Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Hedychium gardnerianum Invasion into Hawaiian Montane Rainforest: Interactions Among Litter Quality, Decomposition Rate, and Soil Nitrogen Availability

  • Published:
Biogeochemistry Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Few studies have examined the invasion of understory species into closed-canopy forests and, despite inter-specific differences in litter quality and quantity between understory and dominant canopy trees, the influence of understory invasions on soil nitrogen (N) cycling remains unknown. This paper examines litter quality and decomposition of kahili ginger (Hedychium gardnerianum), an invasive understory herb, to determine the influence of this species on N cycling in a Hawaiian montane rainforest. To examine the potential feedback between increased soil N availability and litter decomposition, litter from the invasive ginger, a native tree, and native tree fern was collected from unfertilized and fertilized plots and decomposed in a reciprocal transplant design. Hedychium litter decomposed faster than litter from the two native species. Across species, decomposition rates were negatively correlated with litter lignin content. Despite rapid decomposition rates of Hedychium litter, soil nitrogen availability and rates of net mineralization in the soil were similar in invaded and uninvaded plots. Nitrogen cycling at this site may be more strongly influenced by native species, which contribute the most to overall stand biomass. A negative effect of fertilization on the decomposition of Hedychium litter suggests that a negative feedback between litter quality and soil N availability may exist over longer timescales.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • R. Aerts F.S. Chapin SuffixIII (2000) ArticleTitleThe mineral nutrition of wild plants revisited: a re-evaluation of processes and patterns Adv. Ecol. Res. 30 1–67

    Google Scholar 

  • S.D. Allison P.M. Vitousek (2004a) ArticleTitleRapid nutrient cycling in leaf litter from invasive plants in Hawaii Oecologia 141 612–619 Occurrence Handle10.1007/s00442-004-1679-z

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • S.D. Allison P.M. Vitousek (2004b) ArticleTitleExtracellular enzyme activities and carbon chemistry as drivers of tropical plant litter decomposition Biotropica 36 285–296

    Google Scholar 

  • H.M. Appel H.L. Govenor M. D’Ascenzo E. Siska J.C. Schultz (2001) ArticleTitleLimitations of folin assays of foliar phenolics in ecological studies J. Chem. Ecol. 27 761–778 Occurrence Handle10.1023/A:1010306103643

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • G.P. Asner P.M. Vitousek (2005) ArticleTitleRemote analysis of biological invasion and biogeochemical change Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. 102 4383–4386 Occurrence Handle10.1073/pnas.0500823102

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • H.G. Baker (1986) Patterns of plant invasion in North America H.A. Mooney J.A. Drake (Eds) Ecology of Biological Invasions of North America and Hawaii Springer Verlag New York 44–57

    Google Scholar 

  • B. Berg (2000) ArticleTitleLitter decomposition and organic matter turnover in northern forest soils Forest. Ecol. Manage. 133 13–22

    Google Scholar 

  • F.S. Chapin SuffixIII (1980) ArticleTitleThe mineral nutrition of wild plants Ann. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 11 233–260 Occurrence Handle10.1146/annurev.es.11.110180.001313

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • F.S. Chapin SuffixIII H.L. Reynolds C.M. D’Antonio V.M. Eckhart (1996) The functional role of species in terrestrial ecosystems B. Walker W. Steffen (Eds) Global Change and Terrestrial Ecosystems Cambridge University Press Cambridge UK 403–428

    Google Scholar 

  • J.H.C. Cornelissen M.J.A. Werger P. Castro-Diez J.W.A. Rheenen Particlevan A.P. Rowland (1997) ArticleTitleFoliar nutrients in relation to growthallocation and leaf traits in seedlings of a wide range of woody plant species and types Oecologia 111 460–469 Occurrence Handle10.1007/s004420050259

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • T.E. Crews K. Kitayama J.H. Fownes R.H. Riley D.A. Herbert D. Mueller-Dombois P.M. Vitousek (1995) ArticleTitleChanges in soil phosphorus fractions and ecosystem dynamics across a long chronosequence in Hawaii Ecology 76 1407–1424

    Google Scholar 

  • J.G. Ehrenfeld (2003) ArticleTitleEffects of exotic plant invasions on soil nutrient cycling processes Ecosystems 6 503–523 Occurrence Handle10.1007/s10021-002-0151-3

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • J.G. Ehrenfeld P. Kourtev W. Huang (2001) ArticleTitleChanges in soil functions following invasions of exotic understory plants in deciduous forests Ecol. Appl. 11 1287–1300

    Google Scholar 

  • Heal O., Anderson J. and Swift M. 1997. Plant litter quality and decomposition: an historical overview. In: Cadish G. and Giller K. (eds), Driven by Nature: Plant litter Quality and Decomposition. Wallington, UK, pp. 3--30.

  • S.E. Hobbie (1992) ArticleTitleEffects of plant species on nutrient cycling Trend. Ecol. Evol. 7 336–339 Occurrence Handle10.1016/0169-5347(92)90126-V

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • S.E. Hobbie L. Gough (2002) ArticleTitleFoliar and soil nutrients in tundra on glacial landscapes of contrasting ages in northern Alaska Oecologia 131 453–462 Occurrence Handle10.1007/s00442-002-0892-x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • S.E. Hobbie P.M. Vitousek (2000) ArticleTitleNutrient limitation of decomposition in Hawaiian forests Ecology 71 1867–1877

    Google Scholar 

  • P.B. Hook B.E. Olson J.M. Wraith (2004) ArticleTitleEffects of the invasive forb Centaurea maculosa on grassland carbon and nitrogen pools in MontanaUSA Ecosystems 7 686–694 Occurrence Handle10.1007/s10021-004-0006-1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • S.P. Juvik J.O. Juvik (1998) Atlas of Hawaii EditionNumber3 University of Hawaii Press Honolulu

    Google Scholar 

  • M.C. Mack C.M. D’Antonio (2003) ArticleTitleExotic grasses alter controls over soil nitrogn dynamics in a Hawaiian woodland Ecol. Appl. 13 154–166

    Google Scholar 

  • P.A. Matson (1990) ArticleTitlePlant-soil interactions in primary succession at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park Oecologia 85 241–246 Occurrence Handle10.1007/BF00319408

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • J.M. Melillo J.D. Aber J.F. Muratore (1982) ArticleTitleNitrogen and lignin control of hardwood leaf litter decomposition dynamics Ecology 63 621–626

    Google Scholar 

  • J.S. Olson (1963) ArticleTitleEnergy storage and the balance of producers and decomposers in ecological systems Ecology 44 322–331

    Google Scholar 

  • R. Ostertag J.H. Verville (2002) ArticleTitleFertilization with nitrogen and phosphorus increases abundance of non-native species in Hawaiian montane forests Plant Ecol. 162 77–90 Occurrence Handle10.1023/A:1020332824836

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • E.A. Paul F.E. Clark (1996) Soil Microbiology and Biochemistry Academic Press San Diego

    Google Scholar 

  • C.E. Prescott H.N. Chappell L. Vesterdal (2000) ArticleTitleNitrogen turnover in forest floors of coastal douglas-fir at sites differing in soil nitrogen capital Ecology 81 1878–1886

    Google Scholar 

  • P.B. Reich M.B. Walters D.S. Ellsworth (1997) ArticleTitleFrom tropics to tundra: global convergence in plant functioning Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. 94 13730–13734

    Google Scholar 

  • M.G. Ryan J.M. Melillo A. Ricca (1989) ArticleTitleA comparison of methods for determining proximate carbon fractions of forest litter Can. J. Forest Res. 20 166–171

    Google Scholar 

  • N. Scott D. Binkley (1997) ArticleTitleFoliage litter quality and annual net N mineralization comparison across North American forest sites Oecologia 111 151–159 Occurrence Handle10.1007/s004420050219

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • R.J. Standish P.A. Williams A.W. Robertson N.A. Scott D.I. Hedderley (2004) ArticleTitleInvasion by a perennial herb increases decomposition rate and alters nutrient availability in warm temperate lowland forest remnants Biological Invasions 6 71–81 Occurrence Handle10.1023/B:BINV.0000010127.06695.f4

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • P.M. Vitousek (1998) ArticleTitleFoliar and litter nutrients, nutrient resorption, and decomposition in Hawaiian. Metrosideros polymorpha Ecosystems 1 401–407 Occurrence Handle10.1007/s100219900033

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • P.M. Vitousek L.R. Walker L.D. Whiteaker P.A. Matson (1993) ArticleTitleNutrient limitations to plant growth during primary succession in Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park Biogeochemistry 23 197–215 Occurrence Handle10.1007/BF00023752

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • P.M. Vitousek D.R. Turner W.J. Parton R.L. Sanford (1994) ArticleTitleLitter decomposition on the Mauna Loa environmental matrix, Hawai’i: patterns, mechanisms, and models Ecology 75 418–429

    Google Scholar 

  • L. Wester (1992) Origin and distribution of adventive alien flowering plants in Hawaii C.P. Stone C.W. Smith J.T. Tunison (Eds) Alien Plant Invasions in Native Ecosystems of Hawaii: Management and Research Cooperative National Park Resources Studies Unit University of Hawaii at Manoa Honolulu 99–154

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 94305-5020, USA

    Jennifer L. Funk

Authors
  1. Jennifer L. Funk
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Funk, J.L. Hedychium gardnerianum Invasion into Hawaiian Montane Rainforest: Interactions Among Litter Quality, Decomposition Rate, and Soil Nitrogen Availability. Biogeochemistry 76, 441–451 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-005-7657-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-005-7657-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation