Effects of tree species and topography on soil and microbial biomass stoichiometry in Funiu Mountain, China
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RESEARCH ARTICLE
BMC Ecology Open Access
Effects of tree species and topography on soil and microbial biomass stoichiometry in Funiu Mountain, China Yaowu Tian* , Dong Qiao, Shaojun Xu and Ning Wang
Abstract Background: Soil and microbial biomass stoichiometry plays an important role in understanding nutrient cycling in terrestrial ecosystems. However, studies on soil and microbial biomass stoichiometry in forests are rare. This study investigated the effect of tree species and topographic factors on the ecological stoichiometry of soil and soil microbial biomass. Methods: Three types of forest stands (Quercus variabilis, Larix principis-ruprechtii, and Cotinus coggygria Scop.) in the Beiru River basin of Funiu Mountain were analyzed in September 2018. Six slope positions (sunny bottom slope, sunny middle slope, sunny top slope, shady bottom slope, shady middle slope, and shady top slope) were selected, and the total number of sampling plots was 108. The stoichiometric indices of soil and microbial biomass were determined. Results: At a depth of 0–10 cm, the soil organic C contents in different stands followed the order of C. coggygria (27.7 ± 5.2 g/kg) > Q. variabilis (24.5 ± 4.9 g/kg) > L. principis-ruprechtii (20.8 ± 4.3 g/kg) (P L. principis-ruprechtii (20.8 ± 9.8 g/kg) (p top slope, with the highest value in shady bottom slope and the lowest value in sunny top slope (Fig. 2). The difference between the shady/sunny bottom slope and sunny top slope was significant, and the SOC content in the shady slope was higher than that in the sunny slope overall. At 10–20 cm, the SOC content was greater in the bottom slope than in the top slope. However, there was no significant difference between different slope positions for the sunny slope of Q. variabilis and the shady/sunny slope of C. coggygria Scop. At 0–10 cm, the soil TN contents in the shady and sunny slopes of Q. variabilis, the sunny slope of L. principis-ruprechtii, and the shady slope of C. coggygria Scop. exhibited a similar tendency as that of SOC, that is, the highest content was found in the bottom slope (2.67 g/kg, 2.46 g/kg and 2.05 g/ kg, respectively) and the lowest content was found in the top slope (1.6 g/kg, 1.33 g/kg and 1.74 g/kg, respectively), and the difference was significant. There was a significant difference in the soil TN contents between different slope positions for the shady slope of L. principis-ruprechtii and the sunny slope of C. coggygria Scop. However, the variation was not obvious. At 10–20 cm, the soil TN contents of the sunny slopes of Q. variabilis and L. principis-ruprechtii and the shady slope of C. coggygria Scop. were in the following order: bottom slope > middle slope > top slope, and the difference was significant. However, the other slopes did
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not show regular variation. Overall, the soil C, N and P contents at 1–10 cm were more noticeably influenced by tree species and topography than those at 10–20 cm. At 0–10 cm, the TP contents of the sunny slopes of Q. variabilis and L. principis-ruprech
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