Typhoon-induced litter on lawns and soil surfaces exhibit divergent decomposition patterns

doi:10.1093/jpe/rtaf151

J Plant Ecol ›› 2026, Vol. 19 ›› Issue (1): rtaf151.DOI: 10.1093/jpe/rtaf151

• Research Article •

Typhoon-induced litter on lawns and soil surfaces exhibit divergent decomposition patterns

Yurui Jiang^1,2,3,4,5, Lifeng Wang^2,3,4,5, Huaibin Wang6 , Rui Cao^2,3,4,5, Zhuang Wang^2,3,4,5, Qin Wang^1
2,3,4,5, Weizhong Li^1,* and Wanqin Yang^2,3,4,5,*

¹College of Forestry, Northwest A & F University, Yangling 712100, China, ²Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory for Restoration of Damaged Coastal Ecosystems, School of Life Sciences, Taizhou University, Taizhou 318000, China, ³Linhai Station of Zhejiang Provincial Forest Ecological Research, Linhai Forest Farm, Linhai Natural Resources and Planning Bureau, Taizhou 317000, China, ⁴Zhejiang Provincial Forest Ecological Research, Taizhou University, Taizhou 318000, China, ⁵Tiantai Station of Taizhou Key Laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Special Industry Cultivation, Taizhou University, Taizhou 318000, China, ⁶CREC Research Center of Green and Low-Carbon Infrastructure, China Railway ErYuan Engineering Group CO., LTD, Chengdu 610083, China

*Corresponding authors. E-mail: liweizhong@nwsuaf.edu.cn (W.L.); scyangwq@163.com (W.Y.)

Received:2025-06-30 Accepted:2025-08-30 Online:2025-09-10 Published:2026-02-01
Supported by:
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (U22A20450, 32401360 and 32201537).

台风产生的凋落物在草坪和土壤表面的分解模式差异

Abstract

Abstract: Typhoon-generated green litter is commonly deposited on lawns and soil surfaces in urban forest ecosystems, where differences in microenvironmental conditions and soil fauna accessibility may alter the pathways of carbon (C) and nutrient cycling during litter decomposition. However, knowledge regarding the decomposition of typhoon-generated green litter and physiologically senesced litter in these microhabitats remains limited. To address this gap, we simultaneously incubated typhoon-generated green and naturally senesced leaf litter of camphor (Cinnamomum camphora) tree on the lawn and soil surfaces in combination with soil fauna exclusion. The mass remaining of senesced and green litter was significantly lower on lawns than on soil, and the mass remaining of senesced litter was significantly higher than that of green litter in both microhabitats. Carbon remaining in senesced and green litter on the lawn was markedly lower than those on the soil surface. Additionally, C and nitrogen (N) remaining in green litter were substantially lower than those in senesced litter. A notable decrease in C, N, and phosphorus (P) remaining in green litter on the soil surface occurred after the spring litter peak. Furthermore, soil fauna significantly reduced litter mass remaining, as well as C and P remaining, exerting a stronger effect on the decomposition of green litter than on senesced litter. We conclude that green and senesced litter exhibit distinct decomposition patterns across microhabitats.

Typhoon-generated green leaf litter and naturally senesced leaf litter may follow different fates across different microhabitats. Our results showed that leaf litter on lawns and soil surfaces exhibited distinct decomposition patterns, wherein the decomposition rate of litter on lawns was significantly higher than that on soil surfaces, and green litter decomposed faster. Furthermore, soil fauna contributed significantly more to the decomposition of green litter than to that of naturally senesced litter, with the most pronounced contribution in the plum rain season.

Key words: tropical cyclones, urban forest, environmental heterogeneity, green litter, litter decomposition, soil fauna

摘要：
在城市森林生态系统中，台风过后产生大量绿色凋落物常堆积于草坪与土壤表面。由于微环境和土壤动物可获取性的不同，不同位置凋落物分解过程中的碳和养分循环可能存在差异。然而，目前少有研究关注台风产生的绿色凋落物与生理性衰老形成的凋落物在不同微生境中的分解差异。针对这一问题，本研究以香樟(Cinnamomum camphora)为研究对象，在草坪上和土壤表面同步开展绿色凋落叶和衰老凋落叶分解实验。结果表明：1)草坪上绿色和衰老凋落叶剩余质量均显著低于土壤表面，两类微生境中衰老凋落叶剩余质量均显著高于绿色凋落叶。2)草坪上衰老和绿色凋落叶碳残留量均显著低于土壤表面，绿色凋落叶碳氮残留量均显著低于生理性凋落叶。春季凋落高峰后，土壤表面绿色凋落叶的碳氮磷残留量显著下降。3)土壤动物显著降低了凋落叶剩余质量及碳磷残留量，其对绿色凋落叶分解的影响强于衰老凋落叶的分解。上述结果说明，绿色和衰老凋落叶在不同微生境中表现出明显不同的分解模式。

关键词: 热带气旋, 城市森林, 环境异质性, 绿色凋落物, 凋落物分解, 土壤动物

Yurui Jiang, Lifeng Wang, Huaibin Wang, Rui Cao, Zhuang Wang, Qin Wang, Weizhong Li, Wanqin Yang. Typhoon-induced litter on lawns and soil surfaces exhibit divergent decomposition patterns[J]. J Plant Ecol, 2026, 19(1): 1-.

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Typhoon-induced litter on lawns and soil surfaces exhibit divergent decomposition patterns

台风产生的凋落物在草坪和土壤表面的分解模式差异

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