Highly consistent effects of plant litter identity and functional traits on decomposition across a latitudinal gradient

Makkonen, Marika; Berg, Matty P.; Handa, I. Tanya; Hättenschwiler, Stephan; Ruijven, Jasper van; Bodegom, Peter M. van; Aerts, Rien

doi:10.1111/j.1461-0248.2012.01826.x

Cited by 402 publications

(447 citation statements)

References 40 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

380

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…This agrees with the results of other globalscale studies [12] and a comprehensive meta-analysis [11] based on data from terrestrial ecosystems. Nevertheless, for litter mixtures, temperature was important as well in that it modulated litter effects on breakdown.…”

Section: (B) Major Influence Of Litter Quality On Breakdown Of Littersupporting

confidence: 81%

Biotic and abiotic variables influencing plant litter breakdown in streams: a global study

et al. 2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Plant litter breakdown is a key ecological process in terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems. Streams and rivers, in particular, contribute substantially to global carbon fluxes. However, there is little information available on the relative roles of different drivers of plant litter breakdown in fresh waters, particularly at large scales. We present a global-scale study of litter breakdown in streams to compare the roles of biotic, climatic and other environmental factors on breakdown rates. We conducted an experiment in 24 streams encompassing latitudes from 47.88 N to 42.88 S, using litter mixtures of local species differing in quality and phylogenetic diversity (PD), and alder (Alnus glutinosa) to control for variation in litter traits. Our models revealed that breakdown of alder was driven by climate, with some influence of pH, whereas variation in breakdown of litter mixtures was explained mainly by litter quality and PD. Effects of litter quality and PD and stream pH were more positive at higher temperatures, indicating that different mechanisms may operate at different latitudes. These results reflect global variability caused by multiple factors, but unexplained variance points to the need for expanded global-scale comparisons.

show abstract

Section: (B) Major Influence Of Litter Quality On Breakdown Of Littersupporting

confidence: 81%

Biotic and abiotic variables influencing plant litter breakdown in streams: a global study

et al. 2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The release rates of metallic elements during litter decomposition typically follow different patterns, although some elements are always released in a similar manner, regardless of the litter species (Jonczak et al 2014). Litter quality is always the dominant factor influencing litter decomposition (Zhang et al 2008;Makkonen et al 2012), and metal-release patterns can also be strongly affected by the chemical composition of the initial DAT daily average temperature, defined as the mean value of the daily mean temperatures during each period; PAT positive accumulated temperature, defined as the sum of the temperature values above 0°C during each period; NAT negative accumulated temperature, defined as the sum of the negative temperature values during each period; FV flow velocity, Cond. conductivity.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Major elements, such as K, Ca, and Mg, were reported to release during litter decomposition on forest floors (Staaf and Berg 1982;Edmonds and Tuttle 2010), whereas trace elements, such as sodium (Na), manganese (Mn), Zn, and Cu, preferentially retain and show increasing concentrations during the early stages of litter decomposition on forest floors (Edmonds and Tuttle 2010;Jonczak et al 2014;He et al 2015). Plant litter species and plant functional traits are the predominant factors controlling litter decomposition at both local and global scales (Cornwell et al 2008;Makkonen et al 2012); litter quality should thus significantly influence the dynamics of elements in decomposing litter. Specific elements can show different release patterns in different types of litter (Jonczak et al 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dynamics of multiple metallic elements during foliar litter decomposition in an alpine forest river

Yue

Yang

Peng

et al. 2016

Annals of Forest Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract& Key message Compared with previously reported data, we found that plant litter decomposes faster in river ecosystem than on forest floor in a comparable period, but the dynamics of metallic elements during litter decomposition in river are likely to share common patterns with the corresponding ones in decomposing litter on forest floor. & Context Litter decomposition in terrestrial lotic ecosystem is one of the most important pathways for metallic elements cycling, while little information is currently available about the dynamics of metallic elements in the decomposing litter of lotic ecosystems.& Aims and methods The concentrations and release rates of potassium (K), calcium (Ca), sodium (Na), magnesium (Mg), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), and aluminium (Al) were investigated in the decomposing foliar litter of four dominant species in an alpine forest river. & Results Over a 1-year period of decomposition, K, Ca, and Mg were released from virtually all types of litter, whereas Na, Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, and Al were released from willow litter but accumulated in azalea, cypress, and larch litters during litter decomposition. Litter species, decomposition period, and river water characteristics (e.g., temperature, pH, flow velocity, and nutrient availability) were significantly related to the dynamics of these metallic elements in decomposing litter. & Conclusion Our results suggested that the similarity between the dynamics of metallic elements in the decomposing litter of lotic ecosystems reported here and previously for forest floors indicates a general pattern for the cycling of metallic element across different ecosystem types, and the net accumulation patterns for elements such as Zn, Cu, and Al during litter decomposition suggested that some litter species may act as efficient "cleaner" for metal purification in future ecological engineering.

show abstract

“…chemical and physical characteristics of litter) and soil biota [1][2][3]. Among these, litter chemical quality explains most of the variation in leaf litter decomposition rates at the global scale [4], with consistent litter chemical quality driven differences among litter types across large environmental gradients [5]. While innumerable studies assessed decomposition using litter species individually, it was only recently more widely recognized that mixtures of litter species together decomposed faster [6,7].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

C, N and P fertilization in an Amazonian rainforest supports stoichiometric dissimilarity as a driver of litter diversity effects on decomposition

et al. 2014

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Plant leaf litter generally decomposes faster as a group of different species than when individual species decompose alone, but underlying mechanisms of these diversity effects remain poorly understood. Because resource C : N : P stoichiometry (i.e. the ratios of these key elements) exhibits strong control on consumers, we supposed that stoichiometric dissimilarity of litter mixtures (i.e. the divergence in C : N : P ratios among species) improves resource complementarity to decomposers leading to faster mixture decomposition. We tested this hypothesis with: (i) a wide range of leaf litter mixtures of neotropical tree species varying in C : N : P dissimilarity, and (ii) a nutrient addition experiment (C, N and P) to create stoichiometric similarity. Litter mixtures decomposed in the field using two different types of litterbags allowing or preventing access to soil fauna. Litter mixture mass loss was higher than expected from species decomposing singly, especially in presence of soil fauna. With fauna, synergistic litter mixture effects increased with increasing stoichiometric dissimilarity of litter mixtures and this positive relationship disappeared with fertilizer addition. Our results indicate that litter stoichiometric dissimilarity drives mixture effects via the nutritional requirements of soil fauna. Incorporating ecological stoichiometry in biodiversity research allows refinement of the underlying mechanisms of how changing biodiversity affects ecosystem functioning.

show abstract

Highly consistent effects of plant litter identity and functional traits on decomposition across a latitudinal gradient

Cited by 402 publications

References 40 publications

Biotic and abiotic variables influencing plant litter breakdown in streams: a global study

Biotic and abiotic variables influencing plant litter breakdown in streams: a global study

Dynamics of multiple metallic elements during foliar litter decomposition in an alpine forest river

C, N and P fertilization in an Amazonian rainforest supports stoichiometric dissimilarity as a driver of litter diversity effects on decomposition

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About