Leachate from fine root litter is more acidic than leaf litter leachate: A 2.5-year laboratory incubation

Highlights: • Litter leachates released during decomposition may facilitate soil acidification. • We compared leachate properties of fresh roots and leaves in a 2.5-y incubation. • Roots released a greater amount of acidic materials than leaves. • Dissolved humic-like substances contributed to the lower pH of root leachates. • An increase of root biomass in response to acidic soil may increase soil acidity. Some tree species increase fine root production under soil acidification, thus changing the balance of litter input from leaves and roots. Litter leaches a significant amount of acidic materials during its decomposition, which might facilitate soil acidification. In this context, we focused on dissolved organic matter (DOM) as the major component of acidic materials. We hypothesized that both the quality and quantity of DOM, which control its function (i.e., proton supply), differ between leaf and root litter. To test this hypothesis, we conducted a 2.5-year laboratory incubation experiment using fresh fine roots and fresh green leaves as litter of two coniferous species (Cryptomeria japonica and Chamaecyparis obtusa) and investigated the leachate pH and DOM composition based on the optical properties. After the early stage of decomposition when flash leaching of DOM converged, the amount of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) leached from roots increased again and leachate pH declined. In contrast, DOC concentrations continued to decrease in leaf leachates during the incubation period, and the pH decrease was not as striking as that of root leachates. Optical properties (ultraviolet visible absorption and fluorescence) of DOM revealed that humic-like substances in DOM played a central role in the acidic pH of root leachates. The total amount of protons released from roots of C. japonica and C. obtusa is about 13 and 18 times higher, respectively, than that from leaves. These results imply that the increase of fine root biomass may induce a positive plant–soil feedback in acidic soils, affecting soil biogeochemical functions of terrestrial ecosystems.