Effects of simulated snow cover changes on leaf litter carbon,nitrogen,and phosphorus release of Betula albosinensis Burkill and Larix mastersiana Rehder & E.H.Wilson
Carbon(C)and nutrient release during litter decomposition play important roles in material cycling in forest ecosystems and may be affected by snow cover changes caused by global warming.We conducted field snow manipulation(snow reduction and snow removal)and litter decomposition experiments to investigate the effects of snow cover changes on C,nitrogen(N)and phosphorus(P)release from decomposing deciduous litters of Betula albosinensis Burkill and Larix mastersiana Rehder & E.H.Wilson during each critical period(snow formation,cover,melt stage,and growing season)in a subalpine forest.C release and N and P accumulation were observed in the first year of decomposition,with C content decreasing by 8.7％-11.5％and N and P contents increasing by 25.0％-36.4％and 21.2％-43.4％,respectively.After the entire year of decomposition,compared to that in the control,litter C was released more rapidly under snow cover reduction and removal conditions,whereas N and P accumulated less.B.albosinensis litter N and P started to accumulate in winter,whereas L.mastersiana accumulation was delayed until the growing season.In addition,the results of the mixed linear model and correlation analysis showed that snow cover,decomposition period,species,and the interaction among them significantly influenced the changes in C,N,and P in the litter;the release rate was significantly correlated with the mean daily temperature,while the N release rate was significantly correlated with the initial litter quality.The collective findings indicate that snow reduction can promote the release of C during the early decomposition of the two leaf litter types but inhibit the enrichment of N and P.These results indicate that a decrease in snow cover due to global warming may influence biogeochemical cycling processes by altering C and nutrient release during litter decomposition in subalpine forest ecosystems.
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