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Revisiting nutrient cycling by litterfall—Insights from 15 years of litter manipulation in old-growth lowland tropical forest

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Revisiting nutrient cycling by litterfall—Insights from 15 years of litter manipulation in old-growth lowland tropical forest. / Sayer, E.J.; Rodtassana, C.; Sheldrake, M. et al.
Tropical Ecosystems in the 21st Century. ed. / Alex J. Dumbrell; Edgar C. Turner; Tom M. Fayle. Academic Press, 2020. p. 173-223 (Advances in Ecological Research).

Research output: Contribution in Book/Report/Proceedings - With ISBN/ISSN › Chapter (peer-reviewed) › peer-review

Harvard

Sayer, EJ, Rodtassana, C, Sheldrake, M, Bréchet, LM, Ashford, OS, Lopez-Sangil, L, Kerdraon-Byrne, D, Castro, B, Turner, BL, Wright, SJ & Tanner, EVJ 2020, Revisiting nutrient cycling by litterfall—Insights from 15 years of litter manipulation in old-growth lowland tropical forest. in AJ Dumbrell, EC Turner & TM Fayle (eds), Tropical Ecosystems in the 21st Century. Advances in Ecological Research, Academic Press, pp. 173-223. https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.aecr.2020.01.002

APA

Sayer, E. J., Rodtassana, C., Sheldrake, M., Bréchet, L. M., Ashford, O. S., Lopez-Sangil, L., Kerdraon-Byrne, D., Castro, B., Turner, B. L., Wright, S. J., & Tanner, E. V. J. (2020). Revisiting nutrient cycling by litterfall—Insights from 15 years of litter manipulation in old-growth lowland tropical forest. In A. J. Dumbrell, E. C. Turner, & T. M. Fayle (Eds.), Tropical Ecosystems in the 21st Century (pp. 173-223). (Advances in Ecological Research). Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.aecr.2020.01.002

Vancouver

Sayer EJ, Rodtassana C, Sheldrake M, Bréchet LM, Ashford OS, Lopez-Sangil L et al. Revisiting nutrient cycling by litterfall—Insights from 15 years of litter manipulation in old-growth lowland tropical forest. In Dumbrell AJ, Turner EC, Fayle TM, editors, Tropical Ecosystems in the 21st Century. Academic Press. 2020. p. 173-223. (Advances in Ecological Research). Epub 2020 Feb 10. doi: 10.1016/bs.aecr.2020.01.002

Author

Sayer, E.J. ; Rodtassana, C. ; Sheldrake, M. et al. / Revisiting nutrient cycling by litterfall—Insights from 15 years of litter manipulation in old-growth lowland tropical forest. Tropical Ecosystems in the 21st Century. editor / Alex J. Dumbrell ; Edgar C. Turner ; Tom M. Fayle. Academic Press, 2020. pp. 173-223 (Advances in Ecological Research).

Bibtex

@inbook{5a5777622c034531824f9c947aee52c9,
title = "Revisiting nutrient cycling by litterfall—Insights from 15 years of litter manipulation in old-growth lowland tropical forest",
abstract = "The crucial role of tropical forests in the global carbon balance is underpinned by their extraordinarily high biomass and productivity, even though the majority of tropical forests grow on nutrient-poor soils. Nutrient cycling by litterfall has long been considered essential for maintaining high primary productivity in lowland tropical forests but few studies have tested this assumption experimentally. We review and synthesise findings from the Gigante Litter Manipulation Project (GLiMP), a long-term experiment in lowland tropical forest in Panama, Central America, in which litter has been removed from or added to large-scale plots for 15 years. We assessed changes in soil and litter nutrient concentrations in response to the experimental treatments and estimated nutrient return and nutrient use efficiency to indicate changes in nutrient cycling. The soil concentrations of most nutrients increased with litter addition and declined with litter removal. Litter removal altered nitrogen, potassium, manganese and zinc cycling, demonstrating the importance of litter inputs for maintaining the availability of these elements to plants. By contrast, litter addition only altered nitrogen cycling and, despite low concentrations of available soil phosphorus, the effects of litter manipulation on phosphorus cycling were inconsistent. We discuss potential mechanisms underlying the observed changes, and we emphasise the importance of decomposition processes in the forest floor for retaining nutrient elements, which partially decouples nutrient cycling from the mineral soil. Finally, by synthesising GLiMP studies conducted during 15 years of litter manipulation, we highlight key knowledge gaps and avenues for future research into tropical forest nutrient cycling.",
keywords = "Forest floor, Litterfall, Litter addition, Litter removal, Nutrient use efficiency, Nutrient cycling, Soil fertility, Trace elements, Tropical lowland forest",
author = "E.J. Sayer and C. Rodtassana and M. Sheldrake and L.M. Br{\'e}chet and O.S. Ashford and L. Lopez-Sangil and D. Kerdraon-Byrne and B. Castro and B.L. Turner and S.J. Wright and E.V.J. Tanner",
year = "2020",
month = mar,
day = "1",
doi = "10.1016/bs.aecr.2020.01.002",
language = "English",
series = "Advances in Ecological Research",
publisher = "Academic Press",
pages = "173--223",
editor = "Dumbrell, {Alex J.} and Turner, {Edgar C.} and Fayle, {Tom M.}",
booktitle = "Tropical Ecosystems in the 21st Century",

}

RIS

TY - CHAP

T1 - Revisiting nutrient cycling by litterfall—Insights from 15 years of litter manipulation in old-growth lowland tropical forest

AU - Sayer, E.J.

AU - Rodtassana, C.

AU - Sheldrake, M.

AU - Bréchet, L.M.

AU - Ashford, O.S.

AU - Lopez-Sangil, L.

AU - Kerdraon-Byrne, D.

AU - Castro, B.

AU - Turner, B.L.

AU - Wright, S.J.

AU - Tanner, E.V.J.

PY - 2020/3/1

Y1 - 2020/3/1

N2 - The crucial role of tropical forests in the global carbon balance is underpinned by their extraordinarily high biomass and productivity, even though the majority of tropical forests grow on nutrient-poor soils. Nutrient cycling by litterfall has long been considered essential for maintaining high primary productivity in lowland tropical forests but few studies have tested this assumption experimentally. We review and synthesise findings from the Gigante Litter Manipulation Project (GLiMP), a long-term experiment in lowland tropical forest in Panama, Central America, in which litter has been removed from or added to large-scale plots for 15 years. We assessed changes in soil and litter nutrient concentrations in response to the experimental treatments and estimated nutrient return and nutrient use efficiency to indicate changes in nutrient cycling. The soil concentrations of most nutrients increased with litter addition and declined with litter removal. Litter removal altered nitrogen, potassium, manganese and zinc cycling, demonstrating the importance of litter inputs for maintaining the availability of these elements to plants. By contrast, litter addition only altered nitrogen cycling and, despite low concentrations of available soil phosphorus, the effects of litter manipulation on phosphorus cycling were inconsistent. We discuss potential mechanisms underlying the observed changes, and we emphasise the importance of decomposition processes in the forest floor for retaining nutrient elements, which partially decouples nutrient cycling from the mineral soil. Finally, by synthesising GLiMP studies conducted during 15 years of litter manipulation, we highlight key knowledge gaps and avenues for future research into tropical forest nutrient cycling.

AB - The crucial role of tropical forests in the global carbon balance is underpinned by their extraordinarily high biomass and productivity, even though the majority of tropical forests grow on nutrient-poor soils. Nutrient cycling by litterfall has long been considered essential for maintaining high primary productivity in lowland tropical forests but few studies have tested this assumption experimentally. We review and synthesise findings from the Gigante Litter Manipulation Project (GLiMP), a long-term experiment in lowland tropical forest in Panama, Central America, in which litter has been removed from or added to large-scale plots for 15 years. We assessed changes in soil and litter nutrient concentrations in response to the experimental treatments and estimated nutrient return and nutrient use efficiency to indicate changes in nutrient cycling. The soil concentrations of most nutrients increased with litter addition and declined with litter removal. Litter removal altered nitrogen, potassium, manganese and zinc cycling, demonstrating the importance of litter inputs for maintaining the availability of these elements to plants. By contrast, litter addition only altered nitrogen cycling and, despite low concentrations of available soil phosphorus, the effects of litter manipulation on phosphorus cycling were inconsistent. We discuss potential mechanisms underlying the observed changes, and we emphasise the importance of decomposition processes in the forest floor for retaining nutrient elements, which partially decouples nutrient cycling from the mineral soil. Finally, by synthesising GLiMP studies conducted during 15 years of litter manipulation, we highlight key knowledge gaps and avenues for future research into tropical forest nutrient cycling.

KW - Forest floor

KW - Litterfall

KW - Litter addition

KW - Litter removal

KW - Nutrient use efficiency

KW - Nutrient cycling

KW - Soil fertility

KW - Trace elements

KW - Tropical lowland forest

U2 - 10.1016/bs.aecr.2020.01.002

DO - 10.1016/bs.aecr.2020.01.002

M3 - Chapter (peer-reviewed)

T3 - Advances in Ecological Research

SP - 173

EP - 223

BT - Tropical Ecosystems in the 21st Century

A2 - Dumbrell, Alex J.

A2 - Turner, Edgar C.

A2 - Fayle, Tom M.

PB - Academic Press

ER -