[Soil enzyme stoichiometry revealed the changes of soil microbial carbon and phosphorus limitation along an elevational gradient in a Pinus taiwanensis forest of Wuyi Mountains, Southeast China]. / åœŸå£¤é ¶è®¡é‡æ­ç¤ºäº†æ­¦å¤·å±±é»„å±±æ¾æž—åœŸå£¤å¾®ç”Ÿç‰©æ²¿æµ·æ‹”æ¢¯åº¦çš„ç¢³ç£·é™åˆ¶å˜åŒ–.

Understanding changes in soil enzyme activities and ecoenzymatic stoichiometry is important for assessing soil nutrient availability and microbial nutrient limitation in mountain ecosystems. However, the variations of soil microbial nutrient limitation across elevational gradients and its driving factors in subtropical mountain forests are still unclear. In this study, we measured soil properties, microbial biomass, and enzyme activities related to carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) cycling in Pinus taiwanensis forests at different altitudes of Wuyi Mountains. By analyzing the enzyme stoichiometric ratio, vector length (VL), and vector angle (VA), the relative energy and nutrient limitation of soil microorganisms and its key regulatory factors were explored. The results showed that ß-glucosaminidase (BG) activities increased along the elevational gradient, while the activities of ß-N-acetyl glucosaminidase (NAG), leucine aminopeptidase (LAP), acid phosphatase (AcP) and (NAG+LAP)/microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and AcP/MBC showed the opposite trend. Enzyme C/N, enzyme C/P, enzyme N/P, and VL were enhanced with increasing elevation, while VA decreased, indicating a higher degree of microbial P limitation at low elevation and higher C limitation at high elevation. In addition, our results suggested that dissolved organic carbon and microbial biomass phosphorus are critical factors affecting the relative energy and nutrient limitation of soil microorganisms at different elevations. The results would provide a theoretical basis for the responses of soil carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus availability as well as the relative limitation of microbial energy and nutrition to elevational gradients, and improve our understanding of soil biogeochemical cycle process in subtropical montane forest ecosystems.

Polymerization of catechin catalyzed by Mn-, Fe- and Al-oxides.

The role of short-range order (SRO) metal oxides, which are common in acid soils and associated environments, in influencing the abiotic transformations of catechin, which is common in the soil of tea plantations, still remains poorly understood. The aim of this study was to investigate the catalytic power of SRO Mn(IV)-, Fe(III)- and Al-oxides in influencing the abiotic transformations of catechin. At the end of a 90-h reaction period, the release of CO(2) in all the oxide-catechin systems is higher than that for the system with only catechin. Polymerization of catechin is catalyzed and enhanced by SRO-oxides, as is indicated by the absorbance values of the supernatants, which were obtained via visible adsorption spectroscopy, and the yields of humic polymers. The sequence of the oxides that increased the yield of total humic polymers in these systems under ambient atmosphere is: Fe(III)-oxide>Mn(IV)-oxide>Al-oxide>>no catalyst (catechin). The electron spin resonance (ESR) and Fourier transformation infrared absorption spectrometry (FT-IR) of humic polymers formed in the oxide-catechin systems were similar to the spectra obtained from the humic polymers extracted from the soil. The catalytic power of SRO-oxides in promoting the oxidative polymerization of catechin, the resultant formation of humic substances, and C turnover in acid soils thus merit attention.