plateau of Pakistan. Journal Soil and Environment 27(2), 208-214.

Singh AK, Chand S. 2003. Somatic embryogenesis and plant regeneration from cotyledon explants of a timber-yielding leguminous tree, Dalbergia sissoo Roxb. Plant physiology 160(4), 415-421.

Singh K, Singh P, Tripathi S. 1999. Litterfall, litter decomposition and nutrient release patterns in four native tree species raised on coal mine spoil at Singrauli, India. Journal of Biology and Fertilizer Soils 29, 371-378.

Schuur EAG, Matson PA. 2001. Net primary productivity and nutrient cycling across a mesic to wet precipitation gradient in Hawaiian montane forest. Oecologia. 128, 431–442.

Tripathi SK, Singh KP. 1992. Abiotic and litter quality control during decomposition of different plant parts in a dry tropical bamboo savanna in India. Pedobiologia 36, 241–256.

Trumbore SE, Gaudinski JB. 2003. The secret lives of roots. Science 302, 1344-1345.

Vivanco L, Austin AT. 2006. Intrinsic effects of species on leaf litter and root decomposition: a comparison of temperate grasses from North and South America. Journal. Oecologia 150, 97–107.

Vanholme R, Demedts B, Morreel K, Ralph J, Boerjan W. 2010. Lignin biosynthesis and structure. Journal of Plant Physiology 153, 895–905.

Vogt  KA, Vogt DJ, Palmiotto A, Boon P,  Hara JO, Asbjornsen H. 1996. Review of root dynamics in forest ecosystems grouped by climate, climatic forest type and species. Plant and Soil 187, 159-219.

Waring RH, Schlesinger WH. 1985. Forest ecosystems concepts and management In: Decomposition and Forest Soil Development. Academic Press, Inc. New York. 8, 181-210.

Waring BG. 2012. A meta-analysis of climatic and chemical controls on leaf litter decay rates in tropical forests. Ecosystems 15, 999–1009.

Zhang D, Hui D, Luo Y, Zhou G. 2008. Rates of litter decomposition in terrestrial ecosystems: global patterns and controlling factors. Journal of Plant Ecology 1(2), 85-93.

Submit Manuscript