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Plant invasion is an emerging driver of global change worldwide. We aimed to disentangle its impacts on plant-soil nutrient concentrations. We conducted a meta-analysis of 215 peer-reviewed articles and 1233 observations. Invasive plant species had globally higher N and P concentrations in photosynthetic tissues but not in foliar litter, in comparison with their native competitors. Invasive plants were also associated with higher soil C and N stocks and N, P, and K availabilities. The differences in N and P concentrations in photosynthetic tissues and in soil total C and N, soil N, P, and K availabilities between invasive and native species decreased when the environment was richer in nutrient resources. The results thus suggested higher nutrient resorption efficiencies in invasive than in native species in nutrient-poor environments. There were differences in soil total N concentrations but not in total P concentrations, indicating that the differences associated to invasive plants were related with biological processes, not with geochemical processes. The results suggest that invasiveness is not only a driver of changes in ecosystem species composition but that it is also associated with significant changes in plant-soil elemental composition and stoichiometry., (© 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Anthropogenic nitrogen (N) deposition affects unproductive remote alpine and circumpolar ecosystems, which are often considered sentinels of global change. Human activities and forest fires can also elevate phosphorus (P) deposition, possibly compounding the ecological effects of increased N deposition given the ubiquity of nutrient co-limitation of primary producers. Low N : P ratios coupled with evidence of NP-limitation from bioassays led us to hypothesize that P indirectly stimulates phytoplankton by amplifying the direct positive effect of N (i.e. serial N-limitation) in alpine ponds. We tested the hypothesis using the first replicated N × P enrichment experiment conducted at the whole-ecosystem level, which involved 12 alpine ponds located in the low N deposition backcountry of the eastern Front Range of the Canadian Rockies. Although applications of N and P elevated ambient N and P concentrations by 2-5×, seston and plankton remained relatively unaffected in the amended ponds. However, additions of ammonium nitrate elevated the δ(15) N signals of both primary producers and herbivores (fairy shrimp; Anostraca), attesting to trophic transfer of N deposition to consumers. Further, in situ bioassays revealed that grazing by high ambient densities of fairy shrimp together with potential competition from algae lining the pond bottoms suppressed the otherwise serially N-limited response by phytoplankton. Our findings highlight how indirect effects of biotic interactions rather the often implicit direct effects of chemical changes can regulate the sensitivities of extreme ecosystems to nutrient deposition., (© 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

The management and improvement of paddy soils fertility are key factors for the future capacity of rice production. The return of rice straw to paddy soils is the best alternative to the application of industrial fertilizers for rice production sustainability. The best strategy for applying rice straw to improve soil nutritional capacity during rice growth has not yet been investigated. We compared straw decomposition in the ditches and ridges in paddy fields subjected to a typical crop management in southeastern China. Straw spread on the ridges provided lower residual straw carbon (C) concentration and mass, lower nitrogen:phosphorus ratio N:P, C:N, and C:P ratios, and lower soil salinity, as well as higher temperature, and higher N- and P-release capacity during the rice crop in comparison to the straw spread in the ditches. Therefore, applying rice straw to the ridges is better strategy than applying it to ditches to enhance rice production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Flooding caused by rising sea levels can influence the biogeochemistry of estuarine wetland ecosystems. We studied the relationships of higher flooding intensity with soil carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) concentrations in communities of the native sedge Cyperus malaccensis var. brevifolius Boecklr. in the wetlands of the Minjiang River estuary in China. The aboveground and total biomasses of C. malaccensis were higher in high-flooding habitats than in intermediate- and low-flooding habitats. These differences in plant biomass were accompanied by a lower N:P ratio in the aboveground biomass and a higher N:P ratio in the belowground biomass. Higher intensities of flooding were associated with higher soil N and P concentrations in intermediate and deep soil layers. The higher P concentration under flooding was mainly associated with the higher clay content, whereas the higher N concentration was associated with higher salinity. Flooding intensity did not have a net total effect on soil total C concentration. The positive direct effect of flooding intensity on total soil C concentration was counteracted by its positive effects on CH 4 emissions and soil salinity. The results suggest that C. malaccensis wetlands will be able to maintain and even increase the current C, N and P storage capacity of the ecosystem under moderate increases of flooding in the Minjiang River estuary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]