Wei He

• PhD
• Associated Professor at Huazhong Agricultural University

AimsForest gap manipulates the hydrothermal dynamics of the forest floor, creating heterogeneous microenvironments and controlling understory ecosystem processes. However, how the heterogeneity in environments from the gap center to the adjacent closed canopy affects foliar litter cellulose degradation is poorly understood.Methods Litterbags were u...

To understand the effects of forest gaps on lignin degradation during shrub foliar litter decomposition, a field litterbag experiment was conducted in an alpine fir (Abies faxoniana) forest of the eastern Tibet Plateau. Dwarf bamboo (Fargesia nitida) and willow (Salix paraplesia) foliar litterbags were placed on the forest floor from the gap center...

Gap formation favors the growth of understory plants and affects the decomposition process of plant debris inside and outside of gaps. Little information is available regarding how bioelement release from shrub litter is affected by gap formation during critical periods. The release of carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) in the foliar litt...

Background and aims Leaf litter constitutes a major fraction in litter production in Masson pine forests. However, productivity declines due to infertile soil. In these plantations, fertilization is a key management practice to sustain productivity. Our study aimed to: (1) evaluate the effect of mineral fertilizer on the decomposition dynamic of le...

Leaf litter decomposition is a crucial ecological process driven by bacteria and fungi, which release extracellular enzymes. However, the effects of mineral fertilizer application on microbial aspects in forest ecosystems are unclear. We hypothesized that mineral fertilizers significantly affect bacteria and fungi in terms of function, diversity, s...

Changes in land use and forest planting have led to substantial changes in soil fertility and leaf litter input. The effects of mixed planting on the leaf litter decomposition rate in contrasting soil nutrient conditions are poorly understood. To elucidate the effects of litter composition and soil fertility on litter decomposition, we conducted a...

Background Masson pine (Pinus massoniana) plantations are one of the most common forestry plantations in southern China. A high proportion of these plantations is managed as monoculture forests. Productivity in these plantations often declines as they age due to stand retrogression. In these plantations, fertilization is a key practice to prevent...

Stand density is a critical factor impacting the diversity of understory plants. We analyzed the diversity of understory plants and soil seed banks, as well as their relationship by setting up three planting densities in a Pinus massoniana plantation, including low density (1575 trees·hm-2, D1), medium (2474 trees·hm-2, D2), and high (3550 trees·hm...

Huanglongbing (HLB) is the most devastating citrus disease worldwide. The organism associated with the disease is spread by an insect vector, Diaphorina citri, commonly known as Asian citrus psyllid (ACP). Current management of HLB relies either on physical removal of the infected plants or on chemical control of ACP. Both methods are costly and no...

Understory vegetation changes caused by forestry management can alter the litter species composition and microclimate in situ, which while profoundly influence litter lignin degradation process but seldom investigated. To reveal the effects of these changes, understory vegetation in plots was treated as: no understory vegetation removal, only shrub...

Aims Alpine forest gaps can control understory ecosystem processes by manipulating hydrothermal dynamics. Here, we aimed to test the role of alpine forest gap disturbance on total phenol loss (TPL) from the decomposing litter of two typical shrub species (willow, Salix paraplesia Schneid., and bamboo, Fargesia nitida (Mitford) Keng f.). Methods We...

Key message The mixture of decomposing litter from three predominant tree species in a Masson pine ( Pinus massoniana Lamb.) forest showed advantages in elemental cycling, and the species component identities were found to be an important driver for the release of several metallic elements. ContextAlthough mixed forests have long been considered es...

Aims Improvement cutting or harvesting can change the coverage of understory vegetation, which can significantly influence the litter decomposition process in plantations. However, difference in potential non-additive mass loss in response to understory vegetation changes is poorly studied. Methods A field litterbag experiment involving various li...

High planting density of Masson pine (Pinus massoniana) is perceived to have a major impact on timber production as well as understory biodiversity through changed leaf area index (LAI) and reduced understory photosynthetically active radiation (PAR). However, the quantitative relationship between planting density and LAI and understory PAR for Mas...

Aims： Many invasive alien plant species are clonal and can greatly propagate and spread through clonal integration (sharing resources between connected ramets) in heterogeneous and variable environments. Here, we tested whether water variability influences clonal integration of invasive alien plant species and consequently facilitates their growth...

The aim of this study was to investigate the potential mixing effects on degradation of lignin and cellulose in mixed leaf litter from Pinus massoniana Lamb., Cupressus funebris Endl., and/or Quercus variabilis Bl., and elucidate the interactions with abiotic factors. The litter bag method was used in the field experiment, and the three predominant...

Urban biodiversity has increasingly been recognized by the scientific community and environmental policymakers as a part of conservation efforts worldwide. However, most studies on urban biodiversity focus on cities in developed countries. An information gap exists for urban biodiversity of cities in developing countries. Here we focused on variabi...

Reserve selections are often opportunistic rather than strategic and coordinated, and consequently, many reserves are ineffective to achieve their intended goals of conservation. Here, we assessed the conservation effectiveness of a reserve for the golden snub‐nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus roxellana) with a niche‐based approach. We assessed habitat...

To determine whether mixed plantations can improve nutrient cycling and to elucidate the mechanisms of such effects, a field litterbag experiment with seven treatments involving Pinus massoniana (P.), Cupressus funebris (C.) and Quercus variabilis (Q.) litter in equal mass proportions (pure litter; pairwise combinations; and the combination of all...

Little information has been available on the shifts in the microbial community in decaying fallen logs during critical periods in cold forests. Minjiang fir (Abies faxoniana) fallen logs in decay classes I-V were in situ incubated on the forest floor of an alpine forest in the eastern Tibet Plateau. The microbial community was investigated during t...

Temporal dynamics of total PLFAs and bacterial PLFA and fungal PLFA concentrations in fallen logs. (XLSX)

The occurrence of PLFA signature in fallen logs. (XLSX)

Seasonal changes in the moisture content of three fallen log components. (XLSX)

Dynamics of daily mean temperature in the atmosphere at the study site during the study period. (XLSX)

Accompanying the seasonal soil freeze-thaw cycle, microbial decomposition of litter exhibited different dynamic response to various snow thicknesses. In this study, we used real-time qPCR to investigate the abundance of bacteria, archaea, ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) and bacteria (AOB), and the amoA gene transcripts, during the decomposition of...

Forest gaps are one of the most normal interferences in primary forest ecosystems, and they play an important role in not only aboveground processes but also belowground processes. However, many studies have paid more attention to the effects of forest gaps on aboveground processes. Increasing evidence has demonstrated that forest gaps have a stron...

Bacterial community plays an important role in litter decomposition. Although the changes of bacterial community as litter decomposition proceeding can be regulated by frozen temperature and changed litter quality in cold regimes, little information has been available on. Therefore, the structure and diversity of the bacterial community in Minjiang...

Lignin, a major component of foliar litter, plays a crucial role in litter decomposition process in forest ecosystems. However, forest gap may affect lignin degradation of foliar litter in subalpine forests, since gaps with different sizes not only regulate snow cover and its associated freeze-thaw events in winter, but also affect temperature and...

Bacterial communities are the primary engineers during litter decomposition and related material cycling, and they can be strongly controlled by seasonal changes in temperature and other environmental factors. However, limited information is available on changes in the bacterial community from winter to the growing season as litter decomposition pr...

The objective of the study was to understand the effect of diameter size on root mass loss, lignin and cellulose degradation rates. We used nylon mesh bag method to investigate the mass loss rate and lignin and cellulose degradation rate of different root diameters (≤ 2 mm, 2-5 mm and ≥ 5 mm) of three dominant subalpine trees (Betula albo-sinensis,...

Soil microbes are very sensitive to environmental changes. However, little information is available on soil microbial community during the seasonal freeze-thaw in the alpine forests. This paper aimed to determine the variations of the abundance and structure of microbial community in mineral soil (MS) at different altitudes over a freeze-thaw seaso...

Phosphorus (P) released from foliar litter plays crucial roles in maintaining soil fertility and ecosystem productivity in the P-limited forest ecosystem. The present consensus is that litter quality manipulates the rate of P release during decomposition at the local scale, and climate runs the global-scale patterns in N release during decompositio...

There is increasing attention on the effects of seasonal snowpack on wintertime litter decomposition, as well as the processes following it, in cold biomes. However, little information is available on how litter nitrogen (N) dynamics vary with snowpack variations created by tree crown canopies in alpine forests. Therefore, to understand the effects...

Aim Seasonal snow cover may play an important role in litter decomposition in alpine forest, but little information has been available on the effects of different snow depths on litter mass loss. Therefore, the objective was to characterize the rate of mass loss during litter decomposition under different snow cover conditions. Methods A field lit...