Preface to the Princeton Landmarks in Biology Edition vii Preface xi Symbols Used xiii 1. The Importance of Islands 3 2. Area and Number of Speicies 8 3. Further Explanations of the Area-Diversity Pattern 19 4. The Strategy of Colonization 68 5. Invasibility and the Variable Niche 94 6. Stepping Stones and Biotic Exchange 123 7. Evolutionary Changes Following Colonization 145 8. Prospect 181 Glossary 185 References 193 Index 201

The Theory of Island Biogeography

Contents

 Summary 1

I. What is FACE? 2
II. Materials and methods 2
III. Photosynthetic carbon uptake 3
IV. Acclimation of photosynthesis 6
V. Growth, above-ground production and yield 8
VI. So, what have we learned? 10

 Acknowledgements 11


 References 11


Appendix 1. References included in the database for meta-analyses  14


 Appendix 2. Results of the meta-analysis of FACE effects 18



Summary
Free-air CO2 enrichment (FACE) experiments allow study of the effects of elevated [CO2] on plants and ecosystems grown under natural conditions without enclosure. Data from 120 primary, peer-reviewed articles describing physiology and production in the 12 large-scale FACE experiments (475–600 ppm) were collected and summarized using meta-analytic techniques. The results confirm some results from previous chamber experiments: light-saturated carbon uptake, diurnal C assimilation, growth and above-ground production increased, while specific leaf area and stomatal conductance decreased in elevated [CO2]. There were differences in FACE. Trees were more responsive than herbaceous species to elevated [CO2]. Grain crop yields increased far less than anticipated from prior enclosure studies. The broad direction of change in photosynthesis and production in elevated [CO2] may be similar in FACE and enclosure studies, but there are major quantitative differences: trees were more responsive than other functional types; C4 species showed little response; and the reduction in plant nitrogen was small and largely accounted for by decreased Rubisco. The results from this review may provide the most plausible estimates of how plants in their native environments and field-grown crops will respond to rising atmospheric [CO2]; but even with FACE there are limitations, which are also discussed.

What have we learned from 15 years of free-air CO2 enrichment (FACE)? A meta-analytic review of the responses of photosynthesis, canopy properties and plant production to rising CO2.

I. CONTEXT * The Ecosystem Concept * Earth's Climate System * Geology and Soils * II. MECHANISMS * Terrestrial Water and Energy Balance * Carbon Input to Terrestrial Ecosystems * Terrestrial Production Processes * Terrestrial Decomposition * Terrestrial Plant Nutrient Use * Terrestrial Nutrient Cycling * Aquatic Carbon and Nutrient Cycling * Trophic Dynamics * Community Effects on Ecosystem Processes * III. PATTERNS * Temporal Dynamics * Landscape Heterogeneity and Ecosystem Dynamics * IV. INTEGRATION * Global Biogeochemical Cycles * Managing and Sustaining Ecosystem * Abbreviations * Glossary * References

Principles of Terrestrial Ecosystem Ecology

Human production of food and energy is the dominant continental process that breaks the triple bond in molecular nitrogen (N2) and creates reactive nitrogen (Nr) species. Circulation of anthropogenic Nr in Earth’s atmosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere has a wide variety of consequences, which are magnified with time as Nr moves along its biogeochemical pathway. The same atom of Nr can cause multiple effects in the atmosphere, in terrestrial ecosystems, in freshwater and marine systems, and on human health. We call this sequence of effects the nitrogen cascade. As the cascade progresses, the origin of Nr becomes unimportant. Reactive nitrogen does not cascade at the same rate through all environmental systems; some systems have the ability to accumulate Nr, which leads to lag times in the continuation of the cascade. These lags slow the cascade and result in Nr accumulation in certain reservoirs, which in turn can enhance the effects of Nr on that environment. The only way to eliminate Nr accumul...

http://bioeeos660-f12-bowen.wikispaces.umb.edu/file/view/Galloway+et+al.+2003.pdf

The Nitrogen Cascade

Publisher Summary In this chapter, the advances that have been made in understanding the ecology of the mineral nutrition of wild plants from terrestrial ecosystems have been reviewed. This chapter is organized along three lines. First, the issues of nutrient-limited plant growth and nutrient uptake, with special emphasis on the importance of the uptake of nutrients in organic form—both by mycorrhizal and by non-mycorrhizal plants—and the importance of symbiotic nitrogen fixation is treated. In addition, the influence of allocation patterns on mineral nutrient uptake is described. Next, a few of the nutritional aspects of leaf functioning and how nutrients are used for biomass production by the plant are explored. That is done by studying the nutrient use efficiency (NUE) of plants and the various components of NUE. Finally, the feedback of plant species to soil nutrient availability by reviewing patterns in litter decomposition and nutrient mineralization is investigated. The chapter concludes with a synthesis of the various aspects of the mineral nutrition of wild plants. The chapter ends with a conceptual description of plant strategies with respect to mineral nutrition.

The Mineral Nutrition of Wild Plants Revisited: A Re-evaluation of Processes and Patterns

Soil organic carbon (SOC) is a mixture of various carbon (C) compounds with different stability, which can be distinctly affected by priming effect (PE). However, little is known about how PE changes with SOC stability. We address this issue by combining results from two experiments and a meta-analysis. We found that the PE increased with the prolongation of soil pre-incubation, suggesting that higher PE occurred for more stable SOC than for labile SOC. This finding was further supported by the meta-analysis of 42 observations. There were significant negative relationships between the difference in PE (ΔPE) between labile and more stable SOC and their differences in SOC, microbial biomass C and soil C/N ratio, indicating that soil C availability exerts a vital control on ΔPE. We conclude that, compared with labile SOC, stable SOC can be more vulnerable to priming once microbes are provided with exogenous C substrates. This high vulnerability of stable SOC to priming warrants more attention in future studies on SOC cycling and global change.

A distinct sensitivity to priming effect between labile and stable soil organic carbon.

Light intensity controls rhizosphere respiration rate and rhizosphere priming effect of soybean and sunflower

The rhizosphere priming effect (RPE) is the change in decomposition of soil organic matter caused by root activity, and it can be affected by plant species, nutrient availability, and by many other factors. Although plant and soil nitrogen (N) are likely to greatly influence RPE and vice-versa, not much is known about these relationships. There is a need for more research, particularly in N-fertilized cropping systems. We examined the RPE on soil N mineralization in a 42-day greenhouse experiment. The experiment included three vegetable crops (broccoli, lettuce, and spinach) and two grain crops (sunflower and maize) and an unplanted control. These plantings were crossed with two fertilization treatments: fertilized (100 kg ha−1 of N) and unfertilized. We evaluated NO3−, NH4+, microbial N, and mobilized N, plant biomass, plant tissue N, and %RPE by planting treatment. We found that vegetables almost completely depleted NO3− in both fertilized and unfertilized soils, whereas grain crops did not. Further, vegetables took up more than twice as much N in their aboveground tissue compared to grain crops under N fertilization. Both vegetables and crops produced RPEs on N mineralization. Nitrogen fertilization significantly enhanced the RPE for vegetable crops but not for grain crops. This result corroborates the assertion that plants with higher N concentration in their tissues tend to produce a higher RPE than plants with lower N concentration. The RPE of vegetable crops were significantly enhanced with N fertilization. Our data strongly rejects the “N-mining” hypothesis which would predict a much reduced RPE with N fertilization, and suggest that this hypothesis is not a universal explanation for the observed priming phenomena.

Rhizosphere priming effect on N mineralization in vegetable and grain crop systems

Plant litter inputs can influence soil organic carbon (SOC) decomposition via the priming effect. However, our understanding of the priming effect and underlying mechanisms is primarily from studies with leaf litter addition, while little is known about root litter effects, particularly of woody plants. Here, using a13C natural tracer approach, we conducted a 12-week incubation experiment to investigate litter decomposition and priming effect of mature-tree root orders (1st to 5th) of Cunninghamia lanceolata (Lamb.) Hook. We explored how litter decomposition and the priming effect were related to microbial biomass of main groups, enzyme activities, and root tissue chemistry. Root litter decomposition rates increased with increasing root order, especially during the first 4 weeks, which was likely due to higher non-structural C and lower tannin concentrations for higher order roots. A negative priming effect occurred at this initial intensive stage when microbes may have preferred utilizing litter-derived labile C. Subsequently, the priming effect switched to positive, and showed larger priming effects for the higher order roots than the lower order ones. Higher order roots also showed higher fungi to bacteria ratios and enzyme activities than the lower order roots. These patterns of fungi to bacteria ratios and enzyme activities and thus the priming effect could be attributed to the difference in carbon:nitrogen ratio among root orders. Overall, we for the first time provide strong evidence for the effect of root order on the priming effect, and thus highlight that separating root litter based on root order is necessary for accurately evaluating its influence on SOC decomposition.

Priming effect varies with root order: A case of Cunninghamia lanceolata

https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ecs2.3027

Weixin Cheng

Papers

A distinct sensitivity to priming effect between labile and stable soil organic carbon.

Light intensity controls rhizosphere respiration rate and rhizosphere priming effect of soybean and sunflower

Rhizosphere priming effect on N mineralization in vegetable and grain crop systems

Priming effect varies with root order: A case of Cunninghamia lanceolata

Rhizosphere priming effects in soil aggregates with different size classes