Preliminary assessment of the effect of waterseeding technique and herbicide application on weedy rice tillers

Metsulfuron methyl has been recommended to control weedy rice under wetseeded conditions (Zainal and Azmi, unpubl. data, 1994). Another weed control method involves broadcasting pregerminated seeds using the water-seeding technique. This study was undertaken to evaluate the effect of seeding methods and herbicide application on weedy rice tillers 45 d after sowing (DAS). A factorial experiment was carried out in a glasshouse at Putra University Malaysia. Treatment 1 (T1) was the wet-seeding method—broadcasting seed on saturated soil and introducing water up to 10-cm flooding depth 7 d after seeding with (H1) and without herbicide (H0). Treatment 2 (T2) was water seeding—continuous flooding at 10-cm depth from seeding to date of data collection with H1 and H0. All treatments were replicated five times and arranged in a factorial randomized complete block design. Both weedy rice seeds and pregerminated MR219 seeds were sown on the soil surface (Tropic Fluvaquent) into 25.5-cm-diameter × 40-cm-high experimental containers using the MARDI-recommended seed rate (500 seeds m–2) (MARDI 2004) to achieve uniform establishment. Herbicide (metsulfuron methyl 1.75% combined with bensulfuron methyl 8.25%) was applied 14 DAS at 0.05 kg ai ha–1. Water was brought in 7 DAS for treatments with herbicide (T1) to facilitate herbicide application. The effects of water seeding and herbicide application on tillering ability of weedy rice (45 DAS) were analyzed using ANOVA. The means of these treatments were compared using Duncan’s new multiple range test. Only the seeding method was significantly different at P ≤0.05. There were no significant effects or interactions for the other sources of variation tested (see table). Weedy rice tillers decreased in both seeding methods (see figure)

A universal description for the experimental behavior of salt-(in)dependent oligocation-induced DNA condensation

We report a systematic study of the condensation of plasmid DNA by oligocations with variation of the charge, Z, from +3 to +31. The oligocations include a series of synthetic linear ε-oligo(l-lysines), (denoted εKn, n = 3–10, 31; n is the number of lysines equal to the ligand charge) and branched α-substituted homologues of εK10: εYK10, εLK10 (Z = +10); εRK10, εYRK10 and εLYRK10 (Z = +20). Data were obtained by light scattering, UV absorption monitored precipitation assay and isothermal titration calorimetry in a wide range concentrations of DNA and monovalent salt (KCl, CKCl). The dependence of EC50 (ligand concentration at the midpoint of DNA condensation) on CKCl shows the existence of a salt-independent regime at low CKCl and a salt-dependent regime with a steep rise of EC50 with increase of CKCl. Increase of the ligand charge shifts the transition from the salt-independent to salt-dependent regime to higher CKCl. A novel and simple relationship describing the EC50 dependence on DNA concentration, charge of the ligand and the salt-dependent dissociation constant of the ligand–DNA complex is derived. For the ε-oligolysines εK3–εK10, the experimental dependencies of EC50 on CKCl and Z are well-described by an equation with a common set of parameters. Implications from our findings for understanding DNA condensation in chromatin are discussed

SEX-DEPENDENT IMPACT OF MICROBIOTA STATUS ON CEREBRAL μ -OPIOID RECEPTOR DENSITY IN FISCHER RATS.

μ-opioid receptors (MOPr) play a critical role in social play, reward, and pain, in a sex and age-dependent manner. There is evidence to suggest that sex and age differences in brain MOPr density may be responsible for this variability, however, little is known about the factors driving these differences in cerebral MOPr density. Emerging evidence highlights gut microbiota's critical influence and its bidirectional interaction with the brain on neurodevelopment. Therefore, we aimed to determine the impact of gut microbiota on MOPr density in male and female brains at different developmental stages. Quantitative [3 H]DAMGO autoradiographic binding was carried out in the forebrain of male and female conventional (CON), and germ-free (GF) rats at postnatal days (PND) 8, 22, and 116-150. Significant 'microbiota status x sex,' 'age x brain region' interactions, and microbiota status- and age-dependent effects on MOPr binding were uncovered. Microbiota status influenced MOPr levels in males but not females, with higher MOPr levels observed in GF vs. CON rats overall regions and age groups. In contrast, no overall sex differences were observed in GF or CON rats. Interestingly, within-age planned comparison analysis conducted in frontal cortical and brain regions associated with reward revealed that this microbiota effect was restricted only to PND22 rats. Thus, this pilot study uncovers the critical sex-dependent role of gut microbiota in regulating cerebral MOPr density, which is restricted to the sensitive developmental period of weaning. This may have implications in understanding the importance of microbiota during early development on opioid signalling and associated behaviours

Stick-release pattern in stretching single condensed polyelectrolyte toroids

Using Langevin dynamics simulations, we study elastic response of single semiflexible polyelectrolytes to an external force pulling on the chain ends, to mimic the stretching of DNA molecules by optical tweezers. The linear chains are condensed by multivalent counterions into toroids. The force-extension curve shows a series of sawtooth-like structure, known as the stick-release patterns in experiments. We demonstrate that these patterns are a consequence of the loop-by-loop unfolding of the toroidal structure. Moreover, the dynamics, how the internal structure of chain varies under tension, is examined. At the first stage of the stretching, the toroidal condensate decreases its size until the loss of the first loop in the toroid and then, oscillates around this size for the rest of the unfolding process. The normal vector of the toroid is pulled toward the pulling-force direction and swings back to its early direction repeatedly when the toroidal chain looses a loop. The results provide new and valuable information concerning the elasticity and the microscopic structure and dynamic pathway of salt-condensed DNA molecules being stretched.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in Macromolecule

Chromatin and epigenetics: current biophysical views

Recent advances in high-throughput sequencing experiments and their theoretical descriptions have determined fast dynamics of the "chromatin and epigenetics" field, with new concepts appearing at high rate. This field includes but is not limited to the study of DNA-protein-RNA interactions, chromatin packing properties at different scales, regulation of gene expression and protein trafficking in the cell nucleus, binding site search in the crowded chromatin environment and modulation of physical interactions by covalent chemical modifications of the binding partners. The current special issue does not pretend for the full coverage of the field, but it rather aims to capture its development and provide a snapshot of the most recent concepts and approaches. Eighteen open-access articles comprising this issue provide a delicate balance between current theoretical and experimental biophysical approaches to uncover chromatin structure and understand epigenetic regulation, allowing free flow of new ideas and preliminary results

Effects of Climate and Atmospheric Nitrogen Deposition on Early to Mid-Term Stage Litter Decomposition Across Biomes

open263siWe acknowledge support by the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, funded by the German Research Foundation (FZT 118), Scientific Grant Agency VEGA(GrantNo.2/0101/18), as well as by the European Research Council under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program (Grant Agreement No. 677232)Litter decomposition is a key process for carbon and nutrient cycling in terrestrial ecosystems and is mainly controlled by environmental conditions, substrate quantity and quality as well as microbial community abundance and composition. In particular, the effects of climate and atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition on litter decomposition and its temporal dynamics are of significant importance, since their effects might change over the course of the decomposition process. Within the TeaComposition initiative, we incubated Green and Rooibos teas at 524 sites across nine biomes. We assessed how macroclimate and atmospheric inorganic N deposition under current and predicted scenarios (RCP 2.6, RCP 8.5) might affect litter mass loss measured after 3 and 12 months. Our study shows that the early to mid-term mass loss at the global scale was affected predominantly by litter quality (explaining 73% and 62% of the total variance after 3 and 12 months, respectively) followed by climate and N deposition. The effects of climate were not litter-specific and became increasingly significant as decomposition progressed, with MAP explaining 2% and MAT 4% of the variation after 12 months of incubation. The effect of N deposition was litter-specific, and significant only for 12-month decomposition of Rooibos tea at the global scale. However, in the temperate biome where atmospheric N deposition rates are relatively high, the 12-month mass loss of Green and Rooibos teas decreased significantly with increasing N deposition, explaining 9.5% and 1.1% of the variance, respectively. The expected changes in macroclimate and N deposition at the global scale by the end of this century are estimated to increase the 12-month mass loss of easily decomposable litter by 1.1-3.5% and of the more stable substrates by 3.8-10.6%, relative to current mass loss. In contrast, expected changes in atmospheric N deposition will decrease the mid-term mass loss of high-quality litter by 1.4-2.2% and that of low-quality litter by 0.9-1.5% in the temperate biome. Our results suggest that projected increases in N deposition may have the capacity to dampen the climate-driven increases in litter decomposition depending on the biome and decomposition stage of substrate.openKwon T.; Shibata H.; Kepfer-Rojas S.; Schmidt I.K.; Larsen K.S.; Beier C.; Berg B.; Verheyen K.; Lamarque J.-F.; Hagedorn F.; Eisenhauer N.; Djukic I.; Caliman A.; Paquette A.; Gutierrez-Giron A.; Petraglia A.; Augustaitis A.; Saillard A.; Ruiz-Fernandez A.C.; Sousa A.I.; Lillebo A.I.; Da Rocha Gripp A.; Lamprecht A.; Bohner A.; Francez A.-J.; Malyshev A.; Andric A.; Stanisci A.; Zolles A.; Avila A.; Virkkala A.-M.; Probst A.; Ouin A.; Khuroo A.A.; Verstraeten A.; Stefanski A.; Gaxiola A.; Muys B.; Gozalo B.; Ahrends B.; Yang B.; Erschbamer B.; Rodriguez Ortiz C.E.; Christiansen C.T.; Meredieu C.; Mony C.; Nock C.; Wang C.-P.; Baum C.; Rixen C.; Delire C.; Piscart C.; Andrews C.; Rebmann C.; Branquinho C.; Jan D.; Wundram D.; Vujanovic D.; Adair E.C.; Ordonez-Regil E.; Crawford E.R.; Tropina E.F.; Hornung E.; Groner E.; Lucot E.; Gacia E.; Levesque E.; Benedito E.; Davydov E.A.; Bolzan F.P.; Maestre F.T.; Maunoury-Danger F.; Kitz F.; Hofhansl F.; Hofhansl G.; De Almeida Lobo F.; Souza F.L.; Zehetner F.; Koffi F.K.; Wohlfahrt G.; Certini G.; Pinha G.D.; Gonzlez G.; Canut G.; Pauli H.; Bahamonde H.A.; Feldhaar H.; Jger H.; Serrano H.C.; Verheyden H.; Bruelheide H.; Meesenburg H.; Jungkunst H.; Jactel H.; Kurokawa H.; Yesilonis I.; Melece I.; Van Halder I.; Quiros I.G.; Fekete I.; Ostonen I.; Borovsk J.; Roales J.; Shoqeir J.H.; Jean-Christophe Lata J.; Probst J.-L.; Vijayanathan J.; Dolezal J.; Sanchez-Cabeza J.-A.; Merlet J.; Loehr J.; Von Oppen J.; Loffler J.; Benito Alonso J.L.; Cardoso-Mohedano J.-G.; Penuelas J.; Morina J.C.; Quinde J.D.; Jimnez J.J.; Alatalo J.M.; Seeber J.; Kemppinen J.; Stadler J.; Kriiska K.; Van Den Meersche K.; Fukuzawa K.; Szlavecz K.; Juhos K.; Gerhtov K.; Lajtha K.; Jennings K.; Jennings J.; Ecology P.; Hoshizaki K.; Green K.; Steinbauer K.; Pazianoto L.; Dienstbach L.; Yahdjian L.; Williams L.J.; Brigham L.; Hanna L.; Hanna H.; Rustad L.; Morillas L.; Silva Carneiro L.; Di Martino L.; Villar L.; Fernandes Tavares L.A.; Morley M.; Winkler M.; Lebouvier M.; Tomaselli M.; Schaub M.; Glushkova M.; Torres M.G.A.; De Graaff M.-A.; Pons M.-N.; Bauters M.; Mazn M.; Frenzel M.; Wagner M.; Didion M.; Hamid M.; Lopes M.; Apple M.; Weih M.; Mojses M.; Gualmini M.; Vadeboncoeur M.; Bierbaumer M.; Danger M.; Scherer-Lorenzen M.; Ruek M.; Isabellon M.; Di Musciano M.; Carbognani M.; Zhiyanski M.; Puca M.; Barna M.; Ataka M.; Luoto M.; H. Alsafaran M.; Barsoum N.; Tokuchi N.; Korboulewsky N.; Lecomte N.; Filippova N.; Hlzel N.; Ferlian O.; Romero O.; Pinto-Jr O.; Peri P.; Dan Turtureanu P.; Haase P.; Macreadie P.; Reich P.B.; Petk P.; Choler P.; Marmonier P.; Ponette Q.; Dettogni Guariento R.; Canessa R.; Kiese R.; Hewitt R.; Weigel R.; Kanka R.; Cazzolla Gatti R.; Martins R.L.; Ogaya R.; Georges R.; Gaviln R.G.; Wittlinger S.; Puijalon S.; Suzuki S.; Martin S.; Anja S.; Gogo S.; Schueler S.; Drollinger S.; Mereu S.; Wipf S.; Trevathan-Tackett S.; Stoll S.; Lfgren S.; Trogisch S.; Seitz S.; Glatzel S.; Venn S.; Dousset S.; Mori T.; Sato T.; Hishi T.; Nakaji T.; Jean-Paul T.; Camboulive T.; Spiegelberger T.; Scholten T.; Mozdzer T.J.; Kleinebecker T.; Runk T.; Ramaswiela T.; Hiura T.; Enoki T.; Ursu T.-M.; Di Cella U.M.; Hamer U.; Klaus V.; Di Cecco V.; Rego V.; Fontana V.; Piscov V.; Bretagnolle V.; Maire V.; Farjalla V.; Pascal V.; Zhou W.; Luo W.; Parker W.; Parker P.; Kominam Y.; Kotrocz Z.; Utsumi Y.Kwon T.; Shibata H.; Kepfer-Rojas S.; Schmidt I.K.; Larsen K.S.; Beier C.; Berg B.; Verheyen K.; Lamarque J.-F.; Hagedorn F.; Eisenhauer N.; Djukic I.; Caliman A.; Paquette A.; Gutierrez-Giron A.; Petraglia A.; Augustaitis A.; Saillard A.; Ruiz-Fernandez A.C.; Sousa A.I.; Lillebo A.I.; Da Rocha Gripp A.; Lamprecht A.; Bohner A.; Francez A.-J.; Malyshev A.; Andric A.; Stanisci A.; Zolles A.; Avila A.; Virkkala A.-M.; Probst A.; Ouin A.; Khuroo A.A.; Verstraeten A.; Stefanski A.; Gaxiola A.; Muys B.; Gozalo B.; Ahrends B.; Yang B.; Erschbamer B.; Rodriguez Ortiz C.E.; Christiansen C.T.; Meredieu C.; Mony C.; Nock C.; Wang C.-P.; Baum C.; Rixen C.; Delire C.; Piscart C.; Andrews C.; Rebmann C.; Branquinho C.; Jan D.; Wundram D.; Vujanovic D.; Adair E.C.; Ordonez-Regil E.; Crawford E.R.; Tropina E.F.; Hornung E.; Groner E.; Lucot E.; Gacia E.; Levesque E.; Benedito E.; Davydov E.A.; Bolzan F.P.; Maestre F.T.; Maunoury-Danger F.; Kitz F.; Hofhansl F.; Hofhansl G.; De Almeida Lobo F.; Souza F.L.; Zehetner F.; Koffi F.K.; Wohlfahrt G.; Certini G.; Pinha G.D.; Gonzlez G.; Canut G.; Pauli H.; Bahamonde H.A.; Feldhaar H.; Jger H.; Serrano H.C.; Verheyden H.; Bruelheide H.; Meesenburg H.; Jungkunst H.; Jactel H.; Kurokawa H.; Yesilonis I.; Melece I.; Van Halder I.; Quiros I.G.; Fekete I.; Ostonen I.; Borovsk J.; Roales J.; Shoqeir J.H.; Jean-Christophe Lata J.; Probst J.-L.; Vijayanathan J.; Dolezal J.; Sanchez-Cabeza J.-A.; Merlet J.; Loehr J.; Von Oppen J.; Loffler J.; Benito Alonso J.L.; Cardoso-Mohedano J.-G.; Penuelas J.; Morina J.C.; Quinde J.D.; Jimnez J.J.; Alatalo J.M.; Seeber J.; Kemppinen J.; Stadler J.; Kriiska K.; Van Den Meersche K.; Fukuzawa K.; Szlavecz K.; Juhos K.; Gerhtov K.; Lajtha K.; Jennings K.; Jennings J.; Ecology P.; Hoshizaki K.; Green K.; Steinbauer K.; Pazianoto L.; Dienstbach L.; Yahdjian L.; Williams L.J.; Brigham L.; Hanna L.; Hanna H.; Rustad L.; Morillas L.; Silva Carneiro L.; Di Martino L.; Villar L.; Fernandes Tavares L.A.; Morley M.; Winkler M.; Lebouvier M.; Tomaselli M.; Schaub M.; Glushkova M.; Torres M.G.A.; De Graaff M.-A.; Pons M.-N.; Bauters M.; Mazn M.; Frenzel M.; Wagner M.; Didion M.; Hamid M.; Lopes M.; Apple M.; Weih M.; Mojses M.; Gualmini M.; Vadeboncoeur M.; Bierbaumer M.; Danger M.; Scherer-Lorenzen M.; Ruek M.; Isabellon M.; Di Musciano M.; Carbognani M.; Zhiyanski M.; Puca M.; Barna M.; Ataka M.; Luoto M.; H. Alsafaran M.; Barsoum N.; Tokuchi N.; Korboulewsky N.; Lecomte N.; Filippova N.; Hlzel N.; Ferlian O.; Romero O.; Pinto-Jr O.; Peri P.; Dan Turtureanu P.; Haase P.; Macreadie P.; Reich P.B.; Petk P.; Choler P.; Marmonier P.; Ponette Q.; Dettogni Guariento R.; Canessa R.; Kiese R.; Hewitt R.; Weigel R.; Kanka R.; Cazzolla Gatti R.; Martins R.L.; Ogaya R.; Georges R.; Gaviln R.G.; Wittlinger S.; Puijalon S.; Suzuki S.; Martin S.; Anja S.; Gogo S.; Schueler S.; Drollinger S.; Mereu S.; Wipf S.; Trevathan-Tackett S.; Stoll S.; Lfgren S.; Trogisch S.; Seitz S.; Glatzel S.; Venn S.; Dousset S.; Mori T.; Sato T.; Hishi T.; Nakaji T.; Jean-Paul T.; Camboulive T.; Spiegelberger T.; Scholten T.; Mozdzer T.J.; Kleinebecker T.; Runk T.; Ramaswiela T.; Hiura T.; Enoki T.; Ursu T.-M.; Di Cella U.M.; Hamer U.; Klaus V.; Di Cecco V.; Rego V.; Fontana V.; Piscov V.; Bretagnolle V.; Maire V.; Farjalla V.; Pascal V.; Zhou W.; Luo W.; Parker W.; Parker P.; Kominam Y.; Kotrocz Z.; Utsumi Y

Effects of climate and atmospheric nitrogen deposition on early to mid-term stage litter decomposition across biomes

Litter decomposition is a key process for carbon and nutrient cycling in terrestrial ecosystems and is mainly controlled by environmental conditions, substrate quantity and quality as well as microbial community abundance and composition. In particular, the effects of climate and atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition on litter decomposition and its temporal dynamics are of significant importance, since their effects might change over the course of the decomposition process. Within the TeaComposition initiative, we incubated Green and Rooibos teas at 524 sites across nine biomes. We assessed how macroclimate and atmospheric inorganic N deposition under current and predicted scenarios (RCP 2.6, RCP 8.5) might affect litter mass loss measured after 3 and 12 months. Our study shows that the early to mid-term mass loss at the global scale was affected predominantly by litter quality (explaining 73% and 62% of the total variance after 3 and 12 months, respectively) followed by climate and N deposition. The effects of climate were not litter-specific and became increasingly significant as decomposition progressed, with MAP explaining 2% and MAT 4% of the variation after 12 months of incubation. The effect of N deposition was litter-specific, and significant only for 12-month decomposition of Rooibos tea at the global scale. However, in the temperate biome where atmospheric N deposition rates are relatively high, the 12-month mass loss of Green and Rooibos teas decreased significantly with increasing N deposition, explaining 9.5% and 1.1% of the variance, respectively. The expected changes in macroclimate and N deposition at the global scale by the end of this century are estimated to increase the 12-month mass loss of easily decomposable litter by 1.1-3.5% and of the more stable substrates by 3.8-10.6%, relative to current mass loss. In contrast, expected changes in atmospheric N deposition will decrease the mid-term mass loss of high-quality litter by 1.4-2.2% and that of low-quality litter by 0.9-1.5% in the temperate biome. Our results suggest that projected increases in N deposition may have the capacity to dampen the climate-driven increases in litter decomposition depending on the biome and decomposition stage of substrate. © Copyright © 2021 Kwon, Shibata, Kepfer-Rojas, Schmidt, Larsen, Beier, Berg, Verheyen, Lamarque, Hagedorn, Eisenhauer, Djukic and TeaComposition Network

Control of Weedy Rice Infestation by Enhancing Rice Establishment in Anaerobic Direct Seeding

Weedy rice or ‘padi angin’ is a serious threat to the rice industry of Malaysia. Its easy grain shattering characteristics has been reported to reduce rice yield up to 74%. The shift from transplanting techniques to direct seeding of planting rice has increased the weedy rice infestation. Preliminary study had shown that pre- treated rice seeds used in anaerobic seeding technique were able to out compete the growth of weedy rice and simultaneously increase the rice establishment. The objectives of this study were; a) to evaluate different rice seed germination enhancers in anaerobic (water) seeding, b) to evaluate seedling emergence in different water temperatures in anaerobic seeding and c) to evaluate rice establishment using pre-treated seeds and herbicide in controlling weedy rice in anaerobic seeding. Three rice seed varieties (MRQ 50, MR 167 and MR 219) were given treatments. The treatments tested were rice seeds soaked in water (control, T1); rice seeds coated with calcium peroxide (sodium silicate binding agent), [T2]; seeds treated with 1% peroxide base material [T3], seeds treated with 0.2% dilute acid [T4] and seeds treated with seaweeds [T5]. The seedling emergence was evaluated at three days after sowing (DAS) and the rice seedling growth was evaluated fourteen days after sowing (DAS) in glasshouse trials. The number of emerged seedlings for T3 was significantly higher for MR167 and MR219 compared to control at three DAS. However, there were no significant differences for MRQ 50 for emerged seedlings compared to control. Generally, there were no interaction effects between varieties and treatments tested for seedling height, root length and root surface area. T3 showed a significant increase of 7% for seedling height compared to control. However, the performance of T2 was inferior to the other seed treatments as well as control for all varieties tested. The seedling height, root length and root surface area of rice seedlings of T2 were reduced significantly to 27%, 38% and 90%, respectively compared to control at fourteen DAS. T4 and T5 performed the same as control for seedling height, root length and root surface area. In a laboratory study, pre-treated rice seeds were sown in soil –filled petri dishes and placed in water bath. Water level was maintained at 5 cm and temperatures were adjusted according to treatments (T1: 30°C, T2: 35°C, T3: 40°C and T4: 45°C). Seedling height increased significantly by 11% at 35°C compared to control (30°C). Water temperature of more than 40ºC significantly inhibited the rice seedling emergence and growth. In a glasshouse trial, the effect of pre-treated cultivated rice seeds and herbicide application on the tiller establishment of cultivated rice and weedy rice in aerobic (wet) and anaerobic (water) seeding were evaluated. There were no significant differences for herbicide effects on weedy rice tillers. However, seedling emergence of weedy rice at 14 DAS and tiller establishment at 45 DAS was significantly reduced in water seeding compared to wet seeding. In a field trial, pre-treated seeds were sown into divided plots, T1: wet seeding (control) and T2: water seeding and the weedy rice population and rice yield were evaluated at harvest. Water seeding technique significantly reduced weedy rice population almost 52% compared to control at 90 DAS. In this trial, farmer’s received a surplus in yield using water seeding technique compared to wet seeding technique as water seeding increased net rice yield by 15% (almost one ton/ha). The use of pre-treated seeds for the anaerobic direct seeding technique had an advantage on seedling vigor that out competed the weedy rice growth, and increased the rice seeds viability

Estimating carbon storage of forest floor components at varying altitudes in tropical forest of Pahang, Malaysia

Increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations at alarming rates has triggered the need to conserve and monitor carbon (C) stocks for climate change mitigation. Tropical forests are important carbon sinks which are dynamic due to topographic variations, biomass components, forest floor quality, decomposition processes and spatial variation. Precise and reliable estimation of C stocks and its confounding processes that release/store C are still absent in tropical montane and lowland forests in Malaysia. The objectives of this study were i) to quantify above and belowground biomass C stocks in a lowland forest and montane forest with varying topography; ii) to determine the potential indicators (i.e. litter and duff decomposition rate, forest floor component and properties, soil CO2 fluxes and C:N ratios) of soil C storage and iii) to determine the spatial variability of litter, soil C, C:N, and forest floor component depths of a tropical lowland forest and tropical montane forest with varying topography. A systematic design of 10 m x 10 m plots was established for soil (0- 15 cm depth), litter and aboveground biomass sampling along three slope positions at the montane forest and one plot in the lowland forest. Basic soil characteristics and botanical distribution were determined. A litter bag study and soil CO2 flux measurements were conducted for 480 days in the montane and lowland forest.Forest floor materials were carbon dated and segregated for precise bulk density and carbon fraction measurements. Soil C, C:N, litter depth and various decomposing layers were explored using geostatistics to determine spatial variability. Litter and soil carbon stocks were significantly higher (3 and 5-fold) in the montane forest compared to the lowlands. The aboveground biomass ranged from 100 to 120 Mg C ha-1 and was the most dominant pool (> 40%) for all sites. The decomposition decay rate constant, k ranged from -0.002 to – 0.004 day-1 for the tropical montane and lowland forest. Lowlands showed increased mass loss and significant linear regression relationships between mass loss and litter quality except for C, lignin and cellulose. Soil CO2 fluxes were higher in the lowlands and positively correlated with decomposition and water filled pore space (WFPS). Duff (hemic + sapric) segregation resulted higher bulk density values (0.2) compared to litter (0.04) and revealed a more precise carbon fraction for litter (0.43) and duff (0.55) to be used for forest floor C stocks predictions utilizing significant linear regressions. Duff may reside up to 60 years. Duff decomposition is impeded even at higher temperatures in Forest Research Institute Malaysia campus and retained most of its carbon, nitrogen and lignin. Relationship between soil C:N and C were strong for all plots. Soil total C, C:N, and litter depth exhibited spatial variability at both forest types. Similarly, the litter, hemic and the total forest floor depth fractions confirmed spatial variations. Most variables exhibited a strong spatial dependence with the exception of C:N at the sideslope, litter depth at Jengka VJR and hemic depth at the summit (moderate). Surface maps for total C, C:N, litter depths, hemic and total forest floor depth showed distinct spatial clustering and displayed acceptable accuracy of interpolated values. Forest floor in the montane forest acts as an important C stock in the tropical forest which needs to accounted precisely for national C accounting. Research and developments in monitoring C stocks in montane forests within national and regional areas must be explored to avoid undestimation