9 research outputs found
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The extent and applications of metal accumulation and hyperaccumulation in Philippine plants
To examine the potential applications of hyperaccumulator plants in the Philippines we reviewed current data on the extent of metal hyperaccumulation in native species, and partitioning of metals within the plant tissue.
Twenty-eight species had reported tissue concentrations above the hyperaccumulator threshold, eleven species were endemic to the Philippines. Nickel was present in higher concentrations in the aboveground tissue than the belowground tissue, but the reverse was found for copper, aluminium, and chromium.
The fact that copper accumulates belowground rather than above, and most hyperaccumulators of nickel identified were trees has implications for the potential of phytoextraction using native Philippines flora
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Plant, soil and faunal responses to a contrived pH gradient
© 2021, The Author(s). Purpose: To build a more holistic understanding of soil pH change we assessed the synchronised effects of a contrived soil pH change on soil chemistry, vegetation growth and nutrition, and soil faunal abundance and diversity. Methods: We established a fifteen year old field experiment with a contrived pH gradient (pH 4.3 to 6.3) and measured the effect on soil chemistry, plant biomass and elemental composition and the impact of these changes on soil fauna (earthworms, nematodes, rotifers and tardigrades) and biological indices (based on ecological group structures of earthworms and nematodes). A single 20 × 20 × 20 cm soil block was excavated from each sample site to directly attribute biotic parameters in the block to the abiotic (soil) conditions. Results: Acidification affected the extractable concentrations of Al, Ca, Mn and P and the C:N ratio of the soil and caused a reduction in plant Ca (rs for pH vs Ca = 0.804 p < 0.01), an increase in plant Mn (rs = −0.450 p = 0.019), along with significant decrease in root:shoot ratio (rs = 0.638, p < 0.01). There was a significant positive correlation between pH and earthworm index (rs = 0.606, p < 0.01), and a negative correlation between pH and nematode index (rs = −0.515, p < 0.01). Conclusion: Soil pH influenced the mobility of Ca, Al, Mn and P, which in turn has impacted on plant tissue chemistry and plant biomass ratios. Linked changes in soil chemistry and vegetation had a corresponding effect on the abundance and diversity of nematodes and earthworms in the soil blocks
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Long-term acidification of pH neutral grasslands affects soil biodiversity, fertility and function in a heathland restoration
In the wider context of heathland restoration, we investigated how field scale experimental acidification with sulphur (sulfur)affected soil biodiversity, fertility and function over a period of 17 years. A field experiment was conducted in the Isle of Purbeck, England, using ferrous sulphate and elemental sulphur as acidifying agents. We tested the effects of acidification on soil fertility, plant communities, litter decomposition, microbiology (including fungi bacteria and actinomycetes), arbuscular and ericoid mycorrhizal colonisation, and soil fauna (including earthworms, nematodes, rotifers and tardigrades). We found that elemental sulphur had a considerable and persistent effect on soil pH, lowering it to levels found in the surrounding reference acid grassland and heathland sites. A newly adapted heathland restoration index based on soil chemistry, found that elemental sulphur was by far the most successful treatment leading to soil conditions similar to the heathlands. Overall, acidification caused a loss of base cations and an increase in toxic aluminium compounds. Consequently the more mesotrophic components of soil biology were reduced by acidification during the course of the experiment. This transformed the soil biological system into one typical of acid grasslands and heathlands. Concomitant litter decomposition was similarly inhibited by acidification, with the microbiota more strongly hindered in acidified soil than the macroscopic fauna. Acidification resulted in a reduction in nematode and rotifer abundance and earthworm biomass. The vegetation community was also strongly modified by the elemental sulphur treatments and, where grazing was restricted, soil acidification allowed a restored heathland community to endure. Arbuscular mycorrhizal colonisation of grasses was reduced where heather plants were established, while ericoid mycorrhizas had developed sufficient populations in the acidified pastures to match the colonisation rate in the native heathlands
Reading tea leaves worldwide: Decoupled drivers of initial litter decomposition mass-loss rate and stabilization
The breakdown of plant material fuels soil functioning and biodiversity. Currently, process understanding of global decomposition patterns and the drivers of such patterns are hampered by the lack of coherent large-scale datasets. We buried 36,000 individual litterbags (tea bags) worldwide and found an overall negative correlation between initial mass-loss rates and stabilization factors of plant-derived carbon, using the Tea Bag Index (TBI). The stabilization factor quantifies the degree to which easy-to-degrade components accumulate during early-stage decomposition (e.g. by environmental limitations). However, agriculture and an interaction between moisture and temperature led to a decoupling between initial mass-loss rates and stabilization, notably in colder locations. Using TBI improved mass-loss estimates of natural litter compared to models that ignored stabilization. Ignoring the transformation of dead plant material to more recalcitrant substances during early-stage decomposition, and the environmental control of this transformation, could overestimate carbon losses during early decomposition in carbon cycle models
Reading tea leaves worldwide: Decoupled drivers of initial litter decomposition mass‐loss rate and stabilization
The breakdown of plant material fuels soil functioning and biodiversity. Currently, process understanding of global decomposition patterns and the drivers of such patterns are hampered by the lack of coherent large-scale datasets. We buried 36,000 individual litterbags (tea bags) worldwide and found an overall negative correlation between initial mass-loss rates and stabilization factors of plant-derived carbon, using the Tea Bag Index (TBI). The stabilization factor quantifies the degree to which easy-to-degrade components accumulate during early-stage decomposition (e.g. by environmental limitations). However, agriculture and an interaction between moisture and temperature led to a decoupling between initial mass-loss rates and stabilization, notably in colder locations. Using TBI improved mass-loss estimates of natural litter compared to models that ignored stabilization. Ignoring the transformation of dead plant material to more recalcitrant substances during early-stage decomposition, and the environmental control of this transformation, could overestimate carbon losses during early decomposition in carbon cycle models
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Reading tea leaves worldwide: decoupled drivers of initial litter decomposition mass-loss rate and stabilisation
The breakdown of plant material fuels soil functioning and biodiversity. Currently, process understanding of global decomposition patterns and the drivers of such patterns are hampered by the lack of coherent large-scale datasets. We buried 36,000 individual litterbags (tea bags) worldwide and found an overall negative correlation between initial mass-loss rates and stabilization factors of plant-derived carbon, using the Tea Bag Index (TBI). The stabilization factor quantifies the degree to which easy-to-degrade components accumulate during early-stage decomposition (e.g. by environmental limitations). However, agriculture and an interaction between moisture and temperature led to a decoupling between initial mass-loss rates and stabilization, notably in colder locations. Using TBI improved mass-loss estimates of natural litter compared to models that ignored stabilization. Ignoring the transformation of dead plant material to more recalcitrant substances during early-stage decomposition, and the environmental control of this transformation, could overestimate carbon losses during early decomposition in carbon cycle models
Reading tea leaves worldwide: decoupled drivers of initial litter decomposition mass‐loss rate and stabilization
The breakdown of plant material fuels soil functioning and biodiversity. Currently, process understanding of global decomposition patterns and the drivers of such patterns are hampered by the lack of coherent large‐scale datasets. We buried 36,000 individual litterbags (tea bags) worldwide and found an overall negative correlation between initial mass‐loss rates and stabilization factors of plant‐derived carbon, using the Tea Bag Index (TBI). The stabilization factor quantifies the degree to which easy‐to‐degrade components accumulate during early‐stage decomposition (e.g. by environmental limitations). However, agriculture and an interaction between moisture and temperature led to a decoupling between initial mass‐loss rates and stabilization, notably in colder locations. Using TBI improved mass‐loss estimates of natural litter compared to models that ignored stabilization. Ignoring the transformation of dead plant material to more recalcitrant substances during early‐stage decomposition, and the environmental control of this transformation, could overestimate carbon losses during early decomposition in carbon cycle models
Distinct microbial communities alter litter decomposition rates in a fertilized coastal plain wetland
Reading tea leaves worldwide : decoupled drivers of initial litter decomposition mass-loss rate and stabilization
The breakdown of plant material fuels soil functioning and biodiversity. Currently, process understanding of global decomposition patterns and the drivers of such patterns are hampered by the lack of coherent large-scale datasets. We buried 36,000 individual litterbags (tea bags) worldwide and found an overall negative correlation between initial mass-loss rates and stabilization factors of plant-derived carbon, using the Tea Bag Index (TBI). The stabilization factor quantifies the degree to which easy-to-degrade components accumulate during early-stage decomposition (e.g. by environmental limitations). However, agriculture and an interaction between moisture and temperature led to a decoupling between initial mass-loss rates and stabilization, notably in colder locations. Using TBI improved mass-loss estimates of natural litter compared to models that ignored stabilization. Ignoring the transformation of dead plant material to more recalcitrant substances during early-stage decomposition, and the environmental control of this transformation, could overestimate carbon losses during early decomposition in carbon cycle models