Interaction Between Plants Through Litter Input in Mangrove Succession in the Red River Delta

IF 2.2 3区环境科学与生态学 Q2 ECOLOGY

Journal of Vegetation Science Pub Date : 2025-02-01 DOI:10.1111/jvs.70011

Dounia Dhaou, Tan Dao Van, Stéphane Greff, Deepalakshmi Sundaravaradarajan, Hien Khong Thu, Raphaël Gros, Virginie Baldy, Catherine Fernandez, Anne Bousquet-Mélou

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Aims

Dominant or pioneer species litter decomposition was found to be involved in the recruitment of following species during succession in terrestrial plant communities, while knowledge remains scarce in wetland forests such as mangroves. Our study evaluated the influence of pioneer species leaf litter decomposition on (i) the settlement success of species following them or not in the natural succession and (ii) on soil characteristics.

Location

Red River Delta, Vietnam.

Methods

We set up an in situ experiment in mesocosms that followed the survival and growth of three species (Kandelia obovata, Aegiceras corniculatum, and Rhizophora stylosa) planted in soils of Avicennia marina or Sonneratia caseolaris, with or without leaf litter addition for 203 days. Soil nutrient contents were determined at the beginning and end of the experiment, and their metabolic fingerprints were compared using an untargeted metabolomic approach to highlight potential allelochemicals when a phytotoxic effect was observed.

Results

Seedling response to litter addition was species-specific, which can be linked to their successional status. K. obovata was most affected by litter addition, showing better growth with both litter types. Meanwhile, A. marina litter substantially decreased survival rates by 50% for K. obovata and 33% for R. stylosa, suggesting a strategy to delay its replacement by these species through the release of phytotoxic decomposition by-products. Metabolic fingerprints of A. marina soils planted with K. obovata showed no shift in global chemical composition, but 12 features were found significantly more abundant in the presence of litter. Putative annotations revealed sulfur-containing metabolites, which are probable products of organic matter sulfurization, a frequently occurring process in mangrove sediments. These unusual compounds may act as allelochemicals and should be further assessed.

Conclusions

Our findings suggest that allelopathic processes through litter decomposition may be at play in mangrove community assembly and could be a tool for restoration purposes.

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来源期刊

Journal of Vegetation Science 环境科学-林学

CiteScore

6.00

自引率

3.60%

发文量

审稿时长

2 months

期刊介绍： The Journal of Vegetation Science publishes papers on all aspects of plant community ecology, with particular emphasis on papers that develop new concepts or methods, test theory, identify general patterns, or that are otherwise likely to interest a broad international readership. Papers may focus on any aspect of vegetation science, e.g. community structure (including community assembly and plant functional types), biodiversity (including species richness and composition), spatial patterns (including plant geography and landscape ecology), temporal changes (including demography, community dynamics and palaeoecology) and processes (including ecophysiology), provided the focus is on increasing our understanding of plant communities. The Journal publishes papers on the ecology of a single species only if it plays a key role in structuring plant communities. Papers that apply ecological concepts, theories and methods to the vegetation management, conservation and restoration, and papers on vegetation survey should be directed to our associate journal, Applied Vegetation Science journal.