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Land
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Soil Stoichiometry in Alpine Ecosystem
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Soil Stoichiometry in Alpine Ecosystem

A special issue of Land (ISSN 2073-445X). This special issue belongs to the section "Soil-Sediment-Water Systems".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 February 2023) | Viewed by 4654

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Yongheng Gao

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, China
Interests: nutrient cycling in terrestrial ecosystems
Prof. Dr. Meng Wang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Geographic Sciences, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 1300333, China
Interests: wetlands; climate change; geography; human disturbances; elemental cycling
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Soil stoichiometry is an important indicator of the relationship between nutrients in plants and soil and the relationship between plant growth and nutrient supply. It strongly relates to important soil biological processes, such as the coupling and transformation of carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P), and soil litter decomposition, as well as the growth and community composition of both plants and soil microbes. Soil stoichiometry can be used as an effective means to explore ecosystem structure and processes in terrestrial ecosystems. However, currently most studies on soil stoichiometry have been conducted at low altitudes, and its characteristics in alpine ecosystems are largely unknown.

Alpine ecosystems are highly fragile and sensitive ecological environments due to unique climatic conditions at high altitude, which plays an important role in regulating the regional biogeochemical cycles. The increasing atmospheric deposition has increased nutrient inputs to alpine ecosystems. Global warming and variation in precipitation could change the amounts of nutrients being mineralized and released into the soil, affecting microbial activity and the decomposition of organic materials. The intensified variation in nutrient availabilities is likely to alter the stoichiometric balance of nutrient cycling and further affect the function of ecosystems. Therefore, with climate change and increase in atmospheric deposition, there is an urgent need to better understand soil nutrient stoichiometric characteristics in alpine ecosystems in a changing world.

This Special Issue aims to collect the latest studies in the stoichiometric characteristics of soil nutrients such as C, N, and P in alpine ecosystems and their responses to global change, in order to better understand the relationship between soil nutrient supply and alpine ecosystem functioning. Contributions including experimental, observational, modeling and theoretical studies focusing on soil stoichiometry in alpine ecosystems are all welcome.

Prof. Dr. Yongheng Gao
Prof. Dr. Meng Wang
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Land is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • carbon
  • nitrogen
  • phosphorus
  • nutrient limitation
  • stoichiometry
  • alpine ecosystem
  • global changes

Published Papers (2 papers)

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16 pages, 3131 KiB  
Article
Characteristics of Soil Nutrients and Their Ecological Stoichiometry in Different Land Use Types in the Nianchu River Basin
by Yanling Liu, Lijiao Fu, Xuyang Lu and Yan Yan
Land 2022, 11(7), 1001; https://doi.org/10.3390/land11071001 - 30 Jun 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1715
Abstract
Land use types can cause changes in soil chemical characteristics, such as altering soil C, N, and P contents and distribution. The aim of this study was to investigate the status of soil C, N, P and other nutrient contents and their stoichiometric [...] Read more.
Land use types can cause changes in soil chemical characteristics, such as altering soil C, N, and P contents and distribution. The aim of this study was to investigate the status of soil C, N, P and other nutrient contents and their stoichiometric ratios in the terrestrial ecosystem of Nianchu River Basin, Tibet. A total of 102 sample plots with 306 soil samples and 102 plant samples were investigated in August 2021 along the Nianchu River basin by selecting four land-use types: grassland, shrubland, forestland, and farmland. The soil’s basic physical and chemical properties (soil organic matter (SOM), total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), alkaline nitrogen (AN), available phosphorus (AP), pH, and soil particle composition) were examined at each sampling point, and the stoichiometric characteristics of C, N, and P of the soils were analyzed using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVAs). The results revealed that the C and N contents of shrubland were significantly lower than those of grassland, forestland, and farmland, with farmland having the highest P content. For all land types, C:N increased with increasing soil depth, while C:P and N:P decreased with increasing soil depth. PCA and RDA analyses revealed that soil texture and pH had an impact on soil C, N, and P contents, as well as stoichiometric ratios. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Stoichiometry in Alpine Ecosystem)
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Review

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16 pages, 1248 KiB  
Review
Global Climate Change Effects on Soil Microbial Biomass Stoichiometry in Alpine Ecosystems
by Luyun Chen and Yongheng Gao
Land 2022, 11(10), 1661; https://doi.org/10.3390/land11101661 - 26 Sep 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2218
Abstract
Alpine ecosystems are sensitive to global climate change-factors, which directly or indirectly affect the soil microbial biomass stoichiometry. In this paper, we have compared the soil microbial biomass stoichiometry ratios of alpine ecosystems using the global average values. In the comparison, the responses [...] Read more.
Alpine ecosystems are sensitive to global climate change-factors, which directly or indirectly affect the soil microbial biomass stoichiometry. In this paper, we have compared the soil microbial biomass stoichiometry ratios of alpine ecosystems using the global average values. In the comparison, the responses and mechanisms of soil microbial biomass stoichiometry to nitrogen deposition, altered precipitation, warming, and elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration in the alpine ecosystem were considered. The alpine ecosystem has a higher soil microbial-biomass-carbon-to-nitrogen ratio (MBC:MBN) than the global average. In contrast, the soil microbial-biomass-nitrogen-to-phosphorus (MBN:MBP) and carbon-to-phosphorus ratios (MBC:MBP) varied considerably in different types of alpine ecosystems. When compared with the global average values of these ratios, no uniform pattern was found. In response to the increase in nitrogen (N) deposition, on the one hand, microbes will adopt strategies to regulate extracellular enzyme synthesis and excrete excess elements to maintain stoichiometric balance. On the other hand, microbes may also alter their stoichiometry by storing excess N in their bodies to adapt to the increased N in the environment. Thus, a decrease in MBC:MBN and an increase in MBN:MBP are observed. In addition, N deposition directly and indirectly affects the soil fungal-to-bacterial ratio (F:B), which in turn changes the soil microbial biomass stoichiometry. For warming, there is no clear pattern in the response of soil microbial biomass stoichiometry in alpine ecosystems. The results show diverse decreasing, increasing, and unchanging patterns. Under reduced precipitation, microbial communities in alpine ecosystems typically shift to a fungal dominance. The latter community supports a greater carbon-to-nitrogen ratio (C:N) and thus an increased soil MBC:MBN. However, increased precipitation enhances N effectiveness and exacerbates the leaching of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and phosphorus (P) from alpine ecosystem soils. As a result, a decrease in the soil MBC:MBN and an increase in the soil MBN:MBP are evident. Elevated atmospheric CO2 usually has little effect on the soil MBC:MBN in alpine ecosystems, mainly because of two reasons. These are: (i) N is the main limiting factor in alpine ecosystems, and (ii) alpine ecosystems accumulate higher soil organic carbon (SOC) and microbes and preferentially decompose “old” carbon (C) stocks. The response of soil microbial stoichiometry to global climate change factors in alpine ecosystems is diverse, and the impact pathways are complex. Future studies need to focus on the combined effects of multiple global climate change factors on microbial stoichiometry and the mechanism of microbial stoichiometric balance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Stoichiometry in Alpine Ecosystem)
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