caa a22 4500 47711119X CHVBK 20180405111609.0 cr unu---uuuuu 170330e19960201xx s 000 0 eng 10.1007/BF00011648 doi (NATIONALLICENCE)springer-10.1007/BF00011648 The effects of mycorrhizal roots on litter decomposition, soil biota, and nutrients in a spodosolic soil [Elektronische Daten] [Weixing Zhu, Joan Ehrenfeld] We studied the effects of mycorrhizal pitch pine (Pinus rigida) roots on litter decomposition, microbial biomass, nematode abundance and inorganic nutrients in the E horizon material of a spodosolic soil, using field microcosms created in a regenerating pitch pine stand in the New Jersey Pinelands. Pine roots stimulated litter decomposition by 18.7% by the end of the 29 month study. Both mass loss and N and P release from the litter were always higher in the presence of roots than in their absence. Nutrient concentrations in decomposing litter were similar, however, in the presence and absence of roots, which suggests that the roots present in the with-root treatment did not withdraw nutrients directly from the litter. The soil was slightly drier in the presence of roots, but there was no discernible effect on soil microbial biomass. The effects of roots on soil extractable inorganic nutrients were inconsistent. Roots, however, were consistently associated with higher numbers of soil nematodes. These results suggest that, in soils with low total C and N contents, roots stimulate greater activity of the soil biota, which contribute, in turn, to faster litter decomposition and nutrient release. Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1996 decomposition nationallicence mycorrhizal roots nationallicence nematodes nationallicence soil microbial biomass nationallicence soil nutrients nationallicence spodosolic soil nationallicence Zhu Weixing Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University, 105 Doolittle Hall, 08855, Piscataway, NJ, USA aut Ehrenfeld Joan Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University, 105 Doolittle Hall, 08855, Piscataway, NJ, USA aut Plant and Soil Kluwer Academic Publishers; gopher://gopher.wkap.nl 179/1(1996-02-01), 109-118 0032-079X 179:1<109 1996 179 11104 https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00011648 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI 1 research-article jats NATIONALLICENCE 856 40 https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00011648 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Zhu Weixing Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University, 105 Doolittle Hall, 08855, Piscataway, NJ, USA aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Ehrenfeld Joan Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University, 105 Doolittle Hall, 08855, Piscataway, NJ, USA aut NATIONALLICENCE 773 0- Plant and Soil Kluwer Academic Publishers; gopher://gopher.wkap.nl/ 179/1(1996-02-01), 109-118 0032-079X 179:1<109 1996 179 11104 Metadata rights reserved Springer special CC-BY-NC licence nationallicence BK010053 XK010053 XK010000 NATIONALLICENCE NATIONALLICENCE NL-springer