Litter Decomposition and Nutrient Dynamics of Native Species ( Cyperus malaccensis ) and Alien Invasive Species ( Sparti
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Litter Decomposition and Nutrient Dynamics of Native Species (Cyperus malaccensis) and Alien Invasive Species (Spartina alterniflora) in a Typical Subtropical Estuary (Min River) in China Aying Zeng 1,2 & Weifang Hu 1,2,3 & Congsheng Zeng 1,2 & Zhigao Sun 1,2,4 & Dengzhou Gao 5 Received: 1 April 2019 / Revised: 7 April 2020 / Accepted: 8 April 2020 # Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation 2020
Abstract Plant invasion can affect nutrient cycling by changing the quantity and quality of litter entering the environment. To determine the effect of an alien species (Spartina alterniflora) invasion on the decomposition rates and nutrient dynamics of litter in the Min River estuary, three communities with differing levels of invasion, namely, a Cyperus malaccensis community (before invasion, BI stage), a S. alterniflora community (after invasion, AI stage), and a C. malaccensis–S. alterniflora community (during invasion, DI stage), were studied using the space-for-time substitution method. Results showed that the decomposition of C. malaccensis was 59.79% faster than that of S. alterniflora, which was mainly related to the great variations in the C/N and lignin. Compared with S. alterniflora, the N (nitrogen) and S (sulfur) concentrations of litter in C. malaccensis were significantly higher. The C, N, and S stocks increased as the C. malaccensis was being invaded or after complete invasion by S. alterniflora, which might be ascribed to the higher mass remaining in S. alterniflora. Compared with S. alterniflora in DI stage, the higher C/N and C/S ratios might explain the higher C, N, and S stocks in S. alterniflora in AI stage. In summary, the invasion of S. alterniflora reduces the decomposition rate and nutrient release of litter. Keywords Plant invasion . Space-for-time substitution method . Decomposition . Nutrient dynamics . Min River estuary
Introduction
Communicated by Carles Ibanez Marti * Congsheng Zeng [email protected] * Zhigao Sun [email protected] 1
Key Laboratory of Humid Subtropical Eco-geographical Process (Fujian Normal University), Ministry of Education, Fuzhou 350007, People’s Republic of China
2
College of Geographical Science, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou 350007, China
3
Institute of Agricultural Resources and Environment, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China
4
Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory for Subtropical Resources and Environment, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou 350007, People’s Republic of China
5
College of Geographical Sciences, East China Normal University, 500 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200241, China
Biological invasion exists widely and is the main component of global ecological environment changes caused by human activities (Deng et al. 2010; Heringer et al. 2019). It has been recognized for a long time that biological invasion has harmful effects on the biotic and abiotic factors of estuarine wetland system, including the reduction of species composition and function (Wang et al. 2006; Zhang et al. 2017). In addition, it may alter key b
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