Keywords :
Litter decomposition,
Nutrient limitation,
Organic matter,
Phosphorus,
Soil,
Tropical forest
บทคัดย่อ :
There is a widespread belief that organic matter decomposition in phosphorus (P)-poor tropical forests is
limited by P shortage and stimulated by exogenous P addition. An incubation experiment was performed to test the effect of P
addition on decomposition of litter layers taken from two tropical tree plantations. The result was compared with our earlier soil
incubation experiment in the same region. Contrary to the traditional view, we found no significant effects of P addition on the litter
layer decomposition, which was also in contrast with our previous soil incubation experiment that showed stimulatory effects of P
addition on soil microbial respiration. The difference between our two experiments was attributed to the role of added P to release
organic matter from the sorption sites on mineral soils, which made the adsorbed organic matter in soil accessible for microbes and
easier to be decomposed. Overall, our incubation experiments did not support the P-limitation hypothesis: organic matter
decomposition in P-poor tropical forests is limited by P shortage.
เอกสารอ้างอิง :
Mori, T., Staporn, D., Meunpong, P., Suebsai, W., Boonsri, K., & Wachrinrat, C. (2023). Effects of phosphorus addition on leaf litter decomposition in two tropical tree plantations in Thailand. Tropics, 32(1), 29-33.
