Disentangling the long-term effects of disturbance on soil biogeochemistry in a wet tropical forest ecosystem

Gutiérrez del Arroyo, Omar; Silver, Whendee L.

doi:10.1111/gcb.14027

Title: Disentangling the long-term effects of disturbance on soil biogeochemistry in a wet tropical forest ecosystem

Journal Article · 19 December 2017 · Global Change Biology

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.14027 · OSTI ID:1477275

^[1]; Silver, Whendee L. ^[1]

Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States). Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management

Climate change is increasing the intensity of severe tropical storms and cyclones (also referred to as hurricanes or typhoons), with major implications for tropical forest structure and function. These changes in disturbance regime are likely to play an important role in regulating ecosystem carbon (C) and nutrient dynamics in tropical and subtropical forests. Canopy opening and debris deposition resulting from severe storms have complex and interacting effects on ecosystem biogeochemistry. Disentangling these complex effects will be critical to better understand the long-term implications of climate change on ecosystem C and nutrient dynamics. In this paper, we used a well-replicated, long-term (10 years) canopy and debris manipulation experiment in a wet tropical forest to determine the separate and combined effects of canopy opening and debris deposition on soil C and nutrients throughout the soil profile (1 m). Debris deposition alone resulted in higher soil C and N concentrations, both at the surface (0–10 cm) and at depth (50–80 cm). Concentrations of NaOH-organic P also increased significantly in the debris deposition only treatment (20–90 cm depth), as did NaOH-total P (20–50 cm depth). Canopy opening, both with and without debris deposition, significantly increased NaOH-inorganic P concentrations from 70 to 90 cm depth. Soil iron concentrations were a strong predictor of both C and P patterns throughout the soil profile. Our results demonstrate that both surface- and subsoils have the potential to significantly increase C and nutrient storage a decade after the sudden deposition of disturbance-related organic debris. Our results also show that these effects may be partially offset by rapid decomposition and decreases in litterfall associated with canopy opening. Finally, the significant effects of debris deposition on soil C and nutrient concentrations at depth (>50 cm), suggest that deep soils are more dynamic than previously believed, and can serve as sinks of C and nutrients derived from disturbance-induced pulses of organic matter inputs.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

View Accepted Manuscript (Publisher)

Cite

Export

Save

Research Organization:: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC); USDOE

Grant/Contract Number:: AC02-05CH11231; FOA‐0000749; FOA-0000749

OSTI ID:: 1477275

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1417060

Journal Information:: Global Change Biology, Vol. 24, Issue 4; ISSN 1354-1013

Publisher:: WileyCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

References (64)

Understanding the key mechanisms of tropical forest responses to canopy loss and biomass deposition from experimental hurricane effects Shiels, Aaron B.; González, Grizelle Forest Ecology and Management, Vol. 332 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2014.04.024	journal	November 2014
Short-term effects of cyclone impact and long-term recovery of tropical rain forest on Kolombangara, Solomon Islands Burslem, D. F. R. P.; Whitmore, T. C.; Brown, G. C. Journal of Ecology, Vol. 88, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2745.2000.00517.x	journal	December 2000
Fine Root Dynamics Following Single and Multiple Disturbances in a Subtropical Wet Forest Ecosystem Silver, Whendee L.; Vogt, Kristiina A. The Journal of Ecology, Vol. 81, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.2307/2261670	journal	December 1993
Tropical cyclones and climate change Knutson, Thomas R.; McBride, John L.; Chan, Johnny Nature Geoscience, Vol. 3, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo779	journal	February 2010
Cascading Effects of Canopy Opening and Debris Deposition from a Large-Scale Hurricane Experiment in a Tropical Rain Forest Shiels, Aaron B.; González, Grizelle; Lodge, D. Jean BioScience, Vol. 65, Issue 9 https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biv111	journal	August 2015
Synergistic effects of tropical cyclones on forest ecosystems: a global synthesis Xi, Weimin Journal of Forestry Research, Vol. 26, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11676-015-0018-z	journal	January 2015
Effects of Hurricane-Felled Tree Trunks on Soil Carbon, Nitrogen, Microbial Biomass, and Root Length in a Wet Tropical Forest Lodge, D.; Winter, Dirk; González, Grizelle Forests, Vol. 7, Issue 12 https://doi.org/10.3390/f7110264	journal	November 2016
Parent Material and Topography Determine Soil Phosphorus Status in the Luquillo Mountains of Puerto Rico Mage, Susanna M.; Porder, Stephen Ecosystems, Vol. 16, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-012-9612-5	journal	November 2012
Plant responses to simulated hurricane impacts in a subtropical wet forest, Puerto Rico Shiels, Aaron B.; Zimmerman, Jess K.; García-Montiel, Diana C. Journal of Ecology, Vol. 98, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2745.2010.01646.x	journal	May 2010
Iron Reduction and Soil Phosphorus Solubilization in Humid Tropical Forests Soils: The Roles of Labile Carbon Pools and an Electron Shuttle Compound Chacon, Noemi; Silver, Whendee L.; Dubinsky, Eric A. Biogeochemistry, Vol. 78, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-005-2343-3	journal	March 2006
Reducing conditions, reactive metals, and their interactions can explain spatial patterns of surface soil carbon in a humid tropical forest Hall, Steven J.; Silver, Whendee L. Biogeochemistry, Vol. 125, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-015-0120-5	journal	July 2015
At What Temporal Scales Does Disturbance Affect Belowground Nutrient Pools? Silver, Whendee L.; Scatena, Fred N.; Johnson, Arthur H. Biotropica, Vol. 28, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.2307/2389087	journal	December 1996
Hurricane Effects on Forest Ecosystems in the Caribbean Tanner, E. V. J.; Kapos, V.; Healey, J. R. Biotropica, Vol. 23, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.2307/2388274	journal	December 1991
Litter Dynamics Along Stream, Riparian and Upslope Areas Following Hurricane Hugo, Luquillo Experimental Forest, Puerto Rico Vogt, K. A.; Vogt, D. J.; Boon, P. Biotropica, Vol. 28, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.2307/2389088	journal	December 1996
A canopy trimming experiment in Puerto Rico: The response of litter decomposition and nutrient release to canopy opening and debris deposition in a subtropical wet forest González, Grizelle; Lodge, D. Jean; Richardson, Barbara A. Forest Ecology and Management, Vol. 332 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2014.06.024	journal	November 2014
Structural and Functional Responses of a Subtropical Forest to 10 Years of Hurricanes and Droughts Beard, Karen H.; Vogt, Kristiina A.; Vogt, Daniel J. Ecological Monographs, Vol. 75, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1890/04-1114	journal	August 2005
The First Five Years in the Reorganization of Aboveground Biomass and Nutrient Use Following Hurricane Hugo in the Bisley Experimental Watersheds, Luquillo Experimental Forest, Puerto Rico Scatena, F. N.; Moya, S.; Estrada, C. Biotropica, Vol. 28, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.2307/2389086	journal	December 1996
Nutrient availability in a montane wet tropical forest: Spatial patterns and methodological considerations Silver, W. L.; Scatena, F. N.; Johnson, A. H. Plant and Soil, Vol. 164, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00010118	journal	July 1994
Experimental litterfall manipulation drives large and rapid changes in soil carbon cycling in a wet tropical forest Leff, Jonathan W.; Wieder, William R.; Taylor, Philip G. Global Change Biology, Vol. 18, Issue 9 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2486.2012.02749.x	journal	June 2012
Forest Floor Decomposition Following Hurricane Litter Inputs in Several Puerto Rican Forests Ostertag, Rebecca; Scatena, Frederick N.; Silver, Whendee L. Ecosystems, Vol. 6, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1007/PL00021512	journal	June 2003
Effects of Gap Size on Litter Decomposition and Microbial Activity in a Subtropical Forest Zhang, Qishui; Zak, John C. Ecology, Vol. 76, Issue 7 https://doi.org/10.2307/1941693	journal	October 1995
Effects and outcomes of Caribbean hurricanes in a climate change scenario Lugo, Ariel E. Science of The Total Environment, Vol. 262, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0048-9697(00)00526-X	journal	November 2000
Landscape-scale impacts of Cyclone Larry on the forests of northeast Australia, including comparisons with previous cyclones impacting the region between 1858 and 2006 Turton, Stephen M. Austral Ecology, Vol. 33, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1442-9993.2008.01896.x	journal	June 2008
Initial characterization of processes of soil carbon stabilization using forest stand-level radiocarbon enrichment Swanston, Christopher W.; Torn, Margaret S.; Hanson, Paul J. Geoderma, Vol. 128, Issue 1-2 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2004.12.015	journal	September 2005
Differential effects of canopy trimming and litter deposition on litterfall and nutrient dynamics in a wet subtropical forest Silver, Whendee L.; Hall, Steven J.; González, Grizelle Forest Ecology and Management, Vol. 332 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2014.05.018	journal	November 2014
Visible and invisible effects of hurricanes on forest ecosystems: an international review Lugo, A. E. Austral Ecology, Vol. 33, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1442-9993.2008.01894.x	journal	June 2008
Effect of typhoon disturbance on fine litterfall and related nutrient input in a subtropical forest on Okinawa Island, Japan Xu, Xiaoniu; Hirata, Eiji; Shibata, Hideaki Basic and Applied Ecology, Vol. 5, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.baae.2004.01.001	journal	June 2004
Submicron structures provide preferential spots for carbon and nitrogen sequestration in soils Vogel, Cordula; Mueller, Carsten W.; Höschen, Carmen Nature Communications, Vol. 5, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms3947	journal	January 2014
Natural disturbance, vegetation patterns and ecological dynamics in tropical montane forests Crausbay, Shelley D.; Martin, Patrick H. Journal of Tropical Ecology, Vol. 32, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1017/S0266467416000328	journal	July 2016
Soil organic matter dynamics during 80 years of reforestation of tropical pastures Marin-Spiotta, Erika; Silver, Whendee L.; Swanston, Christopher W. Global Change Biology, Vol. 15, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2486.2008.01805.x	journal	June 2009
Terrestrial phosphorus limitation: mechanisms, implications, and nitrogen–phosphorus interactions Vitousek, Peter M.; Porder, Stephen; Houlton, Benjamin Z. Ecological Applications, Vol. 20, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1890/08-0127.1	journal	January 2010
Persistence of soil organic matter as an ecosystem property Schmidt, Michael W. I.; Torn, Margaret S.; Abiven, Samuel Nature, Vol. 478, Issue 7367 https://doi.org/10.1038/nature10386	journal	October 2011
Chemical and mineral control of soil carbon turnover in abandoned tropical pastures Marín-Spiotta, Erika; Swanston, Christopher W.; Torn, Margaret S. Geoderma, Vol. 143, Issue 1-2 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2007.10.001	journal	January 2008
The effects of a typhoon on Japanese warm temperate rainforests Bellingham, P. J.; Kohyama, Takashi; Aiba, Shin-ichiro Ecological Research, Vol. 11, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02347781	journal	December 1996
The Impact of Hurricane Gilbert on Trees, Litterfall, and Woody Debris in a Dry Tropical Forest in the Northeastern Yucatan Peninsula Whigham, Dennis F.; Olmsted, Ingrid; Cano, Edgar Cabrera Biotropica, Vol. 23, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.2307/2388263	journal	December 1991
Nitrogen Immobilization by Decomposing Woody Debris and the Recovery of Tropical Wet Forest from Hurricane Damage Zimmerman, J. K.; Pulliam, W. M.; Lodge, D. J. Oikos, Vol. 72, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.2307/3546116	journal	April 1995
Global-Scale Similarities in Nitrogen Release Patterns During Long-Term Decomposition Parton, W.; Silver, W. L.; Burke, I. C. Science, Vol. 315, Issue 5810 https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1134853	journal	January 2007
Short-Term Disappearance of Foliar Litter in Three Species Before and After a Hurricane1 Sullivan, Neal H.; Bowden, William B.; McDowell, William H. Biotropica, Vol. 31, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-7429.1999.tb00380.x	journal	September 1999
How a hurricane disturbance influences extreme CO ₂ fluxes and variance in a tropical forest Vargas, Rodrigo Environmental Research Letters, Vol. 7, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/7/3/035704	journal	September 2012
The importance of nutrient pulses in tropical forests Lodge, D. J.; McDowell, W. H.; McSwiney, C. P. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, Vol. 9, Issue 10 https://doi.org/10.1016/0169-5347(94)90060-4	journal	October 1994
A modified single solution method for the determination of phosphate in natural waters Murphy, J.; Riley, J. P. Analytica Chimica Acta, Vol. 27 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0003-2670(00)88444-5	journal	January 1962
Typhoon effects on litterfall in a subtropical forest Lin, Kuo-Chuan; Hamburg, Steven P.; Tang, Sheng-lin Canadian Journal of Forest Research, Vol. 33, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1139/x03-154	journal	November 2003
Climate Change and Forest Disturbances Dale, Virginia H.; Joyce, Linda A.; Mcnulty, Steve BioScience, Vol. 51, Issue 9 https://doi.org/10.1641/0006-3568(2001)051[0723:CCAFD]2.0.CO;2	journal	January 2001
Iron-mediated mineralogical control of organic matter accumulation in tropical soils Coward, Elizabeth K.; Thompson, Aaron T.; Plante, Alain F. Geoderma, Vol. 306 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2017.07.026	journal	November 2017
Hurricane Effects on Soil Organic Matter Dynamics and Forest Production in the Luquillo Experimental Forest, Puerto Rico: Results of Simulation Modeling Sanford, Robert L.; Parton, William J.; Ojima, Dennis S. Biotropica, Vol. 23, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.2307/2388253	journal	December 1991
Woody Debris Decomposition in the Atchafalaya River Basin of Louisiana following Hurricane Disturbance Rice, Michael D.; Lockaby, B. G.; Stanturf, J. A. Soil Science Society of America Journal, Vol. 61, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj1997.03615995006100040037x	journal	January 1997
Formation of soil organic matter via biochemical and physical pathways of litter mass loss Cotrufo, M. Francesca; Soong, Jennifer L.; Horton, Andrew J. Nature Geoscience, Vol. 8, Issue 10 https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2520	journal	September 2015
Effects of nitrogen additions on above- and belowground carbon dynamics in two tropical forests Cusack, Daniela F.; Silver, Whendee L.; Torn, Margaret S. Biogeochemistry, Vol. 104, Issue 1-3 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-010-9496-4	journal	July 2010
Fine Root Dynamics in a Subtropical Wet Forest Following Hurricane Disturbance in Puerto Rico Parrotta, John A.; Lodge, D. Jean Biotropica, Vol. 23, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.2307/2388250	journal	December 1991
Diel patterns of soil respiration in a tropical forest after Hurricane Wilma Vargas, Rodrigo; Allen, Michael F. Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 113, Issue G3 https://doi.org/10.1029/2007JG000620	journal	January 2008
The Influence of Cyclones on the Dry Evergreen Forest of Sri Lanka Dittus, Wolfgang P. J. Biotropica, Vol. 17, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.2307/2388371	journal	March 1985
Multi‐element regulation of the tropical forest carbon cycle Townsend, Alan R.; Cleveland, Cory C.; Houlton, Benjamin Z. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, Vol. 9, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1890/100047	journal	February 2011
Are oxygen limitations under recognized regulators of organic carbon turnover in upland soils? Keiluweit, Marco; Nico, Peter S.; Kleber, Markus Biogeochemistry, Vol. 127, Issue 2-3 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-015-0180-6	journal	January 2016
Typhoon Disturbance and Forest Dynamics: Lessons from a Northwest Pacific Subtropical Forest Lin, Teng-Chiu; Hamburg, Steven P.; Lin, Kuo-Chuan Ecosystems, Vol. 14, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-010-9399-1	journal	November 2010
Hurricane Impacts to Tropical and Temperate Forest Landscapes Boose, Emery R.; Foster, David R.; Fluet, Marcheterre Ecological Monographs, Vol. 64, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.2307/2937142	journal	February 1994
Hurricane Damage to a Flood Plain Forest in the Luquillo Mountains of Puerto Rico Frangi, Jorge L.; Lugo, Ariel E. Biotropica, Vol. 23, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.2307/2388248	journal	December 1991
Fine Litterfall and Related Nutrient Inputs Resulting From Hurricane Hugo in Subtropical Wet and Lower Montane Rain Forests of Puerto Rico Lodge, D. Jean; Scatena, F. N.; Asbury, C. E. Biotropica, Vol. 23, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.2307/2388249	journal	December 1991
Effects of canopy opening and debris deposition on fungal connectivity, phosphorus movement between litter cohorts and mass loss Lodge, D. Jean; Cantrell, Sharon A.; González, Grizelle Forest Ecology and Management, Vol. 332 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2014.03.002	journal	November 2014
Cyclones as an ecological factor in tropical lowland rain-forest, North Queensland Webb, Lj Australian Journal of Botany, Vol. 6, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1071/BT9580220	journal	January 1958
Drivers and patterns of iron redox cycling from surface to bedrock in a deep tropical forest soil: a new conceptual model Hall, Steven J.; Liptzin, Daniel; Buss, Heather L. Biogeochemistry, Vol. 130, Issue 1-2 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-016-0251-3	journal	September 2016
Tropical cyclones and climate change: Tropical cyclones and climate change Walsh, Kevin J. E.; McBride, John L.; Klotzbach, Philip J. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, Vol. 7, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1002/wcc.371	journal	November 2015
Temporal and spatial patterns of remotely sensed litterfall in tropical and subtropical forests of Taiwan: Patterns of Remotely Sensed Litterfall Wang, Hsueh-Ching; Lin, Kuo-Chuan; Huang, Cho-ying Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, Vol. 121, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1002/2015JG003113	journal	February 2016
CTE Soil Biogeochemistry 2014 Silver, Whendee; Gutierrez Del Arroyo Santiago, Omar Environmental Data Initiative https://doi.org/10.6073/pasta/a5777cd4cea388385ba253f7ea2d993a	dataset	January 2018
CTE Soil Biogeochemistry 2014 Silver, Whendee; Gutierrez Del Arroyo Santiago, Omar Environmental Data Initiative https://doi.org/10.6073/pasta/a5777cd4cea388385ba253f7ea2d993a	dataset	January 2018