| Title: | Impact of decomposing Cinnamomum septentrionale leaf litter on the growth of Eucalyptus grandis saplings |
| Author(s): | Huang W; Hu T; Chen H; Wang Q; Hu H; Tu L; Jing L; |
| Address: | "Key Laboratory of Forestry Ecological Engineering of Sichuan Province, College of Forestry, Sichuan Agricultural University, Ya'an 625014, Sichuan, PR China" |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.plaphy.2013.06.010 |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 1873-2690 (Electronic) 0981-9428 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "A pot experiment was performed to study the impact of decomposing Cinnamomum septentrionale leaf litter on the growth of Eucalyptus grandis saplings. The experimental design scheme was 0 (CK), 40 (A1), 80 (A2) and 120 g pot(-1) (A3) of E. grandis leaves, and changes in the volatile oil chemical composition during litter decomposition were assessed in the present study. The results showed that C. septentrionale leaf litter inhibited the growth of E. grandis saplings, as determined by the height, basal diameter and chlorophyll content, after 69 d (T1). Five months after transplantation (T2), the height growth rate of the E. grandis saplings increased and then gradually reduced (A1: 40 g pot(-1) > A2: 80 g pot(-1) > A3: 120 g pot(-1) > CK: 0 g pot(-1)). After eleven months (T3), the variations in the height and basal diameter were the same as observed at T2, and the inhibition on leaf, branch, root and stem biomass increased with increasing leaf litter content. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was used to identify the volatile compound composition. The results indicated that the C. septentrionale original leaf litter (S1) contained thirty-one volatile compounds, but the treated leaf litter S2 (which was mixed with soil for eleven months to simultaneously plant E. grandis saplings) only possessed fourteen volatile compounds, releasing many secondary metabolites in the soil during decomposition. Most of the volatile compounds were alcohols, monoterpenoids, sesquiterpenes, alkanes, alkene, esters and ketones. Most of the allelochemicals of C. septentrionale might be released during the initial decomposing process, inhibiting the growth of other plants, whereas some nutrients might be released later, promoting the height growth of plants. In conclusion, decomposing C. septentrionale leaf litter release of many allelochemicals in the soil that significantly inhibit the growth of E. grandis" |
| Keywords: | "Biomass Cinnamomum/*metabolism Eucalyptus/*growth & development Oils, Volatile/*metabolism Pheromones/*metabolism Plant Leaves/*metabolism Secondary Metabolism Soil/*chemistry Volatile Organic Compounds/*metabolism Allelopathy Cinnamomum septentrionale Eu;" |
| Notes: | "MedlineHuang, Weiwei Hu, Tingxing Chen, Hong Wang, Qian Hu, Hongling Tu, Lihua Jing, Liao eng Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't France 2013/07/10 Plant Physiol Biochem. 2013 Sep; 70:411-7. doi: 10.1016/j.plaphy.2013.06.010. Epub 2013 Jun 21" |
