Urbanization-related changes in European aspen (Populus tremula L.): Leaf traits and litter decomposition

Environmental Pollution

Volumn 158, Issue 6, 2010, Pages 2132-2142

  Nikula, Suvi ^a   Vapaavuori, Elina ^b   Manninen, Sirkku ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF HELSINKI   (Finland)

^b FINNISH FOREST RESEARCH INSTITUTE   (Finland)

Author keywords

Acclimatization; Decomposition; Epicuticular waxes; Litter quality; Urban land use

Indexed keywords

ACCELERATED DECOMPOSITION; C:N RATIO; DECOMPOSERS; EPICUTICULAR WAXES; FOREST STAND; HELSINKI; INCREASED TEMPERATURE; LEAF LITTER; LEAF TRAITS; LITTER DECOMPOSITION; LITTER QUALITY; METROPOLITAN AREA; POPULUS TREMULA; RURAL SITE; SOUTHERN FINLAND; SPECIFIC LEAF AREA; TOTAL PHENOLICS; URBAN SITE;

LAND USE; PHENOLS;

FORESTRY;

LIGNIN; NITROGEN; PHENOL DERIVATIVE;

ACCLIMATION; CONCENTRATION (COMPOSITION); DECOMPOSITION; LAND USE CHANGE; LEAF LITTER; LIGNIN; METROPOLITAN AREA; RURAL AREA; TREE; URBANIZATION;

ACCLIMATIZATION; ARTICLE; ASPEN; CONCENTRATION (PARAMETERS); CONTROLLED STUDY; ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE; ENVIRONMENTAL STRESS; EUROPE; FOLIAGE; FOREST; LITTER DECOMPOSITION; MOISTURE; NITROGEN DEPOSITION; NONHUMAN; QUALITY CONTROL; RURAL AREA; TEMPERATURE; URBAN AREA; URBANIZATION;

ACCLIMATIZATION; CARBON; ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING; FINLAND; NITROGEN; PLANT LEAVES; POPULUS; SOIL; URBANIZATION;

CITIES; DECAY; FOREST LITTER; FORESTRY; LAND USE; MOISTURE; NITROGEN; PHENOLS; POPULUS TREMULA; TEMPERATURE;

ETELA SUOMEN; FINLAND; HELSINKI;

POPULUS TREMULA;

EID: 77953288382     PISSN: 02697491     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2010.02.025     Document Type: Article

References (87)

1. Anttila P., and Tuovinen J.-P. Trends in primary and secondary pollutant concentrations in Finland in 1994-2007. Atmospheric Environment 44 (2009) 30-41
2. Anttonen S., Manninen A.-M., Saranpää P., Kainulainen P., Linder S., and Vapaavuori E. Effects of long-term nutrient optimisation on stem wood chemistry in Picea abies. Trees 16 (2002) 386-394
3. Aspelmeier S., and Leuschner C. Genotypic variation in drought response of silver birch (Betula pendula Roth): leaf and root morphology and carbon partitioning. Trees 20 (2006) 42-52
4. Balasooriya B.L.W.K., Samson R., Mbikwa F., Vitharana U.W.A., Boeckx P., and Van Meirvenne M. Biomonitoring of urban habitat quality by anatomical and chemical leaf characteristics. Environmental and Experimental Botany 65 (2009) 386-394
5. Berg B. Litter decomposition and organic matter turnover in northern forest soils. Forest Ecology and Management 133 (2000) 13-22
6. Berg B., Ekbohm G., Söderström B., and Staaf B. Reduction of decomposition rates of Scots pine needle litter due to heavy-metal pollution. Water, Air, and Soil Pollution 59 (1991) 165-177
7. Berg B., and McClaugherty C. Plant Litter. Decomposition, Humus Formation, Carbon Sequestration (2008), Springer-Verlag, Berlin, Heidelberg
8. Berg B., and Staaf H. Leaching, accumulation and release of nitrogen in decomposing forest litter. In: Clark F.E., and Rosswall T. (Eds). Terrestrial Nitrogen Cycles vol. 33 (1981), Ecological Bulletins, Stockholm 163-178
9. Berg B., Steffen K.T., and McClaugherty C. Litter decomposition rate is dependent on litter Mn concentrations. Biogeochemistry 82 (2007) 29-39
10. Berrang P., Karnosky D.F., and Bennett J.P. Natural selection for ozone tolerance in Populus tremuloides: field verification. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 19 (1989) 519-522
11. Braun S., Zugmaier U., Thomas V., and Flückiger W. Carbohydrate concentrations in different plant parts of young beech and spruce along a gradient of ozone pollution. Atmospheric Environment 38 (2004) 2399-2407
12. Bussotti F. Functional leaf traits, plant communities and acclimation processes in relation to oxidative stress in trees: a critical overview. Global Change Biology 14 (2008) 2727-2739
13. Cajander A. Forest types and their significance. Acta Forestalia Fennica 56 (1949) 1-71
14. Cape J.N. Evaluation of pollutant critical levels from leaf surface characteristics. In: Percy K.E., Cape J.N., Jagels R., and Simpson C.J. (Eds). Air Pollutants and the Leaf Cuticle. NATO ASI Series G: Ecological Sciences 36 (1994),, Springer-Verlag, Berlin 123-138
15. Cape J.N., and Percy K.E. Environmental influences on the development of spruce needle cuticles. New Phytologist 125 (1993) 787-799
16. Carreiro M.M., Howe K., Parkhurst D.F., and Pouyat R.V. Variation in quality and decomposability of red oak leaf litter along an urban-rural gradient. Biology and Fertility of Soils 30 (1999) 258-268
17. Carreiro M.M., and Tripler C.E. Forest remnants along urban-rural gradients: examining their potential for global change research. Ecosystems 8 (2005) 568-582
18. City of Helsinki Urban Facts. The state of Helsinki Region 2009 - European comparisons. Available on: (2009). http://www.hel2.fi/tietokeskus/julkaisut/pdf/09_09_01_state_of_helsinki_region.pdf
19. Cornelissen J.H.C., Quested H.M., Logtestijn R.S.P., Pérez-Harguindeguy N., Gwynn-Jones D., Díaz S., Callaghan T.V., Press M.C., and Aerts R. Foliar pH as a new plant trait: can it explain variation in foliar chemistry and carbon cycling processes among subarctic plant species and types?. Oecologia 147 (2006) 315-326
20. 2 affects field decomposition rate and palatability of tree leaf litter: Importance of changes in substrate quality. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 30 (1998) 1565-1571
21. 2 enrichment (POPFACE). Global Change Biology 11 (2005) 971-982
22. Cotrufo M.F., Virzo De Santo A., Alfani A., Bartoli G., and De Cristofaro A. Effects of urban heavy metal pollution on organic matter decomposition in Quercus ilex L. woods. Environmental Pollution 89 (1995) 81-87
23. De Marco A. Assessment of present and future risk to Italian forests and human health: Modelling and mapping. Environmental Pollution 157 (2009) 1407-1412
24. DesRochers A., van den Driessche R., and Thomas B.R. Nitrogen fertilization of trembling aspen seedlings grown on soils of different pH. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 33 (2003) 552-560
25. Donaldson J.R., and Lindroth R.L. Genetics, environment, and their interaction determine efficacy of chemical defense in trembling aspen. Ecology 88 (2007) 729-739
26. Fenn M. Increased site fertility and litter decomposition rate in high-pollution sites in the San Bernardino Mountains. Forest Science 37 (1991) 1163-1181
27. Fenn M.E., Poth M.A., and Johnson D.W. Evidence for nitrogen saturation in the San Bernardino Mountains in southern California. Forest Ecology and Management 82 (1996) 211-230
28. Fog K. The effect of added nitrogen on the rate of decomposition of organic matter. Biological Reviews 63 (1988) 433-462
29. Galloway J.N., Schlesinger W.H., Levy II H., Michaels A., and Schnoor J.L. Nitrogen fixation: anthropogenic enhancement-environment response. Global Biogeochemical Cycles 9 (1995) 235-252
30. Gratani L., Crescente M.F., and Petruzzi C. Relationship between leaf life-span and photosynthetic activity of Quercus ilex in polluted urban areas (Rome). Environmental Pollution 110 (2000) 19-28
31. Grime J.P., Cornelissen J.H.C., Thompson K., and Hodgson J.G. Evidence of a causal connection between anti-herbivore defence and the decomposition rate of leaves. Oikos 77 (1996) 489-494
32. Grimm N.B., Faeth S.H., Golubiewski N.E., Redman C.L., Wu J., Bai X., and Briggs J.M. Global change and the ecology of cities. Science 319 5864 (2008) 756-760
33. Hamberg L., Lehvävirta S., and Kotze D.J. Forest edge structure as a shaping factor of understorey vegetation in urban forests in Finland. Forest Ecology and Management 257 (2009) 712-722
34. Horner J.D., Gosz J.R., and Cates R.G. The role of carbon-based plant secondary metabolites in decomposition in terrestrial ecosystems. American Naturalist 132 (1988) 869-883
35. Ibrahim L., Proe M.F., and Cameron A.D. Main effects of nitrogen supply and drought stress upon whole-plant carbon allocation in poplar. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 27 (1997) 1413-1419
36. 2 dome of Phoenix, Arizona. Physical Geography 19 (1998) 95-108
37. Jerabkova L., Prescott C.E., and Kishchuk B.E. Nitrogen availability in soil and forest floor of contrasting types of boreal mixedwood forests. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 36 (2006) 112-122
38. Johnson D., and Hale B. White birch (Betula papyrifera Marshall) foliar litter decomposition in relation to trace metal atmospheric inputs at metal-contaminated and uncontaminated sites near Sudbury, Ontario and Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec, Canada. Environmental Pollution 127 (2004) 65-72
39. Karačić A., and Weih M. Variation in growth and resource utilisation among eight poplar clones grown under different irrigation and fertilisation regimes in Sweden. Biomass and Bioenergy 30 (2006) 115-124
40. 3 predisposes aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) to infection by rust (Melampsora medusae f. sp tremuloidae). Global Change Biology 8 (2002) 329-338
41. Kerstiens G. Cuticular water permeability and its physiological significance. Journal of Experimental Botany 47 (1996) 1813-1832
42. Köchy M., and Wilson S.D. Litter decomposition and nitrogen dynamics in aspen forest and mixed-grass prairie. Ecology 78 (1997) 732-739
43. Koivuranta L., Leinonen K., and Pulkkinen P. Marketing of forest reproductive material: the use of microsatellites for identification of registered tree clones in Finland. Working Papers of the Finnish Forest Research Institute 77. Available on: (2008). http://www.metla.fi/julkaisut/workingpapers/2008/mwp077.pdf
44. Koopmans C.J., Tietema A., and Verstraten J.M. Effects of reduced N deposition on litter decomposition and N cycling in two N saturated forests in the Netherlands. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 30 (1998) 141-151
45. Kouki J., Arnold K., and Martikainen P. Long-term persistence of aspen - a key host for many threatened species - is endangered in old-growth conservation areas in Finland. Journal for Nature Conservation 12 (2004) 41-52
46. Kuperman R.G. Litter decomposition and nutrient dynamics in oak-hickory forests along a historic gradient of nitrogen and sulfur deposition. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 31 (1999) 237-244
47. Latva-Karjanmaa T., Penttilä R., and Siitonen J. The demographic structure of European aspen (Populus tremula) populations in managed and old-growth boreal forests in eastern Finland. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 37 (2007) 1070-1081
48. Laureysens I., De Temmerman L., Hastir T., Van Gysel M., and Ceulemans R. Clonal variation in heavy metal accumulation and biomass production in a poplar coppice culture. II. Vertical distribution and phytoextraction potential. Environmental Pollution 133 (2005) 541-551
49. Lorenz K., Preston C.M., Krumrei S., and Feger K.-H. Decomposition of needle/leaf litter from Scots pine, black cherry, common oak and European beech at a conurbation forest site. European Journal of Forest Research 123 (2004) 177-188
50. Lovett G.M., Traynor M.M., Pouyat R.V., Carreiro M.M., Zhu W., and Baxter J.W. Atmospheric deposition to oak forests along an urban-rural gradient. Environmental Science and Technology 34 (2000) 4294-4300
51. Lutz H.J., and Chandler Jr. R.F. Forest Soils (1947), John Wiley & Sons, New York
52. Mandre M., Tullus H., and Tamm U. The partitioning of carbohydrates and the biomass of leaves in Populus tremula L. canopy. Trees 12 (1998) 160-166
53. 2. Environmental Pollution 107 (2000) 421-436
54. Manninen S., Huttunen S., Tømmervik H., Hole L.R., and Solberg S. Northern plants and ozone. Ambio 38 (2009) 406-412
55. Manninen S., Huttunen S., Vanhatalo M., Pakonen T., and Hämäläinen A. Inter- and intraspecific responses to elevated ozone and chamber climate in northern birches. Environmental Pollution 157 (2009) 1679-1688
56. Mattson W.J. Herbivory in relation to plant nitrogen content. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 11 (1980) 119-161
57. McDonnell M.J., Pickett S.T.A., Groffman P., Bohlen P., Pouyat R.V., Zipperer W.C., Parmelee R.W., Carreiro M.M., and Medley K. Ecosystem processes along an urban-to-rural gradient. Urban Ecosystems 1 (1997) 21-36
58. Meier I.C., and Leuschner C. Leaf size and leaf area index in Fagus sylvatica forests: competing effects of precipitation, temperature, and nitrogen availability. Ecosystems 11 (2008) 655-669
59. Melillo J.M., Aber J.D., and Muratore J.F. Nitrogen and lignin control of hardwood leaf litter decomposition dynamics. Ecology 63 (1982) 621-626
60. Pavao-Zuckerman M.A., and Coleman D.C. Decomposition of chestnut oak (Quercus prinus) leaves and nitrogen mineralization in an urban environment. Biology and Fertility of Soils 41 (2005) 343-349
61. Pickett S.T.A., Cadenasso M.L., Grove J.M., Nilon C.H., Pouyat R.V., Zipperer W.C., and Costanza R. Urban ecological systems: linking terrestrial ecological, physical, and socioeconomic components of metropolitan areas. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 32 (2001) 127-157
62. Pihlajaniemi H., Siuruainen M., Rautio R., Laine K., Peteri S.-L., and Huttunen S. Successful growth of micropropagated ornamental tree forms in northern Finland. Dendrobiology 57 (2007) 61-71
63. Pouyat R.V., and Carreiro M.M. Controls on mass loss and nitrogen dynamics of oak leaf litter along an urban-rural land-use gradient. Oecologia 135 (2003) 288-298
64. Pouyat R.V., and McDonnell M.J. Heavy metal accumulation in forest soils along an urban-rural gradient in southern New York, USA. Water, Air, and Soil Pollution 57-58 (1991) 797-807
65. Pouyat R.V., McDonnell M.J., and Pickett S.T.A. Litter decomposition and nitrogen mineralization in oak stands along an urban-rural land use gradient. Urban Ecosystems 1 (1997) 117-131
66. Prescott C.E., Kabzems R., and Zabek L.M. Effects of fertilization on decomposition rate of Populus tremuloides foliar litter in a boreal forest. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 29 (1999) 393-397
67. Quick W.P., Chaves M.M., Wendler R., David M., Rodrigues M.L., Passaharinho J.A., Pereira J.S., Adcock M.D., Leegood R.C., and Stitt M. The effect of water-stress on photosynthetic carbon metabolism in 4 species grown under field conditions. Plant, Cell, and Environment 15 (1992) 25-35
68. Reich P.B., Walters M.B., and Ellsworth D.S. From tropics to tundra: global convergence in plant functioning. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 94 25 (1997) 13730-13734
69. SCAN-CM. Asetoniin liukenevan aineen määrittäminen. Scandinavian Pulp, Paper and Board Testing Committee 50 (1994), Central Laboratory of Finland, Espoo, Finland (in Finnish)
70. Scheid S., Günthardt-Goerg M.S., Schulin R., and Nowack B. Accumulation and solubility of metals during leaf litter decomposition in non-polluted and polluted soil. European Journal of Soil Science 60 (2009) 613-621
71. Shen W., Wu J., Grimm N.B., and Hope D. Effects of urbanization-induced environmental changes on ecosystem functioning in the Phoenix metropolitan region, USA. Ecosystems 11 (2008) 138-155
72. Shepherd T., and Griffiths D.W. The effects of stress on plant cuticular waxes. New Phytologist 171 (2006) 469-499
73. Siitonen J. Haavan merkitys metsäluonnon monimuotoisuudelle. In: Hynynen J., and Viherä-Aarnio A. (Eds). Haapa - monimuotoisuutta metsään ja metsätalouteen. Metsäntutkimuslaitoksen tiedonantoja 725 (1999) 71-80 (in Finnish)
74. Smith W.H. Air Pollution and Forests: Interaction Between Air Contaminants and Forest Ecosystems (1990), Springer-Verlag, New York
75. Suominen O., Edenius L., Ericsson G., and Resco de Dios V. Gastropod diversity in aspen stands in coastal northern Sweden. Forest Ecology and Management 175 (2003) 403-412
76. Suvanto L.I., and Latva-Karjanmaa T.B. Clone identification and clonal structure of the European aspen (Populus tremula). Molecular Ecology 14 (2005) 2851-2860
77. Swift M.J., Heal O.W., and Anderson J.M. Decomposition in Terrestrial Ecosystems (1979), Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford
78. 15N to soil compaction and forest floor removal in a boreal aspen forest. Forest Ecology and Management 222 (2006) 450-458
79. Thomas F.M. Growth and water relations of four deciduous tree species (Fagus sylvatica L., Quercus petraea [Matt.] Liebl., Q. pubescens Willd., Sorbus aria [L.] Cr.) occurring at Central-European tree-line sites on shallow calcareous soils: physiological reactions of seedlings to severe drought. Flora 195 (2000) 104-115
80. Turunen M., and Huttunen S. A review of the response of epicuticular wax of conifer needles to air pollution. Journal of Environmental Quality 19 (1990) 35-45
81. Valovirta I. Land molluscs in relation to acidity on hyperite hills in central Finland. Annales Zoologici Fennici 5 (1968) 245-253
82. Vanhala P., Kiikkilä O., and Fritze H. Microbial responses of forest soil to moderate anthropogenic air pollution. Water, Air, and Soil Pollution 86 (1996) 173-186
83. Whelan R.J. An artificial medium for feeding choice experiments with slugs. Journal of Applied Ecology 19 (1982) 89-94
84. Worrel R. European aspen (Populus tremula L.): a review with particular reference to Scotland. I Distribution, ecology and genetic variation. Forestry 68 (1995) 93-105
85. Wright W., and Illius A.W. A comparative study of the fracture properties of five grasses. Functional Ecology 9 (1995) 269-278
86. YTV. Helsinki metropolitan area vision 2025 - summary. Available on: (2006). http://www.ytv.fi/ENG/future/vision/
87. YTV. Ilman laatu pääkaupunkiseudulla vuonna 2008 (Air quality in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area in 2008) (2009), YTV, Helsinki (In Finnish)