Evidence for the role and fate of water-insoluble condensed tannins in the short-term reduction of carbon loss during litter decay

Simple item page
dc.contributor.authorShay, Philip‑Edouard
dc.contributor.authorConstabel, C. Peter
dc.contributor.authorTrofymow, J. A.
dc.date.accessioned2018-11-28T13:31:29Z
dc.date.copyright2018en_US
dc.date.issued2018-01
dc.description.abstractWarmer temperatures associated with climate change have the potential to accelerate litter decay and subsequently release large amounts of carbon stored in soils. Condensed tannins are widespread secondary metabolites, which accumulate to high concentrations in many woody plants and play key roles in forest soil nutrient cycles. Future elevated atmospheric CO2 concentrations are predicted to reduce nitrogen content and increase tannin concentrations in plant tissues, thus reducing litter quality for microbial communities and slowing decomposition rates. How the distinct condensed tannin fractions (water-soluble, acetone:MeOH-soluble and solvent-insoluble) impact soil processes, has not been investigated. We tested the impact of condensed tannin and nitrogen concentrations on decay rates of poplar and Douglas-fir litter at sites spanning temperature and moisture gradients in coastal rainshadow forests in British Columbia, Canada. The three condensed tannin fractions were quantified using recent improvements on the butanol-HCl assay. Decay was assessed based on carbon remaining, while changes in litter chemistry were primarily observed using two methods for proximate chemical analyses. After 0.6 and 1 year of decay, more carbon remained in poplar litter with high, compared to low, condensed tannin concentrations. By contrast, more carbon remained in Douglas fir litter than poplar litter during this period, despite lower condensed tannin concentrations. Rapid early decay was especially attributed to loss of soluble compounds, including water-soluble condensed tannins. Water-insoluble condensed tannin fractions, which were transformed to acid-unhydrolyzable residues over time, were associated with reduced carbon loss in high condensed tannin litter.en_US
dc.description.embargo2019-01-01
dc.description.reviewstatusRevieweden_US
dc.description.scholarlevelFacultyen_US
dc.description.sponsorshipThis work was supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada in the form of Discovery Grants to CPC and the NSERC CREATE Program in Forests and Climate Change.en_US
dc.identifier.citationShay, P., Constabel, P.C. & Trofymow, J.A. (2018). Evidence for the role and fate of water-insoluble condensed tannins in the short-term reduction of carbon loss during litter decay. Biogeochemistry, 137(1-2), 127-141. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-017-0406-xen_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-017-0406-x
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1828/10373
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherBiogeochemistryen_US
dc.subjectPoplar
dc.subjectDouglas-fir
dc.subjectProanthocyanidin
dc.subjectProximate chemistry
dc.subjectButanol-HCl
dc.subjectCarbon sequestration
dc.subjectCentre for Forest Biology
dc.subject.departmentDepartment of Biology
dc.titleEvidence for the role and fate of water-insoluble condensed tannins in the short-term reduction of carbon loss during litter decayen_US
dc.typePostprinten_US

Files

Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
Shay_Philip-Edouard_Biogeochemistry_2018.pdf
Size:
1.13 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Download
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
license.txt
Size:
1.71 KB
Format:
Item-specific license agreed upon to submission
Description:
Download

Collections

Faculty and Staff Publications
 
University of Victoria Libraries

We acknowledge and respect the Lək̓ʷəŋən (Songhees and Esquimalt) Peoples on whose territory the university stands, and the Lək̓ʷəŋən and W̱SÁNEĆ Peoples whose historical relationships with the land continue to this day.