1
|
Njoroge DM, Dossa GGO, Ye L, Lin X, Schaefer D, Tomlinson K, Zuo J, Cornelissen JHC. Fauna access outweighs litter mixture effect during leaf litter decomposition. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 860:160190. [PMID: 36402317 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.160190] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2022] [Revised: 11/09/2022] [Accepted: 11/10/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Decomposition rates of litter mixtures reflect the combined effects of litter species diversity, litter quality, decomposers, their interactions with each other and with the environment. The outcomes of those interactions remain ambiguous and past studies have reported conflicting results (e.g., litter mixture richness effects). To date, how litter diversity and soil fauna interactions shape litter mixture decomposition remains poorly understood. Through a sixteen month long common garden litter decomposition experiment, we tested these interaction effects using litterbags of three mesh sizes (micromesh, mesomesh, and macromesh) to disentangle the contributions of different fauna groups categorized by their size at Wuhan botanical garden (subtropical climate). We examined the decomposition of five single commonly available species litters and their full 26 mixtures combination spanning from 2 to 5 species. In total, 2325 litterbags were incubated at the setup of the experiment and partly harvested after 1, 3, 6, 9, and 16 months after exposure to evaluate the mass loss and the combined effects of soil fauna and litter diversity. We predicted that litter mixture effects should increase with increased litter quality dissimilarity, and soil fauna should enhance litter (both single species litter and litter mixtures) decomposition rate. Litter mass loss ranged from 26.9 % to 87.3 %. Soil fauna access to litterbags accelerated mass loss by 29.8 % on average. The contribution of soil mesofauna did not differ from that of soil meso- and macrofauna. Incubation duration and its interactions with litter quality dissimilarities together with soil fauna determined the litter mixture effect. Furthermore, the litter mixture effect weakened as the decomposition progresses. Faunal contribution was broadly additive to the positive mixture effect irrespective of litter species richness or litter dissimilarity. This implies that combining the dissimilarity of mixture species and contributions of different soil fauna provides a more comprehensive understanding of mixed litter decomposition.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Denis Mburu Njoroge
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Menglun, Mengla, Yunnan 666303, China; CAS Key Laboratory of Aquatic Botany and Watershed Ecology, Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430074, China; University of Chinese Academy of sciences (UCAS), Beijing 100049, China; Sino-Africa Joint Research Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430074, China
| | - Gbadamassi G O Dossa
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Menglun, Mengla, Yunnan 666303, China; Center of Plant Ecology, Core Botanical Gardens, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430074, Menglun 666303, China.
| | - Luping Ye
- CAS Key Laboratory of Aquatic Botany and Watershed Ecology, Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430074, China
| | - Xiaoyuan Lin
- CAS Key Laboratory of Aquatic Botany and Watershed Ecology, Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430074, China; University of Chinese Academy of sciences (UCAS), Beijing 100049, China
| | - Douglas Schaefer
- Centre for Mountain Futures, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Science, Kunming, 650201, Yunnan, China
| | - Kyle Tomlinson
- Center for Integrative Conservation, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Menglun, Yunnan 666303, China
| | - Juan Zuo
- CAS Key Laboratory of Aquatic Botany and Watershed Ecology, Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430074, China; Center of Plant Ecology, Core Botanical Gardens, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430074, Menglun 666303, China.
| | - Johannes H C Cornelissen
- Systems Ecology, A-LIFE, Faculty of Science, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1085, 1081 HV Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Hail-caused greenfall leaves, litterfall, nutrients, and leaf decomposition in tropical cloud forest and a restoration planting. JOURNAL OF TROPICAL ECOLOGY 2023. [DOI: 10.1017/s0266467422000475] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Greenfall leaves caused by hailstorms may represent a resource pulse of nutrients. We determined the contribution of greenfall versus senescent leaves to total litterfall production, carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus input to the system, and leaf decomposition rate. Litterfall was collected monthly for three years in two cloud forests (F1, F2) and a restoration planting area (R) in Veracruz, Mexico. Two fortuitous hailstorms occurred in the second year. Leaf decomposition rate was determined in all three sites but did not differ across them. Total annual litterfall, excluding greenfall, was 10.0, 10.1, and 7.7 Mg ha−1 y−1 for F1, F2, and R, respectively. Senescent leaves represented 65% of the litterfall, while greenfall leaves increased the annual leaf biomass component of the litterfall by 12%. Concentrations of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus were 2.3, 5.7, and 18.1% higher, respectively, in greenfall than in senescent leaves. Greenfall increased the annual input of C, N, and P by 12, 13, and 14%, respectively. Despite their short duration (approximately 70 minutes), the hailstorm events generated a substantial contribution of greenfall leaves and a source of extra C, N, and P, since these leaves decompose and are incorporated into the cloud forest system.
Collapse
|
3
|
Moreno II, Barberena‐Arias MF, González G, Lodge DJ, Cantrell SA. Canopy opening increases leaf‐shredding arthropods and nutrient mineralization but not mass loss in wet tropical forest. Ecosphere 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.4084] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Ivia I. Moreno
- Department of Biology Universidad Ana G Méndez, Gurabo Campus Gurabo Puerto Rico
| | | | - Grizelle González
- USDA Forest Service International Institute of Tropical Forestry Río Piedras Puerto Rico
| | - D. Jean Lodge
- USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station Luquillo Puerto Rico
| | - Sharon A. Cantrell
- Department of Biology Universidad Ana G Méndez, Gurabo Campus Gurabo Puerto Rico
| |
Collapse
|