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49 results for “Litter traits”
Hidden in the DNA: insights on how multiple historical processes and natural history traits shaped patterns of cryptic diversity in an Amazon leaf-litter lizard Loxopholis osvaldoi (Squamata: Gymnophthalmidae).
Aim: To investigate cryptic diversity and diversification timing in the putatively low-dispersal Amazonian leaf-litter lizard Loxopholis osvaldoi, and to ask how geography (rivers, isolation by distance, IBD), ecological drivers (isolation by environment, IBE) and historical factors (climatic refugia) explain intraspecific genetic variation. Location: Central Amazonia, Brazil. Taxon: Squamata; Gymnophthalmidae; Loxopholis osvaldoi. Methods: We sequenced two mitochondrial and two nuclear markers in 157 individuals. Phylogeographic structure and the occurrence of independent evolving lineages where explored through phylogenetic and coalescent analyses. A species tree and divergence dates of lineages were inferred with BEAST, employing multiple DNA substitution rates. The potential genetic impacts of geographic distance among localities, the environment, and the position of localities in relation to main rivers were tested by Redundancy Analysis (RDA). Results: We detected 11 independently evolving and largely divergent intraspecific lineages. Lineage distribution patterns are complex and do not match any conspicuous barrier to gene flow, except for the Amazon River. Most lineages appear to have originated in the lower Miocene and Pliocene, in disagreement with the Pleistocene refuge hypothesis. IBD, IBE, and rivers appear to have acted in concert establishing and maintaining genetic structure. However, when controlling for other explanatory variables, IBD explains significantly more variation than rivers, IBE, or historical factors. Main conclusions: Our results strongly suggest that L. osvaldoi is a species complex. Future taxonomic work should use an integrative approach to explore whether morphological variation is present and congruent with the genetic data. While the use of a sensitive dating analysis allowed us to better describe the diversification history of L. osvaldoi, the lack of a spatial model of Neogene river dynamics prevents the test of specific, more informative river barrier hypotheses. The data suggest that non-linear correlation analyses (e.g. RDA) should be preferred to detect factors that affect phylogeographic patterns in the Amazon, instead of linear multiple regressions (e.g. Mantel tests). Given the high level of cryptic diversity detected within this and other Amazonian species, we caution against hypothesis tests based solely on the distribution of nominal taxa, which can provide a rather incomplete view of the processes behind Amazonian diversity.
Data from: Plant interactions as biotic drivers of plasticity in leaf litter traits and decomposability of Quercus petraea
The importance of plant litter traits and decomposability for nutrient cycling processes and plant community dynamics through plant-litter-soil feedbacks has been largely emphasized. However, the role of biotic interactions as drivers of intraspecific variability in litter traits remains surprisingly little studied. In this study, we used a large-scale, multi-site network of long-term tree removal experiments manipulating the abundance of a foundation tree species, i.e. Quercus petraea, to assess how plant interactions control intraspecific variation in oak leaf litter traits and decomposability. We studied 19 plots across eight experimental sites covering a large gradient of oak abundance, stand age and local abiotic context. Oak leaf litter quality strongly declined with tree removal in early forest successional stage. Litter became poorer in nutrients such as N and Mg and richer in secondary metabolites such as lignin and condensed tannins. This in turn slowed its decomposition. Importantly, litter N loss switched from N release to N immobilization. Variance partitioning indicated that oak abundance explained as much variation in oak leaf litter traits as oak age and twice as much as soil inherent fertility. Confirmatory path analysis revealed that the decline of oak leaf litter quality induced by tree removal was most likely driven by a shift in understory plant species composition. Plasticity of oak leaf litter traits to the shortage of nutrient supply related to the development of understory plants competitors with higher nutrient capture and retention ability could potentially explain this response pattern. Our data also give consistent but weaker support that the decline of oak leaf litter quality could be driven by alleviated competition for light among canopy trees and subsequent enhanced crown exposure to light. Overall, our study provides evidence that biotic factors such as plant interactions are major drivers of plasticity in leaf litter traits and decomposability. This finding contributes to the emerging view that phenotypic plasticity is fundamentally related to biotic interactions for sessile organisms, especially for long-lived and large plant species such as trees. Taking this source of functional diversity into account could help us to better understand plant community dynamics and ecological processes in terrestrial ecosystems.
Indonesian soil and litter Collembola species and trait matrix with environmental data
<p>Rainforest conversion and expansion of plantations in tropical regions is associated with changes in animal communities and biodiversity decline. In soil, Collembola are one of the most numerous invertebrate groups that control microbial processes and support arthropod predators. Despite that, information on the impact of changes in land use in the tropics on species and trait composition of Collembola communities is very limited. We investigated the response of Collembola to the conversion of rainforest into rubber agroforest ('junge rubber'), rubber and oil palm plantations in Jambi province (Sumatra, Indonesia), a region that experienced one of the strongest deforestation globally during the last decades. Collembola from litter and soil layers were collected in 2013 and 2016 using heat extraction. In the litter layer, density and species richness in plantation systems declined by 25-38% and 30-40%, respectively, compared to rainforest. By contrast, in the soil layer, density, species richness and trait diversity of Collembola were only slightly affected by land-use change contrasting the response of many other animal groups. Species and trait composition of Collembola communities in litter and soil layers differed between all land-use systems. Water content and pH were identified as main factors related to the differences in species and trait composition both in litter and soil layers, followed by the density of micro- and macropredators. Dominant Collembola species in rainforest and jungle rubber were characterized by small body size, absence of furca and absent or intense pigmentation, while in plantations larger species with long furca and diffuse or patterned coloration were more abundant. The trait-based responses were similar to those observed in Collembola from temperate regions and to those in a similar study on spiders at our study sites. Overall, land-use change negatively affected Collembola communities in the litter layer, but only little affected Collembola communities in soil. Several pantropical Collembola genera (i.e., <i>Isotomiella</i>, <i>Pseudosinella</i> and <i>Folsomides</i>) dominated across land-use systems, reflecting their high environmental adaptability or efficient dispersal calling for studies on their ecology and genetic diversity. The decline in species richness and density of litter-dwelling Collembola with the conversion of rainforest into plantation systems calls for management practices mitigating negative effects of the deterioration of the litter layer in rubber but in particular in oil palm plantations.</p>
Litter and root traits control soil microbial composition and enzyme activities in 28 common subtropical tree species
<p><span>1. </span><span>Plant trait-based approaches are frequently used to explore the linkages between aboveground plant communities and belowground ecosystem functions. However, the role of plant leaf litter and living root traits in driving soil microbial biomass, community composition, and enzyme activities has rarely been explored.</span></p> <p><span>2. </span><span>Here, we measured the soil microbial biomass, community composition and enzyme activities related to carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) acquisition under three-year-old monocultures of 28 common subtropical tree species in China.</span></p> <p><span>3. </span><span>We found that plant leaf litter and absorptive root traits, including leaf litter C content, litter water holding capacity, and root N content, were the three best predictors for soil microbial biomass and enzyme activities. In particular, resource-exploitative tree species with higher root N contents were associated with microbial communities with lower fungi to bacteria ratios and lower C- and P-acquisition enzyme activities. Tree species with higher leaf litter water holding capacity were associated with microbial resource acquisition strategies for C and P acquisition.</span></p> <p><span>4. </span><span>Synthesis: Our findings highlighted that plant leaf litter and root traits are important for mechanistically understanding the ecological linkage between the plant community and ecosystem functions.</span></p>
Data from: Plasticity in leaf litter traits partly mitigates the impact of thinning on forest floor carbon cycling
1. Reducing stand density by thinning intensification has been emphasized as an efficient strategy of forest adaptation to climate change as it improves stand resistance to drought. Yet, it is still unclear how it could affect litter C cycling processes. Recent evidence indicates that the plasticity of an oak tree species can lead to a decline in its leaf litter quality and decomposability following thinning. The consequences for litter decomposition and forest floor C storage at the ecosystem-scale remain largely unexplored. 2. In this study, we took advantage of a regional-scale, multi-site network of long-term thinning experiments in temperate oak (Quercus petraea) forests to address this issue. We measured ecosystem properties related to forest floor C cycling in 19 plots across eight experimental sites covering a large gradient of stand density and age. Though we expected thinning to affect in situ litter decomposition by altering oak leaf litter quality, we conducted complementary experiments exploring additional mechanisms, i.e. alterations of microenvironmental conditions and soil faunal activity. 3. Thinning intensification induced a strong decline in tree canopy leaf area index, aboveground tree litter production and forest floor decomposition rate in early 'aggradation' stage of forest development. This slower litter decomposition was mainly driven by plasticity of oak trees that produced leaf litter of poorer quality and decomposability following thinning, e.g. litter richer in secondary metabolites such as condensed tannins. Change in microenvironmental conditions also contributed to the slowdown of litter decomposition, likely as a result of the less buffered microclimate associated with larger tree canopy opening. No change in soil faunal effect induced by thinning was found. 4. Thinning resulted in a limited decrease in forest floor C stock. Indeed, the slower litter decomposition offset nearly half of the forest floor C loss associated to the reduced litterfall in 'aggradation' stage. 5. Our study demonstrated that phenotypic plasticity in leaf litter traits of a dominant tree species can strongly affect ecosystem functioning by slowing forest floor decomposition following thinning intensification, in turn partly mitigating the negative effect of thinning on forest floor C storage.
Figure 1 in Life-history traits of the Brazilian litter-dwelling scorpion: post-embryonic development and reproductive behaviour in Ananteris mauryi Lourenço, 1982 (Scorpiones: Buthidae)
Figure 1. The courtship and mating sequences in Ananteris mauryi Lourenço (1982). (a) Initiation; (b) promenade à deux; (c) insemination and separation. M, male; F, female.
Data for: The effects of leaf traits on litter rainfall interception with consequences for runoff and soil conservation
<ol> <li><span>During rainfall, plant litter interception regulates overland flow with an impact on water runoff generation and sediment displacement. Besides the rainfall characteristics, the effects of litter mass, thickness, storage and drainage properties on rainfall interception are reasonably well understood. In contrast, less is known about the influence of leaf traits, which we hypothesized to affect interception, soil hydrology and conservation via litter structure assembly. </span></li> <li><span>We measured the runoff and soil loss generation as determined by litter layer structural and hydraulic properties of 16 coexisting tropical woody species with wide-range morphological leaf traits in a rainfall simulator experiment. </span></li> <li><span>Our results show that litter produced by coexisting species can differ in precipitation interception, thereby influencing runoff and soil loss. This is because there is important interspecific variation in litter water storage and drainage, which are negatively affected by leaf area. Leaf water repellency positively affected litter water storage. Moreover, leaf area also negatively affected litter layer density. Litter density, in turn, increased runoff, but decreased soil loss, possibly due to protection against splash erosion. </span></li> <li> <span>T</span><span>hese results can be used to predict the effects of plant traits on the soil water balance and soil integrity protection through ecohydrological interception by the litter layer. The next research steps will be to extend our model to multiple-species litter layers and to validate and calibrate our model in different field situations in different ecosystems.</span> </li> </ol>
Data for: Decomposability of leaf and wood litter are not correlated across species: Effects of litter traits on decomposition in field and laboratory conditions
<ol> <li>Changes in tree species composition have important effects on the overall rate of litter decomposition at a community level because litter decomposability varies among species and between leaf and wood litter. To understand how changes in tree species composition affect litter dynamics and carbon sequestration at the ecosystem level, it is important to clarify interspecific variations in leaf and wood litter decomposability and the traits driving the variation.</li> <li>Using field data, field experiments, and laboratory experiments, we explored rates of leaf and wood litter decomposition and their relationships to traits of ten deciduous hardwood species in a temperate forest in Japan. Rates of leaf and wood litter decomposition at the community level were also estimated by considering species-specific litter inputs and decomposition rates.</li> <li>Rates of leaf and wood litter decomposition were not correlated under either field or controlled laboratory conditions. This is probably because the traits that affect decomposition rate differ between leaf and wood litter. Interspecific variation in litter decomposability of leaves and wood was generally consistent between field conditions and laboratory experiments using a single fungus, suggesting that the decomposing fungi set the species-specific decomposition rates. Moreover, the leaf and wood traits that affected decomposition by their specific fungi were different. The aboveground input of wood litter was less than half that of leaf litter, but its half-life was >3 times longer, suggesting that wood and leaves make similar contributions to litter accumulation.</li> <li>Focusing on either leaf or wood litter alone may produce misleading estimates of how species composition changes affect litter dynamics at the community level. Our results provide insight into predicting the response of carbon dynamics to future climate change.</li> </ol>
Data from: The potential for mass ratio and trait divergence effects to explain idiosyncratic impacts of nonnative invasive plants on carbon mineralization of decomposing leaf litter
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Litter and root traits control soil microbial composition and enzyme activities in 28 common subtropical tree species
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Data from: Plasticity in leaf litter traits partly mitigates the impact of thinning on forest floor carbon cycling
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Indonesian soil and litter Collembola species and trait matrix with environmental data
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Hidden in the DNA: insights on how multiple historical processes and natural history traits shaped patterns of cryptic diversity in an Amazon leaf-litter lizard Loxopholis osvaldoi (Squamata: Gymnophthalmidae).
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Mechanical traits as drivers of trophic interaction between macrodetritivores and leaf litter
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Data from: Plant interactions as biotic drivers of plasticity in leaf litter traits and decomposability of Quercus petraea
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Data for: The effects of leaf traits on litter rainfall interception with consequences for runoff and soil conservation
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Data for: Decomposability of leaf and wood litter are not correlated across species: Effects of litter traits on decomposition in field and laboratory conditions
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Data from: Initial colonization, community assembly, and ecosystem function: fungal colonist traits and litter biochemistry mediate decay rate
Priority effects are an important ecological force shaping biotic communities and ecosystem processes, in which the establishment of early colonists alters the colonization success of later-arriving organisms via competitive exclusion and habitat modification. However, we do not understand which biotic and abiotic conditions lead to strong priority effects and lasting historical contingencies. Using saprotrophic fungi in a model leaf decomposition system, we investigated whether compositional and functional consequences of initial colonization were dependent on initial colonizer traits, resource availability or a combination thereof. To test these ideas, we factorially manipulated leaf litter biochemistry and initial fungal colonist identity, quantifying subsequent community composition, using neutral genetic markers, and community functional characteristics, including enzyme potential and leaf decay rates. During the first 3 months, initial colonist respiration rate and physiological capacity to degrade plant detritus were significant determinants of fungal community composition and leaf decay, indicating that rapid growth and lignolytic potential of early colonists contributed to altered trajectories of community assembly. Further, initial colonization on oak leaves generated increasingly divergent trajectories of fungal community composition and enzyme potential, indicating stronger initial colonizer effects on energy-poor substrates. Together, these observations provide evidence that initial colonization effects, and subsequent consequences on litter decay, are dependent upon substrate biochemistry and physiological traits within a regional species pool. Because microbial decay of plant detritus is important to global C storage, our results demonstrate that understanding the mechanisms by which initial conditions alter priority effects during community assembly may be key to understanding the drivers of ecosystem-level processes.
Data from: Determinants of litter decomposition rates in a tropical forest: functional traits, phylogeny and ecological succession
Plant litter decomposition is one of the most important processes in terrestrial ecosystems, as it is a key factor in nutrient cycling. Decomposition rates depend on environmental factors, but also plant traits, as these determine the character of detritus. We measured litter decomposition rate for 57 common tree species displaying a variety of functional traits within four sites in primary and four sites in secondary tropical forest in Madang Province, Papua New Guinea. The phylogenetic relationships between these trees were also estimated using molecular data. The leaves collected from different tree species were dried for two days, placed into detritus bags and exposed to ambient conditions for two months. Nitrogen, carbon and ash content were assessed as quantitative traits and used together with a phylogenetic variance-covariance matrix as predictors of decomposition rate. The analysis of the tree species composition from 96 quadrats located along a successional gradient of swidden agriculture enabled us to determine successional preferences for individual species. Nitrogen content was the only functional trait measured to be significantly positively correlated with decomposition rate. Controlling for plant phylogeny did not influence our conclusions, but including phylogeny demonstrated that the mainly early successional family Euphorbiaceae is characterized by a particularly high decomposition rate. The acquisitive traits (high nitrogen content and low wood density) correlated with rapid decomposition were characteristic for early successional species. Decomposition rate thus decreased from early successional to primary forest species. However, the decomposition of leaves from the same species was significantly faster in primary than in secondary forest stands, very probably because the high humidity of primary forest environments keeps the decomposing material wetter.
Data from: Traits including leaf dry matter content and leaf pH dominate over forest soil pH as drivers of litter decomposition among 60 species
1. Soil pH varies by several units among ecosystems. While soil pH is known to be a key driver of plant species composition, we still have a poor understanding of how it affects carbon cycling processes. For instance, soil pH, or its associated chemistry in terms of base cations and organic acids, may affect decomposition rates of dead matter directly, by controlling decomposer composition and activity, and indirectly, by controlling the traits of the plant species and thereby the afterlife effects of those traits on litter decomposition. Leaf and litter pH may play a role in this control. Based on the very limited empirical data available, we hypothesized that variation in species traits including leaf (litter) pH, within and between ecosystems contrasting in soil pH, would have stronger effects on leaf litter decomposition rates than variation in soil chemistry would. 2. We tested this hypothesis by carrying out a 'common garden' litterbed experiment in subtropical SW China, in which leaf litters of the 30 predominant plant species from mid-successional forest on acidic sandstone (soil pH around 4.0) and calcareous soil (pH around 7.5) respectively, were incubated and their decomposition rates measured over two harvests in fourteen months, both in soil plus litter matrix from their 'home' forest and in those from the "away" forest. 3. We found that leaf (litter) trait variation among species and plant functional types, headed by species' dry matter content but also including tissue pH, was the strongest driver of variation in leaf litter decomposition rates. Surprisingly however, while these effects of interspecific trait variation were very strong among species from the same site, there was no overall difference in litter decomposability between the species from the acidic versus calcareous site. Equally surprising was that this strong difference in pH of soil substrate plus litter matrix from an acidic sandstone site versus a calcareous karst site did not directly affect leaf litter decomposition rates across a given species set. 4. This first attempt to disentangle the multiple potential direct and indirect ways in which soil and leaf (litter) acidity might be related to litter decomposition rates, has important implications for our understanding of soil-plant feedbacks. Based on our forest-based study, we predict that soil-plant feedbacks via acidity are unlikely to be strong in ecosystems with wide-ranging species in terms of their leaf functional traits, including leaf pH.
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