JOURNAL OF NANJING FORESTRY UNIVERSITY ›› 2020, Vol. 44 ›› Issue (6): 55-62.doi: 10.3969/j.issn.1000-2006.201903015

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Effects of nitrogen and phosphorus additions on litterfall production and nutrient dynamics in evergreen broad-leaved forests

ZHAO Xiaoya(), GUAN Mengran, SUN Mengyao, WANG Zefu, XU Xiaoniu*()   

  1. School of Forestry & Landscape of Architecture, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036, China
  • Received:2019-03-05 Revised:2019-04-26 Online:2020-11-30 Published:2020-12-07
  • Contact: XU Xiaoniu E-mail:Zminini@163.com;xnxu2007@ahau.edu.cn

Abstract:

【Objective】Litterfall is an important component of net primary productivity of forests. This study deals with the response of litter production and nutrient return to nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) additions in subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forests to achieve a sustainable management of the forest. 【Method】A simulated nitrogen deposition experiment was conducted in the evergreen broad-leaved Castanopsis eyrei forest and C. sclerophylla forest; the experiment was commenced from May 2017 to April 2018 in Chizhou, Anhui Province. The experimental design consisted of N [N, 100 kg /(hm2·a)), N+P [N 100 kg /(hm2·a) + P 50 kg /(hm2·a)] treatments, and a control (CK, stream water only without fertilizer). 【Result】The annual litterfall productions of C. eyrei and C. sclerophylla forests were the highest in N+P treatment with 9.502 and 7.120 t/(hm2·a), respectively, followed by N treatment with the annual litterfall of 8.393 and 7.041 t/(hm2·a), respectively, and then CK with the annual litterfall of 7.724 and 6.697 t/(hm2·a), respectively. There were no significant differences among the treatments. The percentage of the litterfall component was in the following order: foliage > branch > miscellaneous > sexual organs,while the percentage of the litterfall component was in the following order: foliage > branch > sexual organs >miscellaneous for N+P treatment in C. sclerophylla forests. The annual mean weighted N concentrations of litterfall were 14.199 and 13.684 g/kg for N treatment, 13.863 and 13.650 g/kg for N+P treatment, 13.384 and 13.094 g/kg for CK in C. sclerophylla and C. eyrei forests, respectively. The order of annual mean weighted P concentrations of litterfall was ranked as N+P > CK > N for the two forest stands and there was no significant difference among the treatments. Additionally, no significant difference was observed in annual returns of N, P, and ratios of N/P among treatments for the two forest stands. 【Conclusion】The addition of N plus P had a synergistic effect on the litterfall production in subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forests. Our results suggest that the addition of P alleviates the phosphorus limitation caused by the high nitrogen deposition.

Key words: evergreen broad-leaved forest, litterfall production, nitrogen and phosphorus addition, nutrient concentration, nutrient return, Castanopsis eyrei, C. sclerophylla

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