Abstract
Purpose
Forest headwater streams are important linkages for material transfer and information exchange between aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Herein, we aimed to assess the degradation of acid-hydrolyzable carbohydrates (ACID) and acid-unhydrolyzable residue (AUR), and to check their driving factors during Castanopsis carlesii and Chinese fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata) foliar litter decomposition in a headwater stream in subtropical forests.
Materials and methods
Using the litterbag method, changes in ACID and AUR of C. carlesii and Chinese fir foliar litter were analyzed during decomposition in a forest headwater stream, compared with those on the forest floor, and then calculated the lignocellulose index (LCI). A partial least squares (PLS) analysis was performed to reveal the relative importance of environmental factors and chemical compositions on ACID and AUR degradation rates.
Results
The cumulative loss rates of ACID in C. carlesii and Chinese fir foliar litter in the stream were 72.14% and 49.83%, respectively, exceeding those on the forest floor. The results indicate that the stream environment promotes ACID degradation in the foliar litter, driven mainly by precipitation, flow velocity, and dissolved oxygen. In contrast, the cumulative loss rates of AUR from C. carlesii and Chinese fir foliar litter in the stream were 23.36% and 8.84%, respectively. The degradation rates of AUR were negative in the early stage and then increased. The temperature was the only important environmental factor that was observed to be beneficial for the degradation rates of AUR. Moreover, the increase of LCI was detected as litter decomposition proceeding for both species, implying that litter quality decreases considerably with decomposition. C. carlesii foliar litter quality decreased more rapidly than that of Chinese fir in the stream.
Conclusions
The ACID in a foliar litter can be more easily degraded than AUR in a subtropical forest stream. Precipitation, flow velocity, and dissolved oxygen are important environmental factors that would facilitate the degradation rates of ACID, whereas few such effects were observed in AUR. These results provide a new reference for deepening our understanding of the dynamic characteristics of litter decomposition in subtropical forest streams.
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Acknowledgements
We would like to thank Editage (www.editage.cn) for English language editing.
Funding
This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (32022056, 31922052, and 32171641).
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Conceptualization, W.W., F.W. and X.Z.; data curation, W.W.; formal analysis, W.W.; funding acquisition, F.W.; investigation, W.W., X.Z., H.G., L.Z., R.W. and X.Z.; visualization, W.W.; writing-original draft, W.W.; writing-review and editing, W.W. and F.W. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
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Wei, W., Zheng, X., Guo, H. et al. Changes in acid-hydrolyzable carbohydrates and acid-unhydrolyzable residue during foliar litter decomposition of Castanopsis carlesii and Chinese fir in a subtropical forest headwater stream. J Soils Sediments 23, 1617–1627 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-022-03421-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-022-03421-7