Title of article :
Vegetation and microbial indicators of nutrient status: Testing their consistency and sufficiency in restored calcareous wetlands
Author/Authors :
Liao، نويسنده , , Xiaolin and Inglett، نويسنده , , Patrick W. and Inglett، نويسنده , , Kanika S. and Inglett، نويسنده ,
Issue Information :
روزنامه با شماره پیاپی سال 2014
Pages :
9
From page :
358
To page :
366
Abstract :
Various indicators have been used to diagnose nutrient status of an ecosystem, but their consistency among different ecosystem components (e.g., soil microbes and plants) remains rarely examined. In this study, we selected three sites with a gradient of phosphorus (P) concentrations, i.e., two P-enriched restored sites and an oligotrophic, P-limited reference site in the Hole-in-the-Donut of Florida Everglades, USA. Three sets of indicators for plants, soils microbes, and periphyton were measured in February, 2010. For vegetation indicators, TN:TP ratio indicates P-limitation but N use and resorption efficiency suggest N limitation at the two restored sites. For soil microbial indicators, N- and P-acquiring enzyme activities (i.e., leucine aminopeptidase and alkaline phosphatase) indicate N and P limitation at the restored sites and the reference sites, respectively. For periphyton indicators, significantly higher nitrogenase activities suggest N limitation at the restored sites. Overall, soil microbial and periphyton indicators consistently showed N limitation at the two restored sites. Furthermore, the microbial enzyme activities were significantly correlated with soil/periphyton chemical properties (e.g., soil extractable inorganic and organic N and P, and TN:TP ratio of soil and periphyton) and were more powerful in diagnosing the nutrient status. The inconsistency between vegetation-based indicators and microbial indicators not only suggests the insufficiency of a single indicator, but also indicates the heterogeneity in nutrient limitation of different components of an ecosystem. It is important to evaluate those indicators in order to give implications for restoration, in particular in those ecosystems that are sensitive to even small changes of nutrient availability.
Keywords :
Restoration , extracellular enzyme activity , N:P ratio , Differential nutrient limitation , N and P limitation , N2 fixation
Journal title :
Ecological Indicators
Serial Year :
2014
Journal title :
Ecological Indicators
Record number :
2094238
Link To Document :
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