However, the possible effects of belowground microbial. Impact of an invasive alien plant on litter decomposition along a latitudinal gradient kenny helsen, 1,2, stuart w. Plant litter decomposition and nutrient release in peatlands luca bragazza,1 alexandre buttler,2,3,4 andy siegenthaler,2 and edward a. Litter decomposition is vital for carbon and nutrient turnover in terrestrial ecosystems, and this process has now been thoroughly demonstrated to be regulated by various mechanisms. Plant litter decomposition in a semiarid ecosystem. For various tree species, leaf litter decomposition has been addressed extensively e. Effects of acid on plant litter decomposition in an arctic. As most of the plant biomassderived carbon in the forests is mineralised in the litter layer, an understanding of this process and the microorganisms involved is essential for the identification of factors that affect global carbon fluxes. Weighing the impact of biotic and abiotic processes governing litter mass loss, it appears that an immediate intensification of decomposition rates due to tem. Thus, plant litter, consisting of dead roots, is a major source of soil organic matter, the largest terrestrial pool of c schmidt et al. This relationship implies that interactions between litter quality and soil biota will potentially in. Plantdriven variation in decomposition rates improves. Jackson1 and virginie baldy2 1institute of biological and environmental sciences, university of aberdeen, cruickshank building, aberdeen ab24. Leaf and root litter decomposition has been a major research focus.
Home and away litter decomposition depends on the size. Given the important role of litter decomposition to c storage and tree nutrition, it is important to quantify litter decomposition rates for accurate characterization of forest carbon dynamics. Carbon cycling during litter decomposition includes c loss to the atmosphere as co 2 emissions and input to belowground organic pools 6. This copy is for your personal, noncommercial use only. Funguild was used to assign potential functions of fungal otus and the output of this file was compared curated against an inhouse database on. Labile compounds in plant litter reduce the sensitivity of. How does drought stress influence the decomposition of plant litter with contrasting quality in a grassland ecosystem. Decomposition, expressed as a constant k that integrates the rates of organic matter loss over time, showed a 33% and 60% reduction in litter decomposition in the reduced uvb and blocked total radiation treatments, respectively fig. Since the publication of the 2nd edition, there have been substantial developments in the field of litter decomposition. Pdf remediation of radionuclidecontaminated sites using. We concluded that if the ph of the water from this slightly buffered lake was sufficiently reduced, rates of litter decomposition would be significantly reduced. Litter decomposition serves as a key pathway for the return of organic matter and nutrients to the soil from aboveground plant residues and.
Both may be strongly modified by functional traits of neighboring species, but consequences for decomposition of litter from the focal. Nonnative plant litter enhances soil carbon dioxide. Therefore, it is of fundamental importance to understand how nutrient enrichment affects plant litter decomposition, a key ecosystem. Litter decomposition processes involve c transfers between plant litter and the soil ecosystem at the litter soil interface 6,15. Litter decomposition is one of the key ecological processes in ecosystems. Decay rates of leaf litters from arbuscular mycorrhizal trees are more. Thesis presented for the degree of doctor of philosophy.
Litter decomposition injune2010weinstalled20 cmdiameterpvccollars at the site to a depth of 5 cm. The litter decomposition is driven not only by nutrient content of the litter, by also other chemical components such as lignin parton et al. Decomposition of plant litter is a crucial process in controlling the carbon balance of peatlands. Pdf decomposition is a complex and multistep process of litter breakdown through leaching, mechanical and invertebrate fragmentation, and.
Pdf methods for estimating litter decomposition researchgate. Factors controlling decomposition rates of fine root. Wardle1 1department of forest ecology and management, swedish university of agricultural sciences, se90183 umea, sweden. It is the first intersite litter decomposition experiment in china. Dynamics of alpine plant litter decomposition in a. Plant litter decomposition, humus formation, carbon. This stable fraction is a critical determinant of longterm net ecosystem c and n. Leaf tissue can account for 70% or more of aboveground litterfall in. Indeed, as long as the rate of litter decomposition remains lower than the rate of above and belowground litter production, a net accumulation of peat. In a seminatural grassland in the netherlands, we collected leaf litter and soil from two abundant forbs. We studied the effects of experimentally induced variation in leaf litter chemistry on leaf litter decomposition and leaf litter nutrient release of. Litter decomposition parameters, k, at 10 c and litter temperature sensitivities q10 used in the wkq simulation lpj plant leaf litter concentration, kpft leaf10, k pft. Labile compounds in plant litter reduce the sensitivity of decomposition to warming and altered precipitation vidya suseela1,2, nishanth tharayil2, baoshan xing3 and jeffrey s. A plant economics spectrum of litter decomposability.
Dual role of lignin in plant litter decomposition in. N, p, and minerals can be stored in soils for plant reuse berg and mcclaugherty, 2003. This fully revised and updated 2nd edition of plant litter focuses on decomposition processes in natural terrestrial systems such as boreal and temperate forests. We removed the native litter layer from within the collars and applied 4 ml of glyphosate to deter plant growth within the collars. This fully revised and updated 3rd edition of plant litter reflects and discusses new findings and reevaluates earlier ones in light of recent research and with regard to. Pdf measurement of leaf litter decomposition researchgate. Decomposition correlated negatively with litter carbon and lignin concentrations, except crop root decomposition which correlated negatively with nitrogen concentration.
The influence of litter quality, fungi and invertebrate. Heterotrophic metabolism, facilitated through comminution by small insects and leaching during precipitation events, results in the release of plant litter carbon as. Decomposition of plant litter is the primary process by which carbon and nutrients are returned from plants to the soil and atmosphere. Brovkin et al plant driven variation in decomposition rates 567 table 1. Plant litter represents a major source of organic carbon in forest soils anichkin and tiunov, 2011. The microbiology of plant litter decomposition jstor. Indeed, as long as the rate of litter decomposition. Keywords leaf litter pyrogenic organic matter decomposition dissolved organic matter dissolved organic carbon leaching respiration ftir introduction. Litterfall, plant litter, leaf litter, tree litter, soil litter, or duff, is dead plant material such as leaves, bark, needles, twigs, and cladodes that have fallen to the ground. In terrestrial systems, plant litterfall is a primary pathway for the return of nutrients to the soil. We explore empirical and theoretical evidence for the functional significance of plant litter diversity and the extraordinary high diversity of decomposer organisms in the process of litter decomposition and the consequences for biogeochemical cycles. Potential mechanisms for the frequently observed litter diversity effects on mass loss and nitrogen dynamics include fungidriven nutrient. Biodiversity and litter decomposition in terrestrial. The aim of our study was to determine the rates of leaf litter decay of four tree species alnus glutinosa gaertn.
Environmental factors and traits that drive plant litter decomposition do not determine home. Klopatek,1,3 and carole coe klopatek2 1department of plant biology, arizona state university, tempe, arizona 852871601 usa 2usda forest service, 0 department of microbiology, arizona state university, tempe, arizona 85287. When a larger c fraction is released into the atmosphere, a smaller c fraction is transferred to humic substances, which can be stored in soils for a long time. Plant litter decomposition is a key regulator of nutrient recycling. Decomposition of plant litter is a key step in nutrient recycling.
Functionally dissimilar neighbors accelerate litter. Impact of an invasive alien plant on litter decomposition. Litter decomposition and soluble carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus release in a forest ecosystem. Litter decomposition and soluble carbon, nitrogen, and. The effects of plant litter quality on soil biota regulate the extent to which the soil biota in turn facilitate the decomposition of plant litter wardle and lavelle, 1997. The decomposition of plant litter is a complex process that involves mineralization and transformation of organic matter. An integrated spectroscopic and wet chemical approach to. We conducted a microcosm decomposition experiment to examine how size fractions of the soil biotic community affected litter decomposition and hfa effects. However, the impact of invasive alien plants on litter decomposition is not consistent, with several studies finding no change or even a decrease in decomposition rates ehrenfeld 2003, liao et al. Remediation of radionuclidecontaminated sites using plant litter decomposition.
Unexpectedly, plant presence reduced litter decomposition, with strongest effects for root litters in presence of forbs. Solar radiation is a dominant control on the rate of leaf litter decomposition in the semiarid patagonian steppe, which suggests that factors such as cloud cover may influence carbon cycling in. Although plant litter decomposition is primarily driven by plant litter chemistry, temperature, and precipitation these factors have failed to fully explain decomposition patterns in arid and semiarid grassland ecosystems. In a given environment, decomposition of litter from a focal species depends on its litter quality and on the efficiency of local decomposers. We measured all plant parts for the same green and litter plant economics traits and identified a whole. This detritus or dead organic material and its constituent nutrients are added to the top layer of soil. Litter decomposition via leaching of dissolved organic matter dom is understudied suggest the wettest of lowland forests may sustain some of the highest rates of litter turnover on earth climate change is likely to slow rates of decomposition, unless litter quality concurrently increased. Nutrient and isotopic dynamics of litter decomposition from. Litter decomposition plays a vital part in the nutrient budget of a forest ecosystem, where.
Pdf a plant economics spectrum of litter decomposition. Deviations in the rate of leaf litter decomposition of the same plants during different seasons at different locations are also observed kumar et al. If you wish to distribute this article to others, you can order highquality copies for your following the guidelines here. Pdf how does drought stress influence the decomposition. Pdf plant litter decomposition and nutrient release in. We demonstrated that our local pes has important afterlife effects on carbon turnover by driving coordinated decomposition rates of different organs across species. Litter decomposition encompasses ample breakdown of organic matter into co. Other plant attributes such as phenology, plant form, leaf architecture, and lignin distribution may also modify photodegradation potentials 24, 36. Fear of predation slows plantlitter decomposition dror. Without decomposition and recycling of nutrients, this planet would rapidly become. Study type and plant litter identity modulating the. Study type and plant litter identity modulating the response of litter decomposition to warming, elevated co2, and elevated o3. Short communication litter quality impacts on grassland. Leaf litter decomposition is a vital process in forest environments.
New evidence suggests that 639 % of c loss during leaf litter decay enters the soil in the form of. However, while higher litter decomposition rates may. The role of photodegradation in plant litter decomposition. Leaf litter n effects on decomposition contrasting n effects on different litter fractions many studies have demonstrated that higher leaf litter n concentrations are associated with faster litter decomposition. Dukes1,4,5 1department of forestry and natural resources, purdue university, west lafayette, in 47907, usa. Materials and methods litter preparation to prepare the plant litter, six pairs of closely related crops and wild relatives table 1 were grown as individual. Chapter methods for estimating litter decomposition. Leaf litter decomposition is an important ecological process that regulates the cycle of matter, such as the re lease of co2 into the atmosphere and nutrient. Mitchell2,5,6 decomposition of plant litter is a crucial process in controlling the carbon balance of peatlands. In this study, we analyzed mass loss and decomposition rates of leaf litter during 02. Fine root decomposition rates do not mirror those of aboveground plant litter in temperate ecosystems bird. The influence of litter quality, fungi and invertebrate decomposers on litter decomposition in a mediterraneanclimate ecosystem.
Wangpredicting soil fauna effect on plant litter decomposition by using boosted regression trees. Opposing effects of plantcommunity assembly maintain. Throughout the assembly of plant community, a grassland litter decomposition might. Ametaanalysis kai yue 1, changhui peng2,3, wanqin yang, yan peng1, junmin fang1,4, and fuzhong wu1 1longterm research station of alpine forest ecosystem, key laboratory of ecological forestry engineering, institute of ecology and forestry, sichuan agricultural. Litter decomposition an overview sciencedirect topics. Environmental factors and traits that drive plant litter. To characterize variations in decomposition rates, we compared decay rates of. A plant economics spectrum of litter decomposition among coexisting fern species in a subtropical forest article pdf available in annals of botany 1251 october 2019 with 166 reads. Plant litter decomposition and nutrient release in peatlands. Effect of litter quality on leaflitter decomposition in the context of. Leaching and freezethaw events contribute to litter.
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