Leaf litter chemistry and its effects on soil microorganisms in different ages of Zanthoxylum planispinum var. Dintanensis

BACKGROUND: Leaf litter is the products of metabolism during the growth and development of plantation, and it is also an important component of nutrient cycling in plantation ecosystems. However, leaf litter chemistry and its effects on soil microorganisms in different ages, as well as the interactions between chemical components in leaf litter have been rarely reported. Based on this, this paper took Zanthoxylum planispinum var. dintanensis (hereafter Z. planispinum) plantations of 5–7, 10–12, 20–22, and 28–32 years old as the objects. By using one-way ANOVA, Pearson correlation analysis and redundancy analysis, we investigated leaf litter chemistry and its effects on soil microorganisms in different ages, and to reveal internal correlation of various chemical components in leaf litter, which can provide a scientific basis for the regulation of soil microbial activity in plantations. RESULTS: The variation of organic carbon with plantation age was more stable compared to total nitrogen and phosphorus of leaf litter. Nitrogen resorption was stronger than phosphorus resorption efficiency in Z. planispinum, and resorption efficiencies of leaf nitrogen and phosphorus for different ages were lower than the global average. Total nitrogen was highly significantly positively correlated with lignin, and total potassium was significantly positively correlated with tannin, suggesting the increase of inorganic substances in leaf litter would promote the accumulation of secondary metabolites. The leaf litter chemical traits explained up to 72% of soil microorganisms, where lignin was positively correlated with fungi and negatively correlated with bacteria, indicating that fungi are able to decompose lower quality litter and can break down complex and stable organic compounds more rapidly than bacteria. The nutrient elements carbon and nitrogen in the leaf litter and their interrelationship also have a great impact on soil microorganisms, because carbon is not only the element that provides energy, but also the element with the largest content in the microbiota. CONCLUSIONS: The sustained increase in inorganic nutrients of leaf litter did not favor the decomposition of secondary metabolites, but rather inhibited the degradation of leaf litter. The significant positive effect of the leaf litter chemistry on soil microorganisms indicates the important role of leaf litter in promoting nutrient cycling in Z. planispinum plantations.