| 1. |
- Hwang, Bernice, et al.
(author)
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Impacts of insect frass and cadavers on soil surface litter decomposition along a tropical forest temperature gradient
- 2022
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In: Ecology and Evolution. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 2045-7758. ; 12:9
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Insect herbivores play important roles in shaping many ecosystem processes, but how climate change will alter the effects of insect herbivory are poorly understood. To address this knowledge gap, we quantified for the first time how insect frass and cadavers affected leaf litter decomposition rates and nutrient release along a highly constrained 4.3°C mean annual temperature (MAT) gradient in a Hawaiian montane tropical wet forest. We constructed litterbags of standardized locally sourced leaf litter, with some amended with insect frass + cadavers to produce treatments designed to simulate ambient (Control = no amendment), moderate (Amended-Low = 2 × Control level), or severe (Amended-High = 11 × Control level) insect outbreak events. Multiple sets of these litterbags were deployed across the MAT gradient, with individual litterbags collected periodically over one year to assess how rising MAT altered the effects of insect deposits on litter decomposition rates and nitrogen (N) release. Increased MAT and insect inputs additively increased litter decomposition rates and N immobilization rates, with effects being stronger for Amended-High litterbags. However, the apparent temperature sensitivity (Q10) of litter decomposition was not clearly affected by amendments. The effects of adding insect deposits in this study operated differently than the slower litter decomposition and greater N mobilization rates often observed in experiments which use chemical fertilizers (e.g., urea, ammonium nitrate). Further research is required to understand mechanistic differences between amendment types. Potential increases in outbreak-related herbivore deposits coupled with climate warming will accelerate litter decomposition and nutrient cycling rates with short-term consequences for nutrient cycling and carbon storage in tropical montane wet forests.
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| 2. |
- Metcalfe, Daniel B., et al.
(author)
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Microbial change in warming soils
- 2017
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In: Science. - : AMER ASSOC ADVANCEMENT SCIENCE. - 0036-8075 .- 1095-9203. ; 358:6359, s. 41-42
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Journal article (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Long-term reorganization of microbial communities leads to pulses in carbon release
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| 3. |
- Metcalfe, Dan, et al.
(author)
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Distinct impacts of different mammalian herbivore assemblages on arctic tundra CO2 exchange during the peak of the growing season
- 2015
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In: Oikos. - : Wiley. - 1600-0706 .- 0030-1299. ; 124:12, s. 1632-1638
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Herbivores play a key role in the carbon (C) cycle of arctic ecosystems, but these effects are currently poorly represented within models predicting land-atmosphere interactions under future climate change. Although some studies have examined the influence of various individual species of herbivores on tundra C sequestration, few studies have directly compared the effects of different herbivore assemblages. We measured peak growing season instantaneous ecosystem carbon dioxide (CO2) exchange (photosynthesis, respiration and net ecosystem exchange) on replicated plots in arctic tundra which, for 14 years, have excluded different portions of the herbivore population (grazed controls, large mammals excluded, both small and large mammals excluded). Herbivory suppressed photosynthetic CO2 uptake, but caused little change in ecosystem respiration. Despite evidence that small mammals consume a greater portion of plant biomass in these ecosystems, the effect of excluding only large herbivores was indistinguishable from that of excluding both large and small mammals. The herbivory-induced decline in photosynthesis was not entirely attributable to a decline in leaf area but also likely reflects shifts in plant community composition and/or species physiology. One shrub species - Betula nana - accounted for only around 13% of total aboveground vascular plant biomass but played a central role in controlling ecosystem CO2 uptake and release, and was suppressed by herbivory. We conclude that herbivores can have large effects on ecosystem C cycling due to shifts in plant aboveground biomass and community composition. An improved understanding of the mechanisms underlying the distinct ecosystem impacts of different herbivore groups will help to more accurately predict the net impacts of diverse herbivore communities on arctic C fluxes.
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| 4. |
- Rowland, L, et al.
(author)
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After more than a decade of soil moisture deficit, tropical rainforest trees maintain photosynthetic capacity, despite increased leaf respiration.
- 2015
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In: Global Change Biology. - : Wiley. - 1354-1013 .- 1365-2486. ; 21:12, s. 4662-4672
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Determining climate change feedbacks from tropical rainforests requires an understanding of how carbon gain through photosynthesis and loss through respiration will be altered. One of the key changes that tropical rainforests may experience under future climate change scenarios is reduced soil moisture availability. In this study we examine if and how both leaf photosynthesis and leaf dark respiration acclimate following more than 12 years of experimental soil moisture deficit, via a through-fall exclusion experiment (TFE) in an eastern Amazonian rainforest. We find that experimentally drought-stressed trees and taxa maintain the same maximum leaf photosynthetic capacity as trees in corresponding control forest, independent of their susceptibility to drought-induced mortality. We hypothesise that photosynthetic capacity is maintained across all treatments and taxa to take advantage of short-lived periods of high moisture availability, when stomatal conductance (gs ) and photosynthesis can increase rapidly, potentially compensating for reduced assimilate supply at other times. Average leaf dark respiration (Rd ) was elevated in the TFE-treated forest trees relative to the control by 28.2±2.8% (mean ± one standard error). This mean Rd value was dominated by a 48.5±3.6% increase in the Rd of drought-sensitive taxa, and likely reflects the need for additional metabolic support required for stress-related repair, and hydraulic or osmotic maintenance processes. Following soil moisture deficit that is maintained for several years, our data suggest that changes in respiration drive greater shifts in the canopy carbon balance, than changes in photosynthetic capacity. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
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| 5. |
- Doughty, Christopher E., et al.
(author)
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What controls variation in carbon use efficiency among Amazonian tropical forests?
- 2018
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In: Biotropica. - : Wiley. - 0006-3606. ; 50:1, s. 16-25
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Why do some forests produce biomass more efficiently than others? Variations in Carbon Use Efficiency (CUE: total Net Primary Production (NPP)/ Gross Primary Production (GPP)) may be due to changes in wood residence time (Biomass/NPPwood), temperature, or soil nutrient status. We tested these hypotheses in 14, one ha plots across Amazonian and Andean forests where we measured most key components of net primary production (NPP: wood, fine roots, and leaves) and autotrophic respiration (Ra; wood, rhizosphere, and leaf respiration). We found that lower fertility sites were less efficient at producing biomass and had higher rhizosphere respiration, indicating increased carbon allocation to belowground components. We then compared wood respiration to wood growth and rhizosphere respiration to fine root growth and found that forests with residence times <40 yrs had significantly lower maintenance respiration for both wood and fine roots than forests with residence times >40 yrs. A comparison of rhizosphere respiration to fine root growth showed that rhizosphere growth respiration was significantly greater at low fertility sites. Overall, we found that Amazonian forests produce biomass less efficiently in stands with residence times >40 yrs and in stands with lower fertility, but changes to long-term mean annual temperatures do not impact CUE.
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| 6. |
- Rowland, Lucy, et al.
(author)
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Shock and stabilisation following long-term drought in tropical forest from 15 years of litterfall dynamics
- 2018
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In: Journal of Ecology. - : Wiley. - 0022-0477 .- 1365-2745. ; 106:4, s. 1673-1682
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Litterfall dynamics in tropical forests are a good indicator of overall tropical forest function, indicative of carbon invested in both photosynthesising tissues and reproductive organs such as flowers and fruits. These dynamics are sensitive to changes in climate, such as drought, but little is known about the long-term responses of tropical forest litterfall dynamics to extended drought stress. We present a 15-year dataset of litterfall (leaf, flower and fruit, and twigs) from the world's only long-running drought experiment in tropical forest. This dataset comprises one of the longest published litterfall time series in natural forest, which allows the long-term effects of drought on forest reproduction and canopy investment to be explored. Over the first 4 years of the experiment, the experimental soil moisture deficit created only a small decline in total litterfall and leaf fall (12% and 13%, respectively), but a very strong initial decline in reproductive litterfall (flowers and fruits) of 54%. This loss of flowering and fruiting was accompanied by a de-coupling of all litterfall patterns from seasonal climate variables. However, following >10 years of the experimental drought, flower and fruiting re-stabilised at levels greater than in the control plot, despite high tree mortality in the drought plot. Litterfall relationships with atmospheric drivers were re-established alongside a strong new apparent trade-off between litterfall and tree growth. Synthesis. We demonstrate that this tropical forest went through an initial shock response during the first 4 years of intense drought, where reproductive effort was arrested and seasonal litterfall patterns were lost. However, following >10 years of experimental drought, this system appears to be re-stabilising at a new functional state where reproduction is substantially elevated on a per tree basis; and there is a new strong trade-off between investment in canopy production and wood production.
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