Litter input triggers the secretion of soil extracellular enzymes and facilitates the release of carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) from decomposing litter. However, how soil extracellular enzyme activities were controlled by litter input with various substrates is not fully understood. We examined the activities and stoichiometry of five enzymes including β-1,4-glucosidase, β-D-cellobiosidase, β-1,4-N-acetyl-glucosaminidase, leucine aminopeptidase and acidic phosphatase (AP) with and without litter input in 10-year-old Castanopsis carlesii and Cunninghamia lanceolata plantations monthly during April to August, in October, and in December 2021 by using an in situ microcosm experiment. The results showed that: 1) There was no significant effect of short-term litter input on soil enzyme activity, stoichiometry, and vector properties in C. carlesii plantation. In contrast, short-term litter input significantly increased the AP activity by 1.7% in May and decreased the enzymatic C/N ratio by 3.8% in August, and decreased enzymatic C/P and N/P ratios by 11.7% and 10.3%, respectively, in October in C. lanceolata plantation. Meanwhile, litter input increased the soil enzymatic vector angle to 53.8° in October in C. lanceolata plantations, suggesting a significant P limitation for soil microorganisms. 2) Results from partial least squares regression analyses showed that soil dissolved organic matter and microbial biomass C and N were the primary factors in explaining the responses of soil enzymatic activity to short-term litter input in both plantations. Overall, input of low-quality (high C/N) litter stimulates the secretion of soil extracellular enzymes and accelerates litter decomposition. There is a P limitation for soil microorganisms in the study area.
凋落物输入刺激土壤胞外酶的分泌,加快凋落物中碳(C)、氮(N)、磷(P)等养分释放,但不同基质质量凋落物输入如何调控土壤胞外酶活性和酶化学计量特征仍不清晰。本研究以亚热带10年生米槠和杉木人工林为研究对象,采用凋落物输入原位微宇宙试验,分析了2021年4—8月、10月和12月不同凋落物输入对β-葡萄糖苷酶、纤维二糖水解酶、β-N-乙酰氨基葡萄糖苷酶、亮氨酸氨基肽酶和酸性磷酸酶(AP)5种土壤胞外酶活性及其化学计量特征的影响。结果表明: 1)与无凋落物输入相比,米槠人工林凋落物输入对土壤酶活性、酶化学计量和矢量特征均无显著影响;而杉木人工林凋落物输入使5月土壤AP活性显著提高1.7%,使8月酶化学计量碳氮比、10月酶化学计量碳磷比和氮磷比分别降低3.8%、11.7%和10.3%,使10月土壤酶向量角增加到53.8°,表明土壤微生物存在显著磷限制。2)偏最小二乘回归分析表明,土壤可溶性有机质和微生物生物量C、N分别是米槠和杉木人工林土壤胞外酶活性响应凋落物输入的主要影响因子。总体上,低质量(高C/N)的杉木凋落物输入在短期内更能刺激土壤胞外酶的分泌,加快凋落物分解,研究区域土壤微生物受到磷限制。.
Keywords: biogeochemistry; enzymatic stoichiometry; litter decomposition; litter input; soil extracellular enzyme.