Contributions of ant mounds to soil carbon and nitrogen pools in a marsh wetland of Northeastern China
| 第一作者： |
武海涛 |
| 英文第一作者： |
Wu, H. |
| 联系作者： |
武海涛 |
| 英文联系作者： |
Wu, H. |
| 发表年度： |
2013 |
| 卷： |
70 |
| 摘要： |
Ant mounds often occur at high densities in marsh wetlands. However, little information is available regarding their impacts on soil nutrient pools in these ecosystems. We studied C-org, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), total nitrogen (TN), NO3- and NH4+ concentrations in above-ground ant mounds and in soils under mounds for three ant species (Lasius flavus, Lasius niger and Formica candida), and estimated their contribution to the total soil nutrient pools in a marsh wetland. Ant impacts were greatest in above-ground soils. All measured nutrient concentrations in above-ground mounds were significantly higher than the average values in reference soils (upper 25 cm). However, except for DOC, no significant differences for nutrient concentrations existed between soils under mounds and reference soils. The impacts of ant mounds on soil C and nutrient concentrations varied by ant species. L. niger above-ground mounds stored less C-org, TN and NO3- than F. candida and L. flavus mounds, or reference soils. At the ecosystem scale, soils in above-ground mounds and under ant mounds all contained less C-org per hectare than the reference soils. Total amounts in nutrient pools from mounds of the three ant species comprised from 5.3% to 7.6% of the total in natural marsh soils. More importantly, ant mounds increased the spatial heterogeneity of nutrient pools. Thus, ant mounds can be important to a fully integrated understanding of the structure and function of wetland nutrient cycles and balances. |
| 刊物名称： |
Applied Soil Ecology |
| 参与作者： |
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