Title: Effects of fine-scale simulation of deer browsing on soil micro-foodweb structure and N mineralization rate in a temperate forest
Abstract: Abstract The effects of low densities of native browsing mammals on nutrient cycling are not fully understood. Weak browsing may improve nitrogen (N) mineralization in soil and positively affect plant regrowth at the forest floor. To investigate the effects of weak browsing by sika deer (Cervus nippon) on soil subsystems, we defoliated a dwarf bamboo (Sasa nipponica)-dominated understory layer in a natural forest at different intensities to realistically simulate deer browsing. Defoliation (0–18% leaf removal) was performed three times at approximately 1-week intervals in summer. We measured water-soluble carbon (C) concentration, phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) profiles as indicators of microbial community structure, a PLFA of 20:4 as an indicator of protozoan abundance, nematode community structure at the family level, and the N mineralization rate in 28 days of incubation. The effects of defoliation on each soil parameter were determined by comparing before and after defoliation values. The N mineralization rate in the first 10 days of incubation showed a unimodal response to defoliation intensity, with a peak mineralization rate at a defoliation rate (number of removed leaves/total leaves) of 7.6%, correlating with protozoan PLFA and the abundance of Plectidae (the most dominant family of bacterivorous nematodes). In contrast, the N mineralization rate during the following 18 days of incubation decreased monotonically with increasing defoliation intensity, correlating with the water-soluble C concentration in the soil and the C content of new leaves. These results suggest that removing 10%). This study suggests that browsing on forest floor plants has positive or negative effects on soil N mineralization potential depending on browsing intensity level.
Publication Year: 2008
Publication Date: 2008-03-01
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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Cited By Count: 18
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