Journal
FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY
Volume 26, Issue 1, Pages 265-273Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2435.2011.01910.x
Keywords
bamboo flowering; biotic disturbance; carbon cycling; litter decomposition; nitrogen cycling; Nothofagus forest; southern beech; South America
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Funding
- National Science Foundation [SGER 02134174]
- Fundacion Antorchas of Argentina
- Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research [CRN-012]
- ANPCyT of Argentina [PICT 21247/4, PICT 31970/5]
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1. The massive synchronized flowering and subsequent mortality of understorey bamboo species occur in infrequent and unpredictable intervals in temperate and subtropical forests around the world. Because of the sporadic occurrence of these flowering episodes and the long intervals between events, very little is known about their consequences on biogeochemical cycling in natural ecosystems. 2. In 2001, a synchronized flowering and dieback of the native bamboo, Chusquea culeou E. Desv., occurred, covering more than 200 000 ha in the north-west region of Patagonia, Argentina. We explored the impacts of this gregarious flowering event on litter decomposition and nitrogen turnover in an old-growth southern beech forest for 3 years after the flowering event. 3. Bamboo litter decomposed significantly slower than overstorey tree litter, and decomposition in flowered patches overall was significantly reduced compared to remnant live understorey patches. In addition, soil mineral nitrogen was reduced in flowered patches, and nitrogen transformations were altered, most notably in the third year after the flowering event. 4. This infrequent phenomenon of gregarious flowering could have consequences for carbon and nutrient cycling, as low-quality standing dead biomass is gradually incorporated into soil organic matter pools. This study demonstrates that large biotically mediated perturbations of understorey vegetation can impact biogeochemical cycles in temperate forest ecosystems by reducing carbon turnover and altering nitrogen availability and transformations, even in the absence of physical disturbance.
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