Regulations Of Soil Phosphorus Pools And Transformations By Below-and Above-ground Carbon Inputs In A Montane Evergreen Broad-leaved Forest Of Ailao Mountains, Yunnan, China

Phosphorus is one of the essential elements for life that interacts with many biogeochemical processes. The availablity of soil phosphorus is low in many ecosystems, especially in tropical forests, thus is often the limiting factor for primary productivity. The increase in atmospheric CO2 can enhance ecosystem productivity, consequently alter the above- and below-ground carbon inputs in forest ecosystems and change the uptake of nutrients by trees. How would these changes in soil processes induced by increasing atmospheric CO2 levels influence the P pools and P translation rates in forest ecosystems?We conducted a tree girdling, root trenching, and litter removal experiment to separate the influence of below- and above-ground carbon and nutrient inputs as well as plant uptake on P pools and P transformation rates in a montane evergreen broad-leaved subtropical forest. Our results were:1. Tree girdling that terminated below-ground carbon input increased microbial P pools and potential rates of microbial P immobilization (Pim). Plant litter removal that suppressed above-ground carbon and nutrient...