Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2plfb Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-27T21:17:58.993Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Effects of Vegetation Switch and Subsequent Change in Soil Invertebrate Composition on Soil Carbon Accumulation Patterns, Revealed by Radiocarbon Concentrations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2016

Ayu Toyota ,
Ichiro Tayasu ,
Reiji Fujimaki ,
Nobuhiro Kaneko ,
Masao Uchida ,
Yasuyuki Shibata  and
Tsutom Hiura
Ayu Toyota*
Affiliation:
Center for Ecological Research, Kyoto University, 509–3, 2, Hirano, Otsu, Shiga 520-2113, Japan Tomakomai Research Station, Field Science Center for Northern Biosphere, Hokkaido University, Tomakomai, Hokkaido 053-0035, Japan. Present address: Institute of Soil Biology, Biology Centre, Academy of Sciences of Czech Republic, Na Sádkách 7, 37005 České Budějovice, Czech Republic
Ichiro Tayasu
Affiliation:
Center for Ecological Research, Kyoto University, 509–3, 2, Hirano, Otsu, Shiga 520-2113, Japan
Reiji Fujimaki
Affiliation:
Soil Ecology Research Group, Yokohama National University, 79-7 Tokiwadai, Hodogaya, Yokohama 240–8501, Japan
Nobuhiro Kaneko
Affiliation:
Soil Ecology Research Group, Yokohama National University, 79-7 Tokiwadai, Hodogaya, Yokohama 240–8501, Japan
Masao Uchida
Affiliation:
National Institute for Environmental Studies, 16-2 Onogawa, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8506, Japan
Yasuyuki Shibata
Affiliation:
National Institute for Environmental Studies, 16-2 Onogawa, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8506, Japan
Tsutom Hiura
Affiliation:
Tomakomai Research Station, Field Science Center for Northern Biosphere, Hokkaido University, Tomakomai, Hokkaido 053-0035, Japan. Present address: Institute of Soil Biology, Biology Centre, Academy of Sciences of Czech Republic, Na Sádkách 7, 37005 České Budějovice, Czech Republic
*
Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Vegetation types strongly affect soil organic carbon (SOC) accumulation in the terrestrial ecosystem through multiple factors such as litter quality and soil biodiversity. However, the roles of soil fauna in SOC accumulation remain unclear. The objectives of this study were to (1) examine how changes in litter types and soil animal communities affect SOC accumulation in continuously forested or vegetation-switched forest areas; and (2) discuss the role of soil animals in SOC accumulation in forest ecosystems. We focused on soils that have accumulated on top of a volcanic ash layer in the 268 yr since a volcanic eruption in 1739. The radiocarbon “bomb spike”' in the late 1950s and early 1960s provides a unique isotopic signature of soil carbon age. We investigated the combined effects of litter quality and soil invertebrate function on soil 14C accumulation patterns. To determine the effects of vegetation types on SOC accumulation, we selected 4 types of cool temperate forests, 2 of which had undergone a vegetation switch in about 1960 (conifer to broadleaved forest, CB; broadleaved forest to conifer, BC), and 2 that had continuous forests (conifer forest, CC; broadleaved forest, BB). The Δ14C values at depth intervals in CC were consistent with the expected bomb-14C profile. In contrast, Δ14C patterns in BB, BC, and CB differed from that of CC. Compared to CC, Δ14C values of the other sites showed relatively high 14C concentrations even in deeper soil layers, which suggests the bomb-induced 14C has been transported to a greater depth by soil animals. Current broadleaved forests (BB and CB) had higher biomass of litter-feeding invertebrates than in current coniferous forests (CC and BC). These results suggest that carbon from leaf litter was vertically translocated to deeper soil layers by the abundant soil invertebrates in broad-leaved forests. Disagreement with the expected soil profile in BC suggests that past vegetation (broadleaved forest) has affected the present SOC accumulation pattern.

Type
Soils and Sediments
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 52 , Issue 3: 20th Int. Radiocarbon Conference Proceedings , 2010 , pp. 1471 - 1486
Copyright
Copyright © 2010 by the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona 

References

Berg, B, McClaugherty, C. 2003. Plant Litter: Decomposition, Humus Formation, Carbon Sequestration. Berlin: Springer Verlag.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blakemore, RJ. 2003. Japanese earthworms (Annelida: Oligochaeta): a review and checklist of species. Organisms Diversity & Evolution 3(3):241–4.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bonkowski, M, Scheu, S, Schaefer, M. 1998. Interactions of earthworms (Octolasion lacteum), millipedes (Glomeris marginata) and plants (Hordelymus europaeus) in a beechwood on a basalt hill: implications for litter decomposition and soil formation. Applied Soil Ecology 9(1–3):161–6.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Briones, MJI, Garnett, MH, Piearce, TG. 2005. Earthworm ecological groupings based on 14C analysis. Soil Biology & Biochemistry 37(11):2145–9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cole, DW, Rapp, M. 1981. Elemental cycling in forest ecosystems. In: Reichle, DE, editor. Dynamic Properties of Forest Ecosystems. New York: Cambridge University Press. p 341–409.Google Scholar
Don, A, Steinberg, B, Schöning, I, Pritsch, K, Joschko, M, Gleixner, G, Schulze, E-D. 2008. Organic carbon sequestration in earthworm burrows. Soil Biology & Biochemistry 40(7):1803–12.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Easton, EG. 1981. Japanese earthworms: a synopsis of the megadrile species (Oligochaeta). Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) Zoology 40(2):33–65.Google Scholar
Edwards, CA. 1998. Earthworm Ecology. Boca Raton: CRC Press. 389 p.Google Scholar
Eggers, T, Jones, TH. 2000. You are what you eat…or are you? Trends in Ecology and Evolution 15(7):265–6.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
FAO [Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations]. 1998. World Reference Base for Soil Resources. Rome: International Soil Reference and Information Centre. 109 p.Google Scholar
Fierer, N, Strickland, MS, Liptzin, D, Bradford, MA, Cleveland, CC. 2009. Global patterns in belowground communities. Ecology Letters 12(11):1238–49.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fontaine, S, Barot, S, Barré, P, Bdioui, N, Mary, B, Rumpel, C. 2007. Stability of organic carbon in deep soil layers controlled by fresh carbon supply. Nature 450(7167):277–80.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fujiwara, Y. 1987. Geologic history of Tomakomai and its surrounding area. Research Bulletin of the College Experiment Forests Hokkaido University 44(2):395–404. In Japanese with English summary.Google Scholar
Halaj, J, Peck, RW, Niwa, CG. 2005. Trophic structure of a macroarthropod litter food web in managed coniferous forest stands: a stable isotope analysis with δ15N and δ13C. Pedobiologia 49(2):109–18.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hibbard, KA, Schimel, DS, Archer, S, Ojima, DS, Parton, W. 2003. Grassland to woodland transitions: integrating changes in landscape structure and biogeochemistry. Ecological Applications 13(4):911–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hiura, T, Fujiwara, K. 1999. Density-dependence and coexistence of conifer and broad-leaved trees in a Japanese northern mixed forest. Journal of Vegetation Science 10(6):843–50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hua, Q, Barbetti, M. 2004. Review of tropospheric bomb 14C data for carbon cycle modeling and age calibration purposes. Radiocarbon 46(3):1273–98.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hyodo, F, Tayasu, I, Wada, E. 2006. Estimation of the longevity of C in terrestrial detrital food webs using radiocarbon (14C): how old are diets in termites? Functional Ecology 20(2):385–93.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hyodo, F, Tayasu, I, Konaté, S, Tondoh, JE, Lavelle, P, Wada, E. 2008. Gradual enrichment of 15N with humification of diets in a below-ground food web: relation between 15N and diet age determined using 14C. Functional Ecology 22(3):516–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Igarashi, Y. 1987. Vegetational succession in the Tomakomai Experiment Forest Area. Research Bulletin of the College Experiment Forests Hokkaido University 44(2):405–27. In Japanese with English summary.Google Scholar
Ishizuka, K. 2001. Taxonomic study of the genus Pheretima s. lat (Oligochaeta, Megascolecidae) from Japan. Bulletin of Seikei University 33(3):1–125.Google Scholar
Jones, CG, Lawton, JH, Shachak, M. 1994. Organisms as ecosystem engineers. Oikos 69(3):373–86.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kitagawa, H, Masuzawa, T, Nakamura, T, Matsumoto, E. 1993. A batch preparation method for graphite targets with low background for AMS 14C measurements. Radiocarbon 35(2):295–300.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Köchy, M, Scott, DW. 1997. Litter decomposition and nitrogen dynamics in aspen forest and mixed-grass prairie. Ecology 78(3):732–9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Körner, C. 2000. Biosphere responses to CO2 enrichment. Ecological Applications 10(6):1590–619.Google Scholar
Lavelle, P. 1988. Earthworm activities and the soil system. Biology and Fertility of Soils 6(3):237–51.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lavelle, P, Martin, A. 1992. Small-scale and large-scale effects of endogeic earthworms on soil organic matter dynamics in soils of the humid tropics. Soil Biology & Biochemistry 24(12):1491–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lavelle, P, Bignell, D, Lepage, M, Wolters, V, Roger, P, Ineson, P, Heal, OW, Dhillion, S. 1997. Soil function in a changing world: the role of invertebrate ecosystem engineers. European Journal of Soil Biology 33(4):159–93.Google Scholar
Levin, I, Kromer, B. 2004. The tropospheric 14CO2 level in mid-latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere (1959–2003). Radiocarbon 46(3):1261–72.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Levin, I, Hammer, S, Kromer, B, Meinhardt, F. 2008. Radiocarbon observations in atmospheric CO2: determining fossil fuel CO2 over Europe using Jungfraujoch observations as background. Science of the Total Environment 391(2–3):211–6.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Loranger-Merciris, G, Imbert, D, Bernhard-Reversat, F, Lavelle, P, Ponge, JF. 2008. Litter N-content influences soil millipede abundance, species richness and feeding preferences in a semi-evergreen dry forest of Guadeloupe (Lesser Antilles). Biology and Fertility of Soils 45(1):93–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Martin, A. 1991. Short- and long-term effects of the endogeic earthworm Millsonia anomala (Omodeo) (Megascolecidae, Oligochaeta) of tropical savannas, on soil organic matter. Biology and Fertility of Soils 11(3):234–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Melillo, JM, Aber, JD, Muratore, JF. 1982. Nitrogen and lignin control of hardwood leaf litter dynamics in forest ecosystems. Ecology 63(3):621–6.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miyamoto, T, Hiura, T. 2008. Decomposition and nitrogen release from the foliage litter of fir (Abies sachalinensis) and oak (Quercus crispula) under different forest canopies in Hokkaido, Japan. Ecological Research 23(4):673–80.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Neilson, R, Boag, B, Smith, M. 2000. Earthworm δ13C and δ15N analyses suggest that putative functional classifications of earthworms are site-specific and may also indicate habitat diversity. Soil Biology & Biochemistry 32(8–9):1053–61.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Okuzaki, Y, Tayasu, I, Okuda, N, Sota, T. 2009. Vertical heterogeneity of a forest floor invertebrate food web as indicated by stable-isotope analysis. Ecological Research 24(6):1351–9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Parton, WJ, Schimel, DS, Cole, CV, Ojima, DS. 1987. Analysis of factors controlling soil organic matter levels in great plains grasslands. Soil Science Society of America Journal 51(5):1173–9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Petersen, H, Luxton, M. 1982. A comparative analysis of soil fauna populations and their role in decomposition processes. Oikos 39(3):288–388.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ponsard, S, Arditi, R. 2000. What can stable isotopes (δ15N and δ13C) tell about the food web of soil macro-invertebrates? Ecology 81(3):852–64.Google Scholar
R Development Core Team. 2006. A language and environment for statistical computing. Vienna: R Foundation for Statistical Computing.Google Scholar
Sakuma, T. 1987. Characterization of soils in the Tomakomai experiment forest. Research Bulletin of the College Experiment Forests Hokkaido University 44(2):749–59. In Japanese with English summary.Google Scholar
Scharpenseel, HW, Becker-Heidmann, P, Neue, HU, Tsutsuki, K. 1989. Bomb-carbon, 14C-dating and 13C—measurements as tracers of organic matter dynamics as well as of morphogenetic and turbation processes. Science of the Total Environment 81–82:99–110.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scheu, S. 1987. The role of substrate feeding earthworms (Lumbricidae) for bioturbation in a beechwood soil. Oecologia 72(2):192–6.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scheu, S, Falca, M. 2000. The soil food web of two beech forests (Fagus sylvatica) of contrasting humus type: stable isotope analysis of a macro- and a mesofauna-dominated community. Oecologia 123(2):285–95.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schimel, DS. 1995. Terrestrial ecosystems and the carbon cycle. Global Change Biology 1(1):77–91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schmidt, O, Scrimgeour, CM, Handley, LL. 1997. Natural abundance of 15N and 13C in earthworms from a wheat and a wheat-cover field. Soil Biology & Biochemistry 29(9–10):1301–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schmidt, O, Curry, JP, Dyckmans, J, Rota, E, Scrimgeour, CM. 2004. Dual stable isotope analysis (δ13C and δ15N) of soil invertebrates and their food sources. Pedobiologia 48(2):171–80.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schröter, D, Wolters, V, De Ruiter, PC. 2003. C and N minerlisation in the decomposer food webs of a European forest transect. Oikos 102(2):294–308.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, DL, Johnson, LC. 2004. Vegetation-mediated changes in microclimate reduce soil respiration as woodlands expand into grasslands. Ecology 85(12):3348–61.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stout, JD, Goh, KM. 1980. The use of radiocarbon to measure the effects of earthworms on soil development. Radiocarbon 22(3):892–6.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stuiver, M, Polach, HA. 1977. Discussion: reporting of 14C data. Radiocarbon 19(3):355–63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Takeda, H, Abe, T. 2001. Templates of food-habitat resources for the organization of soil animals in temperate and tropical forests. Ecological Research 16(5):961–73.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tayasu, I, Abe, T, Eggleton, P, Bignell, DE. 1997. Nitrogen and carbon isotope ratios in termites: an indicator of trophic habit along the gradient from wood-feeding to soil-feeding. Ecological Entomology 22(3):343–51.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tayasu, I, Nakamura, T, Oda, K, Hyodo, F, Takematsu, Y, Abe, T. 2002. Termite ecology in a dry evergreen forest in Thailand in terms of stable (δ13C and δ15N) and radio (14C, 137Cs and 210Pb) isotopes. Ecological Research 17(2):195–206.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tiunov, AV. 2007. Stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen in soil ecological studies. Biology Bulletin 34(4):395–407.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Toyota, A, Kaneko, N, Ito, MT. 2006. Soil ecosystem engineering by the train millipede Parafontaria laminata in a Japanese larch forest. Soil Biology & Biochemistry 38(7):1840–50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Townsend, AR, Vitousek, PM, Trumbore, SE. 1995. Soil organic matter dynamics along gradients in temperature and land use on the island of Hawaii. Ecology 76(3):721–33.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Trumbore, S. 2000. Age of soil organic matter and soil respiration: radiocarbon constraints on belowground C dynamics. Ecological Applications 10(2):399–411.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Trumbore, S, Chadwick, OA, Amundson, R. 1996. Rapid exchange between soil carbon and atmospheric carbon dioxide driven by temperature change. Science 272(5260):393–6.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Uchida, M, Shibata, Y, Yoneda, M, Kobayashi, T, Morita, M. 2004a. Technical progress in AMS microscale radiocarbon analysis. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research B 223–224:313–7.Google Scholar
Uchida, T, Kaneko, N, Ito, MT, Futagami, K, Sasaki, T, Sugimoto, A. 2004b. Analysis of the feeding ecology of earthworms (Megascolecidae) in Japanese forests using gut content fractionation and δ15N and δ13C stable isotope natural abundances. Applied Soil Ecology 27(2):153–63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wall, DH, Bradford, MA, John, MGS, Trofymow, JA, Behan-Pelletier, V, Bignell, DDE, Dangerfield, JM, Parton, WJ, Rusek, J, Voigt, W, Wolters, V, Gardel, HZ, Ayuke, FO, Bashford, R, Beljakova, OI, Bohlen, PJ, Brauman, A, Flemming, S, Henschel, JR, Johnson, DL, Jones, TH, Kovarova, M, Kranabetter, JM, Kutny, L, Lin, KC, Maryati, M, Masse, D, Pokarzhevskii, A, Rahman, H, Sabara, MG, Salamon, JA, Swift, MJ, Varela, A, Vasconcelos, HL, White, D, Zou, XM. 2008. Global decomposition experiment shows soil animal impacts on decomposition are climate-dependent. Global Change Biology 14(11):2661–77.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wolters, V. 2000. Invertebrate control of soil organic matter stability. Biology and Fertility of Soils 31(1):1–19.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wolters, V, Schaefer, M. 1993. Effects of burrowing by the earthworm Aporrectodea caliginosa (Savigny) on beech litter decomposition in an agricultural and in a forest soil. Geoderma 56(1–4):627–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar