Linkages of Litter and Soil Carbon, Nitrogen and Phosphorus Stoichiometry in a Temperate Broad -Leaved Forest Stand

Background: Measures of nutrient availability such as concentrations of carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) are important indicators of terrestrial ecosystems productivity. Current research illustrates the C, N and P stoichiometry of litter and soil in a coastal mixed forest stand, northern Iran. Materials and Methods: To this, the Carpinus betulus (CB), Acer velutinum (AV), Pterocarya fraxinifolia (PF), Quercus castaneifolia (QC) species were considered; litter and soil (۰-۱۵cm depth) samples were taken under tree canopy cover. Results: Litter and soil C: N ratio differed among the tree species, showing the highest (۶۱.۰۸ and ۳۱.۴۴) and lowest (۲۱.۹۰ and ۳.۵۹) under the QC and CB tree species, respectively. The litter and soil C: P ratio varied among the study sites and ranked in order of QC (۵۲.۴ and ۲۷۲۲۷.۰۴) > PF (۳۰ and ۱۴۶۵.۶۱) > AV (۱۵.۷۴ and ۶۳۰.۵۴) ≈ CB (۱۳.۴۲ and ۵۶۶.۲۸). The higher amounts of litter N: P ratio were significantly found under QC (۰.۸۶) > PF (۰.۷۳) > CB (۰.۶۱) ≈ AV (۰.۵۵), whereas soil N: P ratio were significantly higher under CB (۱۷۷.۶۹) > PF (۱۲۳.۵۳) ≈ AV (۱۲۱.۶۰) > QC (۱۰۹.۲۵), respectively. Conclusion: We found the species that differed in traits could influence C, N and P dynamics and its stoichiometry. The Q. castaneifolia species with different root traits that resulted in different vertical and horizontal distributions of C, N and P, reflecting differences in nutrient uptake by plants and microbial dynamics, drove the biggest changes in litter and soil C, N and P.

کلیدواژه ها:

Carbon ، Ecological stoichiometry ، Nitrogen ، Phosphorus ، Tree species