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261 results for “litter decomposition”
Soil and litter chemistry, soil microbial communities and litter decomposition from tropical forest and oil palm
<b>Description: </b><p>A study examining the interactions between soil chemistry, litter chemistry and soil microbial decomposers as controls on rates of litter decomposition across a tropical land use disturbance gradient. Co-located soil and litter samples were collected from old growth forest, moderately logged forest, heavily logged forest and oil palm plantations. Soil and litter were chemically characterised and soil bacterial and fungal community composition and abundance were measured. These were then combined in fully factorial ex-situ microcosms and measured litter decomposition rates at 3 time points during different stages of decomposition.</p><p><b>Project: </b>This dataset was collected as part of the following SAFE research project: <a href="https://www.safeproject.net/projects/project_view/124"><b>Biodiversity and land-use impacts on tropical ecosystem function (BALI): Quantifying biogeochemistry across forest disturbance gradients in Sabah</b></a></p><p><b>Funding: </b>These data were collected as part of research funded by: </p><ul><li>UK NERC-funded Biodiversity And Land-use Impacts on Tropical Ecosystem Function (BALI) consortium (Standard grant, NE/K016377/1)</li></ul><p>This dataset is released under the CC-BY 4.0 licence, requiring that you cite the dataset in any outputs, but has the additional condition that you acknowledge the contribution of these funders in any outputs.</p><p></p><p><b>Permits: </b>These data were collected under permit from the following authorities:</p><ul><li>Sabah Biodiversity Centre (Research licence JKM/MBS.1000-2/2 JLD.5 (20))</li><li>Sabah Biodiversity Centre (Export licence JKM/MBS.1000-2/3 JLD.2 (70))</li></ul><p></p><p><b>XML metadata: </b>GEMINI compliant metadata for this dataset is available <a href="https://www.safeproject.net/datasets/xml_metadata?id=3929632">here</a></p><p><b>Files: </b>This consists of 1 file: SAFE_Dataset.xlsx</p><p><b>SAFE_Dataset.xlsx</b></p><p>This file contains dataset metadata and 5 data tables:</p><ol><li><p><b>Soil_Properties</b> (described in worksheet Soil_Properties)</p><p>Description: Basic measured soil properties</p><p>Number of fields: 9</p><p>Number of data rows: 20</p><p>Fields: </p><ul><li><b>Plot</b>: Plot name corresponding to the GEM Carbon plot where soils were sampled (Field type: id)</li><li><b>Plot_ID</b>: Plot ID indicating land use as referenced in the Frontiers in forests and global change publication "Soil microbial community and litter quality controls on decomposition across a tropical forest disturbance gradient" (Field type: categorical)</li><li><b>location_name</b>: Name of subplot where soils were collected (Field type: location)</li><li><b>gravimetric moisture content</b>: Soil moisture content at the time of sample collection (Field type: numeric)</li><li><b>soil_pH</b>: Soil pH measured on fresh soils (Field type: numeric)</li><li><b>soil_N</b>: Total soil Nitrogen (Field type: numeric)</li><li><b>soil_C</b>: Total soil Carbon (Field type: numeric)</li><li><b>soil_C.N</b>: Soil carbon to nitrogen ratio (Field type: numeric)</li><li><b>soil_P</b>: soil inorganic phosphorus (Field type: numeric)</li></ul></li><li><p><b>Litter_Chemistry</b> (described in worksheet Litter_Chemistry)</p><p>Description: Litter chemistry data of mixed forest floor litter, collected, sorted to remove humified material, woody debris and dried</p><p>Number of fields: 20</p><p>Number of data rows: 40</p><p>Fields: </p><ul><li><b>Plot</b>: Plot name corresponding to the GEM Carbon plot where soils were sampled (Field type: id)</li><li><b>Plot_ID</b>: Plot ID indicating land use as referenced in the Frontiers in forests and global change publication "Soil microbial community and litter quality controls on decomposition across a tropical forest disturbance gradient" (Field type: categorical)</li><li><b>location_name</b>: Name of subplot where soils were collected (Field type: location)</li><li><b>Pretreatment</b>: Whether the litter sample was sterilised by autoclaving or not (Field type: categorical)</li><li><b>leaf_K</b>: leaf potassium concentration (Field type: numeric)</li><li><b>leaf_Ca</b>: leaf Calcium concentration (Field type: numeric)</li><li><b>leaf_Mg</b>: leaf Magnesium concentration (Field type: numeric)</li><li><b>leaf_Al</b>: leaf aluminium concentration (Field type: numeric)</li><li><b>leaf_P</b>: leaf phosphorus concentrations (Field type: numeric)</li><li><b>solubles</b>: leaf soluble cell content (Field type: numeric)</li><li><b>hem_pro_cel_lig_rec</b>: leaf hemicellulose, proteins, cellulose, lignin and recalcitrant fibres (Field type: numeric)</li><li><b>hem_pro</b>: leaf hemicellulose and proteins (Field type: numeric)</li><li><b>cel_lig_rec</b>: leaf cellulose, lignin and recalcitrant fibres (Field type: numeric)</li><li><b>cel</b>: leaf cellulose (Field type: numeric)</li><li><b>lig_rec</b>: leaf lignin and recalcitrants (Field type: numeric)</li><li><b>leaf_N</b>: leaf nitrogen concentration (Field type: numeric)</li><li><b>leaf_C</b>: leaf carbon concentration (Field type: numeric)</li><li><b>c.n</b>: leaf carbon to nitrogen ration (Field type: numeric)</li><li><b>d13c</b>: leaf carbon stable isotope ratio (Field type: numeric)</li><li><b>d15n</b>: leaf nitrogen stable isotope ratio (Field type: numeric)</li></ul></li><li><p><b>PLFA_Concentrations</b> (described in worksheet PLFA_Concentrations)</p><p>Description: Phospolipid Fatty Acid (PLFA) concentrations as biomarkers of soil bacteria and fungi. Extracted from freeze dried soils prior to the microcosm experiment</p><p>Number of fields: 10</p><p>Number of data rows: 20</p><p>Fields: </p><ul><li><b>Plot</b>: Plot name corresponding to the GEM Carbon plot where soils were sampled (Field type: id)</li><li><b>Plot_ID</b>: Plot ID indicating land use as referenced in the Frontiers in forests and global change publication "Soil microbial community and litter quality controls on decomposition across a tropical forest disturbance gradient" (Field type: categorical)</li><li><b>location_name</b>: Name of subplot where soils were collected (Field type: location)</li><li><b>Total_PLFA</b>: Total PLFA concentrations extracted from soil samples (Field type: numeric)</li><li><b>Fungal_PLFA</b>: Fungal PLFA biomarker concentrations extracted from soils (Field type: numeric)</li><li><b>Bacteria_PLFA</b>: Bacteria PLFA biomarkers extracted from soils (Field type: numeric)</li><li><b>Fungal:Bacteria</b>: Ratio of fungal to bacteria PLFAs (Field type: numeric)</li><li><b>Gram_Pos_PLFA</b>: Gram Positive PLFA Biomarker concentrations extracted from soil (Field type: numeric)</li><li><b>Gram_Neg_PLFA</b>: Gram Negative PLFA Biomarker concentrations extracted from soil (Field type: numeric)</li><li><b>GramPos:GramNeg</b>: Gram positive to Gram negative PLFA ratios (Field type: numeric)</li></ul></li><li><p><b>Soil_Microbial_Communities</b> (described in worksheet Soil_Microbial_Communities)</p><p>Description: Summary diversity statistics from bacterial 16S and fungal ITS biomarker microbial sequencing. DNA extracted from soils prior to microcosm experiment</p><p>Number of fields: 9</p><p>Number of data rows: 20</p><p>Fields: </p><ul><li><b>Plot</b>: Plot name corresponding to the GEM Carbon plot where soils were sampled (Field type: id)</li><li><b>Plot_ID</b>: Plot ID indicating land use as referenced in the Frontiers in forests and global change publication "Soil microbial community and litter quality controls on decomposition across a tropical forest disturbance gradient" (Field type: categorical)</li><li><b>location_name</b>: Name of subplot where soils were collected (Field type: location)</li><li><b>Bacteria_Richness</b>: Number of observed bacterial taxa from sequencing of 16S marker genes from soil samples (Field type: numeric)</li><li><b>Bacteria_Shannon</b>: Bacterial Shannon diversity from 16S Marker gene sequencing (Field type: numeric)</li><li><b>Fungal_Richness</b>: Number of observed fungal taxa from sequencing of 16S marker genes from soil samples (Field type: numeric)</li><li><b>Fungal_Shannon</b>: Fungal Shannon diversity from 16S Marker gene sequencing (Field type: numeric)</li><li><b>Saprotrophic_Fungal_Richness</b>: Number of observed saprotrophic fungal taxa from sequencing of 16S marker genes from soil samples (Field type: numeric)</li><li><b>Saprotrophic_Fungal_Shannon</b>: Saprotrophic Fungal Shannon diversity from 16S Marker gene sequencing (Field type: numeric)</li></ul></li><li><p><b>Ex_Situ_Litter_Decomposition</b> (described in worksheet Ex_Situ_Litter_Decomposition)</p><p>Description: Fully factorial litter decomposition experiment. 16 unique soil and litter combinations (4x4) were incubated in petri dishes at constant temperature and moisture and mass loss measured after 31, 105 and 398 days.</p><p>Number of fields: 8</p><p>Number of data rows: 240</p><p>Fields: </p><ul><li><b>location_name</b>: Name of subplot where soils were collected (Field type: location)</li><li><b>Soil_ID</b>: Soil ID indicating which land use soil was collected from (Field type: categorical)</li><li><b>Litter_Location</b>: Location of which GEM carbon plot the litter was collected from. Litter was collected from the 5 carbon subplots as per soil collection and homogenised into one composite sample per carbon plot (Field type: location)</li><li><b>Litter_ID</b>: Litter ID indicating which land use litter was collected from (Field type: categorical)</li><li><b>Experimental_Block</b>: Which experimental block the microcosm was assigned to. N= 5 (Field type: replicate)</li><li><b>Timepoint</b>: At what timepoint the litter was harvested from each microcosm (Field type: categorical)</li><li><b>Mass_Loss</b>: The mass loss of litter relative to the starting mass of 1g (Field type: numeric)</li><li><b>home_away</b>: Descriptor for whether the soil and litter combination in microcosm (Field type: categorical)</li></ul></li></ol><p><b>Date range: </b>2014-10-01 to 2018-09-01</p><p><b>Latitudinal extent: </b>4.6402 to 4.9539</p><p><b>Longitudinal extent: </b>117.4518 to 117.7942</p>
Data from: Invertebrate phenology modulates the effect of the leaf economics spectrum on litter decomposition rate across 41 subtropical woody plant species
<ol> <li>Litter quality and decomposers are critical to carbon and nutrient cycling through litter decomposition. However, how relationships between litter quality and invertebrate detritivores change litter mass loss through time is poorly known. Species' initial leaf litter quality, as a legacy of their position on the "leaf economics spectrum" (LES), may determine the invertebrate contribution to litter mass loss. This contribution may change through time, as both population peaks of invertebrate detritivores and litter quality of given species will change through time.</li> <li>Here we introduce invertebrate phenology into a conceptual model of drivers of litter mass loss. We hypothesized that in the early decomposition period, LES can predict litter decomposability with or without a strong invertebrate contribution, i.e., litter with higher nutrient content would decompose faster. But in the later decomposition period, when higher quality litter will already have decomposed too much and lower quality litters have still been less degraded, a strong invertebrate peak would coincide with relatively more consumption of initially lower quality litters; this would lead to a hump-back relationship between leaf litter mass loss and initial LES position in this period.</li> <li>We tested our hypothesis through a one-year field decomposition experiment using leaf litter of 41 woody species in each of two sites in subtropical forest in China; only one of these sites had a strong late peak of leaf litter-feeding moth larvae in the litter layer.</li> <li>LES score of litter species had a positive linear relationship with litter mass loss before the key invertebrate consumer peaks in the litter layer. However, with the invertebrates peaking later into the decomposition process, the invertebrate consumption peaked at initially lower quality litters, which altered the species' decomposability trajectory on the LES, consistent with the hypothesized hump-back relationship between leaf litter mass loss and LES. This phenomenon resulted in a strongly reduced slope of cumulative mass loss on initial LES score across species.</li> <li>Our finding highlights the importance of considering interactions between the timing of detritivore activities and the timing of litter quality for better understanding the relationships between soil animals and ecosystem carbon and nutrient cycling.</li> </ol>
Relative effects of climate and litter traits on decomposition change with time, climate and trait variability
<div class="WordSection1"> <ol> <li><span>Climate and litter quality drive litter decomposition, but there is currently little consensus on their relative importance, likely because studies differ in the duration, the climatic gradients, and variability in litter-trait values. Understanding these drivers is important because they determine the direct and indirect (via vegetation composition) effects of climate change on decomposition and thereby on carbon and nutrient cycling. </span></li> <li><span>We studied how microclimate (soil moisture and temperature) and litter traits interactively affect litter mass loss, by using a reciprocal litter translocation experiment along a large climatic gradient in Chile. We followed decomposition for two years and used 30 plant species with a wide spectrum of functional-trait values.</span></li> <li><span>Litter traits had a strong impact on litter decomposition across the gradient, while an increase in decomposition with soil moisture was observed only in the wettest climates. Overall, soil moisture increased considerably in importance, relative to trait effects, at later decomposition stages, from ca. 15% of the importance of traits after 3 and 6 months to ca. 110% after 24 months. Moreover, analyzing subsets of the 30 species showed that trait effects on litter decomposition gained in importance when including a greater variation in trait values.</span></li> <li><span><i>Synthesis.</i> The relative effects of litter traits and climate on decomposition depend on the ranges in climate and litter traits considered and change with time. Our study emphasizes the critical role of representative ranges in climate and functional trait values for understanding the drivers of litter decomposition and for improving predictions of climate-change effects on this important ecosystem process.</span></li> </ol> </div>
Data from: Leaf litter decomposition in tropical freshwater swamp forests is slower in swamp than non-swamp conditions
<p><span><span>Decomposition is a key ecosystem function, and the rate of decomposition in forests affects their carbon storage potentials. Processes and factors determining leaf litter decomposition rates in dry-land and temperate forests are well understood, but these are generally poorly studied in tropical wetland forests, especially freshwater swamp forests (FSF). The home-field advantage (HFA) hypothesis predicts that soil microbes specialize in decomposing leaf litter produced by the tree species in their immediate vicinity. However, empirical support for the HFA is equivocal, and the HFA has never been tested in the highly heterogeneous and biodiverse ecosystems of tropical FSFs. We collected leaf litter from swamp and non-swamp tree species in a tropical FSF in Singapore and monitored the decomposition rates of these in swamp and non-swamp plots for a period of eight months. Leaf litter decomposed 3.7 times more slowly in swamp plots. Leaf litter from swamp tree species were significantly poorer in quality (higher C:N ratio) than those of non-swamp FSF tree species, but this had only a weak effect on decomposition rates. There was also only weak evidence for the HFA and only in non-swamp conditions. Our results show that while the leaf litter of tropical FSF swamp and non-swamp tree species differ significantly in chemical traits, litter decomposition rate is ultimately determined by local abiotic conditions, such as hydrology. Additionally, the high FSF tree diversity may prevent decomposer communities from specializing on any group of leaf litter types and thus limit the extent of HFA observed in such heterogeneous forests.</span></span></p>
Data from: Acceleration or deceleration of litter decomposition by herbivory depends on nutrient availability through intraspecific differences in induced plant resistance traits
1. Herbivores often induce changes in plant defensive chemistry or nutrient content that may respectively inhibit or promote microbial decomposition of senesced litter. Often the directional impact of herbivores on decomposition is considered to be a property of a species or ecosystem. While rarely explored, intraspecific plasticity in the induction of defensive strategies across environmental gradients may also result in divergent impacts of herbivores on decomposition (deceleration vs. acceleration). 2. Here, we examined how soil nutrient conditions determine after-life effects of herbivory, using nine goldenrod (Solidago altissima) genotypes grown across four levels of nutrient supply and with or without grasshopper herbivory. In this species, herbivory induces defensive traits in genotypes grown in high soil nutrient conditions but induces tolerance (compensatory growth) in low nutrient conditions. We combined senesced litter from each treatment with a common soil inoculum in experimental microcosms and measured soil respiration and litter mass loss over 100 days as estimates of decomposition. 3. Plant genotype, nutrient environment, and herbivory all had significant effects on decomposition. The legacy effect of herbivory overwhelmed the positive effects of high soil nutrient supply on decomposition. This significant herbivory nutrient environment interaction meant that herbivore-induced plants grown in high nutrient environments produced litter that was more resistant to microbial breakdown than litter from the same genotype not exposed to herbivory. But the opposite occurred at low nutrient levels where litter from herbivore-induced plants was most readily decomposed. Further we mechanistically tie nutrient and herbivory legacy treatments to decomposition rates through predictable changes in leaf trait expression. Lastly, we demonstrate a significant correlation among herbivore growth rates on the living tissue and decomposition efficiencies by the microbial community of the senesced tissue, suggesting that herbivores and microbes perceive the "quality" of the induced substrate similarly. 4. Synthesis: Herbivore-induced changes in leaf palatability and trait expression due to defense induction or compensatory growth can cascade through to either promote or inhibit the decomposability of leaf litter within a single species. These findings offer mechanistic understanding of how spatial heterogeneity in ecosystem process rates can be generated by spatial variation in herbivory and nutrient availability.
Data from: Different dynamics and controls of enzyme activities of leaf and root litter during decomposition
<p>Litter enzyme dynamics are strongly shaped by litter, soil, and microbial attributes during decomposition, however, enzyme dynamics of leaf and root litter remains unresolved due to contrasting differences in rates and controls on leaf and root litter decomposition.</p> <p>Herein, we conducted a 784-day field experiment to evaluate the relative importance of litter, alkaline soil, and microbial attributes to enzyme activities and their C:N:P stoichiometry of leaf and root litter during decomposition under subtropical land use change of China.</p> <p>We found that only the C- and N-acquiring enzyme activities of shrub leaves were greater than those of wood and crop, and there was no significant difference in P-acquiring enzyme activity among the three species of leaves. Both the C- and P-acquiring enzyme activities of crop roots were significantly lower than those of afforested lands (i.e., woodland and shrubland). The N-acquiring activities of wood roots were significantly lower than those of shrub and crop. At the temporal dynamics, the C-, N-, and P-acquiring enzyme activities of the leaves decreased with mass loss, which was affected by the shift in litter nutrients (e.g., N and P) and soil moisture during decomposition. In contrast, the three enzyme activities of roots increased with mass loss, largely due to the increase in microbial biomass of bacteria regulated by litter stoichiometry. The enzymatic C:nutrient (N and P) ratios declined with mass loss, but the enzymatic P:N ratios remained relatively constant with mass loss during the leaf litter decomposition. Whereas, both of the enzymatic C:nutrient ratios and enzymatic P:N ratios decreased with mass during the root litter decomposition. Our results showed that the enzymatic C:N:P stoichiometry of decaying leaves and roots was predominantly predicted by microbial biomass and bacterial biomass, respectively.</p> <p>Overall, we outlined the pattern of contrasting contributions of litter, soil, and microbial attributes to enzyme dynamics during decomposition, which provided a framework for better understanding litter C, N, and P dynamics in relation to microbial resource allocation strategy during decomposition.</p>
Data from: Intraspecific leaf trait variation mediates edge effects on litter decomposition rate in fragmented forests
<p>There is strong trait dependence in species-level responses to environmental change and their cascading effects on ecosystem functioning. However, there is little understanding of whether intraspecific trait variation (ITV) can also be an important mechanism mediating environmental effects on ecosystem functioning. This is surprising, given that global change processes such as habitat fragmentation and the creation of forest edges drive strong trait shifts within species. On 20 islands in the Thousand Island Lake, China, we quantified intraspecific leaf trait shifts of a widely distributed shrub species, <em>Vaccinium carlesii</em>, in response to habitat fragmentation. Using a reciprocal transplant decomposition experiment between forest edge and interior on 11 islands with varying areas, we disentangled the relative effects of intraspecific leaf trait variation vs. altered environmental conditions on leaf decomposition rates in forest fragments. We found strong intraspecific variation in leaf traits in response to edge effects, with a shift towards recalcitrant leaves with low specific leaf area and high leaf dry matter content from forest interior to the edge. Using structural equation modelling, we showed that such intraspecific leaf trait response to habitat fragmentation had translated into significant plant afterlife effects on leaf decomposition, leading to decreased leaf decomposition rates from the forest interior to the edge. Importantly, the effects of intraspecific leaf trait variation were additive to and stronger than the effects from local environmental changes due to edge effects and habitat loss. Our experiment provides the first quantitative study showing that intraspecific leaf trait response to edge effects is an important driver of the decrease in leaf decomposition rate in fragmented forests. By extending the trait-based response-effect framework towards the individual level, intraspecific variation in leaf economics traits can provide the missing functional link between environmental change and ecological processes. These findings suggest an important area for future research on incorporating ITV to understand and predict changes in ecosystem functioning in the context of global change.</p>
Data for: Rewilding soil and litter invertebrates and fungi increases decomposition rates and alters detritivore communities
<p>Habitat degradation and associated reductions in ecosystem functions can be reversed by reintroducing or 'rewilding' keystone species. Rewilding projects have historically targeted restoration of processes such as grazing regimes or top-down predation effects. Few projects focus on restoring decomposition efficiency, despite the pivotal role decomposition plays in global carbon sequestration and nutrient cycling. Here, we tested whether rewilding entire communities of detritivorous invertebrates and fungi can improve litter decomposition efficiency and restore detritivore communities during ecological restoration. Rewilding was conducted by transplanting leaf litter and soil, including associated invertebrate and fungal communities from species-rich remnant sites into species-poor, and geographically isolated, revegetated farmland sites in a temperate woodland region of southeastern Australia. We compared communities in sites under the following treatments: remnant (conservation area and source of litter transplant), rewilded revegetation (revegetated farmland site with litter transplant), and control revegetation (revegetated site, no transplant). In one 'before' and three 'after' sampling periods, we measured litter decomposition and the abundance and diversity of detritivorous invertebrates and fungi. We quantified the effect of detritivores on the rate of litter decomposition using piecewise Structural Equation Modelling. Decomposition was significantly faster in rewilding sites than in both control and remnant areas, and was largely driven by a greater abundance of invertebrate detritivores. Similarly, the abundance of invertebrate detritivores in rewilding revegetation sites exceeded the level of remnant communities, whereas there was little difference between control and remnant sites. In contrast, rewilding did not increase saprotrophic fungi relative abundance/diversity and there was no strong relationship between decomposition and fungal diversity. Our findings suggest the relatively simple act of transplanting leaf litter and soil can increase functional efficiency during restoration and alter community composition. Our methods may prove important across a range of contexts where other restoration methods have failed to restore ecosystem processes to pre-degradation levels.</p>
Data: Salt marsh litter quality and decomposition under sea-level rise scenarios: from leaves to fine absorptive roots
<p>litter chemical characteristic in salt marshes, including fine absorptive roots, fine transportive roots, rhizomes and leaves. </p> <p>mass loss of litter and chemical characteristics of those litter under sea level scenarios (manipulated in situ)</p>
Bryosphere loss impairs litter decomposition consistently across moss species, litter types, and micro-arthropod abundance
<p>The bryosphere (i.e., ground mosses and their associated biota) is a key driver of nutrient and carbon dynamics in many terrestrial ecosystems, in part because it regulates litter decomposition. However, we have a poor understanding of how litter decomposition responds to changes in the bryosphere, including changes in bryosphere cover, moss species, and bryosphere-associated biota. Specifically, the contribution of micro-arthropods to litter decomposition in the bryosphere is unclear. Here, we used a 16-month litterbag field experiment in two boreal forests to investigate bryosphere effects on litter decomposition rates among two moss species (<i>Pleurozium schreberi</i> and <i>Hylocomium splendens</i>), and two litter types (higher-quality <i>Betula pendula</i> litter and lower-quality <i>P. schreberi</i> litter). Additionally, we counted all micro-arthropods in the litterbags and identified them to functional groups. We found that bryosphere removal reduced litter decomposition rates by 28% and micro-arthropod abundance by 29%, and led to a colder micro-climate. Litter decomposition rates and micro-arthropod abundance were uncorrelated overall, but were positively correlated in <i>B. pendula</i> litterbags. Bryosphere effects on litter decomposition rates were consistent across moss species, litter types, and micro-arthropod abundances and community compositions. These findings suggest that micro-arthropods play a minor role in litter decomposition in the boreal forest floor, suggesting that other factors (e.g., micro-climate, nutrient availability) likely drive the positive effect of the bryosphere on decomposition rates. Our results point to a substantial and consistent impairment of litter decomposition in response to loss of moss cover, which could have important implications for nutrient and carbon cycling in moss-dominated ecosystems.</p>
Photodegradation of plant litter cuticles enhances microbial decomposition by increasing uptake of non-rainfall moisture
<p>Litter decomposition plays a central role in carbon cycling in terrestrial ecosystems worldwide. In drylands, which cover 40% of the Earth's land surface, photodegradation and biotic decomposition driven by non-rainfall moisture are important mechanisms of litter decay, though studies have only recently begun examining interactions between these two processes. We describe a novel priming mechanism in which photodegradation and biotic decay of the cuticle of plant litter increases litter absorption of non-rainfall moisture (fog, dew, and water vapor), supporting greater microbial decomposition.</p> <p>We used several field experiments in a coastal fog desert and a series of in situ observations to demonstrate a relationship between solar radiation, cuticle integrity, water absorption rates, and mass loss.</p> <p>Experimentally attenuating solar radiation for 36 months slowed mass loss, reduced cuticle degradation, and decreased litter moisture uptake relative to litter under ambient sunlight controls. In a separate field experiment, removing the cuticle of recently senesced grass tillers increased mass loss four-fold over 6 months relative to controls. Tillers with degraded cuticles also absorbed 3.8 times more water following an overnight dew event than did those with intact cuticles. Finally, fungal growth was consistently greater on the sun-facing side of in situ tillers than on the shaded side, coincident with greater cuticle degradation.</p> <p>We present a conceptual model where the cuticle of plant litter acts as a water-resistant barrier that is first degraded by solar radiation and surficial microbes, increasing litter's ability to absorb enough water during non-rainfall moisture events to support substantial biotic decomposition inside the tissue. Considering how photodegradation and non-rainfall moisture are both substantial drivers of litter decomposition in drylands, understanding how they interact under realistic field conditions will help us better predict how these systems are responding to changing climate regimes.</p>
Data from: Litter decomposition affected by bamboo expansion is modulated by litter-mixing and microbial composition
<p>Litter decomposition is a key ecosystem process that drives carbon (C) and nutrient cycling, which could be affected by shifts in plant community composition caused by plant invasion or expansion. However, how changes in leaf litter composition (e.g., litter-mixing effect) and soil microbial community induced by shift in plant community composition affect decomposition remains elusive.</p> <p>Here, by deploying 432 litterbags (50-μm mesh screen), we treated leaf litter of bamboo (<em>Phyllostachys edulis</em>) and tree species (in a mixture or alone) and decomposed them in forest sites expanded or not expanded by bamboo at three regions, to assess the effects of bamboo expansion on decomposition, microbial community structure and function.</p> <p>Bamboo expansion reduced microbial C to nitrogen (N) ratio and nutritional stress indicator (cy/pre), which was very likely ascribed to elevated N availability as a result of accelerated litter N release. The N loss of bamboo litter (28.1 ± 03%) was more than double of tree species litter (13.2 ± 3.1%), and decomposing litter of bamboo and tree species in a mixture increased litter N loss from 15.3± 3.1% to 25.9± 3.1% (by 69%). However, no consistent effect of litter type and litter treatment on C loss was observed. The non-additive litter-mixing effect is attributable to increased microbial nutrient use efficiency, which is illustrated by the interactive effect between litter treatment and cy/pre on decomposition. Moreover, the forest type interactively affected decomposition with cy/pre as ignoring litter treatment, where higher decay rate and litter N loss at bamboo expanded than non-expanded sites would be expected when both sites having comparable cy/pre, but the reality is that bamboo expansion tends to have lower cy/pre. These results imply a trade-off between introduced litter and nutrient use efficiency of local microbial community to drive decomposition.</p> <p>Our results demonstrate that litter decomposition affected by bamboo expansion was jointly modulated by litter-mixing and microbial composition, which sheds new insights on predicting changes in soil C and nutrient cycling induced by shifts in plant community composition.</p>
Litter decomposition rates across tropical montane and lowland forests are controlled foremost by climate
<p>The "hierarchy of factors" hypothesis states that decomposition rates are controlled primarily by climatic, followed by biological and soil variables. Tropical montane forests (TMF) are globally important ecosystems, yet there have been limited efforts to provide a biome-scale characterization of litter decomposition. We designed a common litter decomposition experiment replicated in 23 tropical montane sites across the Americas, Asia, and Africa and combined these results with a previous study of 23 sites in tropical lowland forests (TLF). Specifically, we investigated (1) spatial heterogeneity in decomposition, (2) the relative importance of biological factors that affect leaf and wood decomposition in TMF and, (3) the role of climate in determining leaf litter decomposition rates within and across the TMF and TLF biomes. Litterbags of two mesh sizes containing <em>Laurus</em> <em>nobilis </em>leaves or birchwood popsicle sticks were spatially dispersed and incubated in TMF sites, for 3 and 7 months on the soil surface and at 10-15 cm depth. The within-site replication demonstrated spatial variability in mass loss. Within TMF, litter type was the predominant biological factor influencing decomposition (leaves > wood), with mesh and burial effects playing a minor role. When comparing across TMF and TLF, climate was the predominant control over decomposition, but the Yasso07 global model (based on mean annual temperature and precipitation) only modestly predicted decomposition rate. Differences in controlling factors between biomes suggest that TMF, with their high rates of carbon storage, must be explicitly considered when developing theory and models to elucidate carbon cycling rates in the tropics.</p>
The coordination between leaf and fine root litter decomposition and the difference of their controlling factors
<p><strong>Aim:</strong> As the two largest components of plant detritus input, leaf and root litter together determines ecosystem vegetation turnover and nutrient cycling rates. However, it remains unknown the similarities and differences between the controlling factors for their decomposition. We evaluated the relationship between leaf and fine root litter decomposition across biomes, and analyzed how litter traits, climate, soil conditions and decomposers shape their relationship.</p> <p><strong>Location:</strong> Global.</p> <p><strong>Time Period:</strong> 1984–2020.</p> <p><strong>Major Taxa Studied</strong>: Vascular plant.</p> <p><strong>Methods:</strong> We collected 352 paired leaf and fine root decomposition rates (k values) and ancillary traits, climate, soil condition and decomposer abundance data from 88 sites spanning the major global biomes. Boosted regression trees (BRTs) were applied to partition the factors that control root and leaf decomposition rates.</p> <p><strong>Results: </strong>Averaged across all biomes, leaf litter decomposes significantly faster (kleaf=0.72) than fine root (kroot=0.42). The BRTs indicated that plant traits best explained the variance in both leaf and root litter decomposition. The key chemical traits of leaf litter and fine root, including C:N, [P], N:P, [lignin], [cellulose], [NSCs] and [tannins], were positively correlated. Therefore, leaf and fine root k values were positively correlated within and across biomes, even after removing the influence of climate, soil conditions and decomposers. However, climate and decomposers had different impacts on leaf and fine root decomposition. Climate induced a greater impact on fine root litter decomposition, whereas decomposers had a greater influence on leaf litter decomposition.</p> <p><strong>Main Conclusions:</strong> Our finding indicates that plants evolve a coordinated nutrient supply and demand strategy. The high nutrient demand plants produce labile leaf and fine root litter, which decompose fast to meet their high nutrient requirements. However, leaf and fine root decomposition are also mediated by different combinations of trait, climate, soil condition and decomposer factors, which weakens the coordination between leaf and fine root decomposition.</p>
The impact of invertebrates and fungi on litter decomposition rate in modified forests
<b>Description: </b><p>Litter decomposition experiment</p><p><b>Project: </b>This dataset was collected as part of the following SAFE research project: <a href="https://www.safeproject.net/projects/project_view/79"><b>The impact of invertebrates and fungi on litter decomposition rate in modified forests</b></a></p><p><b>XML metadata: </b>GEMINI compliant metadata for this dataset is available <a href="https://www.safeproject.net/datasets/xml_metadata?id=68">here</a></p><p><b>Data worksheets: </b>There are 1 data worksheets in this dataset:</p><ol><li><p><b>Litter decomposition experiment</b> (Worksheet Data)</p><p>Dimensions: 418 rows by 14 columns</p><p>Description: Results from leaf litter decomposition experiment</p><p>Fields: </p><ul><li><b>Site</b>: SAFE Project sample point (Field type: Location)</li><li><b>Dateset</b>: Day litter bag was placed in field (Field type: Date)</li><li><b>Bagno.</b>: Code relating to numbers on litter bags (Field type: ID)</li><li><b>Treatment</b>: Experimental treatment applied to litter bag (Field type: Categorical)</li><li><b>Cline</b>: NA (Field type: Numeric)</li><li><b>Litterdepth</b>: Depth of leaf litter adjacent to litter bag (Field type: Numeric)</li><li><b>pH</b>: Soil pH (Field type: Numeric)</li><li><b>Meanhandlingloss</b>: Average weight of litter lost from litter bag during transport to/from field (Field type: Numeric)</li><li><b>Travelbagweight</b>: Estimated weight of litter bag placed in field (Field type: Numeric)</li><li><b>Datecollected</b>: Date litter bag was collected from field (Field type: Date)</li><li><b>Daysleftinfield</b>: Number of days litter bag was left in the field (Field type: Numeric)</li><li><b>Dryweightaftercollection</b>: Dry weight of litter after collection from the field (Field type: Numeric)</li><li><b>Notes</b>: Field observations affecting results (Field type: Comments)</li></ul><br></li></ol><p><b>Date range: </b>2012-05-27 to 2012-07-16</p><p><b>Latitudinal extent: </b>4.6353 to 4.7520</p><p><b>Longitudinal extent: </b>116.9635 to 117.5855</p>
Leaf litter decomposition in old-growth and selectively logged forest
<p><strong>Description: </strong></p> <p>In a multifactorial experiment we investigated the consequences of selective logging for decomposition and nutrient cycling in Southeast Asia by testing the effects of chemical composition of leaf litter and site factors on leaf litter mass loss. Litterbags were used to estimate decomposition over a period of 24 weeks, litterbags were collected 2, 4, 6, 8, 13, 24 weeks after the start of the experiment.</p> <p><strong>Project: </strong>This dataset was collected as part of the following SAFE research project: <a href="https://www.safeproject.net/projects/project_view/124"><strong>Biodiversity and land-use impacts on tropical ecosystem function (BALI): Quantifying biogeochemistry across forest disturbance gradients in Sabah</strong></a></p> <p><strong>Funding: </strong>These data were collected as part of research funded by:</p> <ul> <li>NERC (Standard grant, NE/K016253/1)</li> </ul> <p>This dataset is released under the CC-BY 4.0 licence, requiring that you cite the dataset in any outputs, but has the additional condition that you acknowledge the contribution of these funders in any outputs.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Permits: </strong>These data were collected under permit from the following authorities:</p> <ul> <li>Sabah Biodiversity Centre (Research licence JKM/MBS.1000-2/2(383))</li> </ul> <p> </p> <p><strong>XML metadata: </strong>GEMINI compliant metadata for this dataset is available <a href="https://www.safeproject.net/datasets/xml_metadata?id=3247639">here</a></p> <p><strong>Files: </strong>This consists of 1 file: Both_litter_decomposition_experiment.xlsx</p> <p><strong>Both_litter_decomposition_experiment.xlsx</strong></p> <p>This file contains dataset metadata and 3 data tables:</p> <ol> <li> <p><strong>chemical_composition_start</strong> (described in worksheet chemical_composition_start)</p> <p>Description: Chemical properties from the two leaf litter types before the experiment</p> <p>Number of fields: 19</p> <p>Number of data rows: 10</p> <p>Fields:</p> <ul> <li><strong>replicate</strong>: Replicate number (Field type: Replicate)</li> <li><strong>litter_type</strong>: Litter type (Field type: ID)</li> <li><strong>P_mg.g</strong>: Phosporus concentration in mg per g dry weight of leaf litter (Field type: Numeric)</li> <li><strong>N_perc</strong>: Nitrogen concentration in % of leaf litter, analysed in University of Aberdeen (Field type: Numeric)</li> <li><strong>C_perc</strong>: Carbon concentration in % of leaf litter, analysed in University of Aberdeen (Field type: Numeric)</li> <li><strong>C.N</strong>: Carbon nitrogen ratio of leaf litter, analysed in University of Aberdeen (Field type: Numeric)</li> <li><strong>P_perc</strong>: Phosporus concentration in % of leaf litter, analysed in University of Aberdeen (Field type: Numeric)</li> <li><strong>C.P</strong>: Carbon phosporus ratio of leaf litter, analysed in University of Aberdeen (Field type: Numeric)</li> <li><strong>N.P</strong>: Nitrogen phosporus ratio of leaf litter, analysed in University of Aberdeen (Field type: Numeric)</li> <li><strong>Ca_mg.g</strong>: Calcium concentration in mg per g dry weight of leaf litter (Field type: Numeric)</li> <li><strong>Mg_mg.g</strong>: Magnesium concentration in mg per g dry weight of leaf litter (Field type: Numeric)</li> <li><strong>Al_mg.g</strong>: Aluminium concentration in mg per g dry weight of leaf litter (Field type: Numeric)</li> <li><strong>K_mg.g</strong>: Potassium concentration in mg per g dry weight of leaf litter (Field type: Numeric)</li> <li><strong>soluble_cell_content</strong>: Soluble cell content in percent (Field type: Numeric)</li> <li><strong>nonsoluble_cell_content</strong>: Non-soluble cell content in percent (Field type: Numeric)</li> <li><strong>hemicellulose_bound_proteins</strong>: Hemicellulose and bound proteins content in percent (Field type: Numeric)</li> <li><strong>cellulose_lignin_recalcitrants</strong>: Soluble cell content in percent (Field type: Numeric)</li> <li><strong>cellulose</strong>: Cellulose content in percent (Field type: Numeric)</li> <li><strong>lignin_recalcitrants</strong>: Lignin and recalcitrants content in percent (Field type: Numeric)</li> </ul> </li> <li> <p><strong>chemical_composition_end</strong> (described in worksheet chemical_composition_end)</p> <p>Description: Chemical properties from individual leaf litter bags at the end of the experiment</p> <p>Number of fields: 18</p> <p>Number of data rows: 64</p> <p>Fields:</p> <ul> <li><strong>code</strong>: Identifyer for each leaf litter bag, coding for location-plotname-subplot pair-leaf litter type-mesh size-replicate (Field type: ID)</li> <li><strong>location</strong>: Location of experimental plots (M: Maliau; S: SAFE) (Field type: ID)</li> <li><strong>location_name</strong>: Plot name (Field type: Location)</li> <li><strong>plot</strong>: Running number of experimental plots (Field type: ID)</li> <li><strong>pair</strong>: Each plot contains two experimental units (making up a pair) (Field type: ID)</li> <li><strong>replicate</strong>: Each pair contained two replicates of the same treatment (litter type x mesh size) (Field type: replicate)</li> <li><strong>litter_type</strong>: Litter type (Field type: Categorical)</li> <li><strong>mesh</strong>: Mesh size of the litter bags (Field type: Categorical)</li> <li><strong>P_mg.g</strong>: Phosporus concentration in mg per g dry weight of dry leaf litter (Field type: Numeric)</li> <li><strong>K_mg.g</strong>: Potassium concentration in mg per g dry weight of dry leaf litter (Field type: Numeric)</li> <li><strong>Ca_mg.g</strong>: Calcium concentration in mg per g dry weight of dry leaf litter (Field type: Numeric)</li> <li><strong>Mg_mg.g</strong>: Magnesium concentration in mg per g dry weight of dry leaf litter (Field type: Numeric)</li> <li><strong>Al_mg.g</strong>: Aluminium concentration in mg per g dry weight of dry leaf litter (Field type: Numeric)</li> <li><strong>N_perc</strong>: Nitrogen concentration in % of dry leaf litter (Field type: Numeric)</li> <li><strong>C_perc</strong>: Carbon concentration in % of dry leaf litter (Field type: Numeric)</li> <li><strong>C.N</strong>: Carbon nitrogen ratio of dry leaf litter (Field type: Numeric)</li> <li><strong>cellulose</strong>: Cellulose concentration in % of dry leaf litter (Field type: Numeric)</li> <li><strong>lignin_recalcitrants</strong>: Lignin and recalcitrants concentration in % of dry leaf litter (Field type: Numeric)</li> </ul> </li> <li> <p><strong>litterbags_massloss</strong> (described in worksheet litterbags_massloss)</p> <p>Description: Mass loss of litter in litterbags over the experimental period of 24 weeks</p> <p>Number of fields: 17</p> <p>Number of data rows: 128</p> <p>Fields:</p> <ul> <li><strong>code</strong>: Identifyer for each leaf litter bag, coding for location-plotname-subplot pair-leaf litter type-mesh size-replicate (Field type: ID)</li> <li><strong>location</strong>: Location of experimental plots (Field type: ID)</li> <li><strong>plotname</strong>: Plot name (Field type: Location)</li> <li><strong>plot</strong>: Running number of experimental plots (Field type: ID)</li> <li><strong>pair</strong>: Each plot contains two experimental units (making up a pair) (Field type: ID)</li> <li><strong>replicate</strong>: Each pair contained two replicates of the same treatment (litter type x mesh size) (Field type: Replicate)</li> <li><strong>litter_type</strong>: Litter type (Field type: Categorical)</li> <li><strong>mesh</strong>: Mesh size of the litter bags (Field type: Categorical)</li> <li><strong>weight_t0</strong>: Initial weight at the beginning of the experiment, around 10 g per litter bag (Field type: Numeric)</li> <li><strong>weight_t1</strong>: Weight at time step 1 after 2 weeks (Field type: Numeric)</li> <li><strong>weight_t2</strong>: Weight at time step 1 after 4 weeks (Field type: Numeric)</li> <li><strong>weight_t3</strong>: Weight at time step 1 after 6 weeks (Field type: Numeric)</li> <li><strong>weight_t4</strong>: Weight at time step 1 after 8 weeks (Field type: Numeric)</li> <li><strong>weight_t5</strong>: Weight at time step 1 after 13 weeks (Field type: Numeric)</li> <li><strong>weight_t6</strong>: Weight at time step 1 after 24 weeks (Field type: Numeric)</li> <li><strong>t6_corrected</strong>: Weight at time step 1 after 24 weeks, corrected for contaminating material, mostly ingrown plant roots and fungal hyphae. This is the data to use. (Field type: Numeric)</li> <li><strong>mass_loss_%</strong>: Mass loss at the end of the experiment compared to the start of the experiment, in percent (Field type: Numeric)</li> </ul> </li> </ol> <p><strong>Date range: </strong>2014-05-01 to 2018-09-01</p> <p><strong>Latitudinal extent: </strong>4.5000 to 5.0700</p> <p><strong>Longitudinal extent: </strong>116.7500 to 117.8200</p>
Online Resources Chapter 3 - Decomposition of standing litter biomass in newly constructed wetlands associated with direct effects of sediment and water characteristics and the composition and activity of the decomposer community using Phragmites australis as a single standard substrate
<p>Online Resources to Chapter 3 "Decomposition of standing litter biomass in newly constructed wetlands associated with direct effects of sediment and water characteristics and the composition and activity of the decomposer community using Phragmites australis as a single standard substrate" of PhD thesis from Ciska Overbeek, "Peat formation on a former landfill - Production and decomposition of aquatic pioneer vegetation". </p> <p>Published by Overbeek et al in 2019 in Wetlands 39(1): 113-125. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-018-1081-y. </p>
Salt marsh litter quality and decomposition under sea-level rise scenarios: from leaves to fine absorptive roots
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Data from: A test of the hierarchical model of litter decomposition
Our basic understanding of plant litter decomposition informs the assumptions underlying widely applied soil biogeochemical models, including those embedded in Earth system models. Confidence in projected carbon cycle-climate feedbacks therefore depends on accurate knowledge about the controls regulating the rate at which plant biomass is decomposed into products such as CO2. Here, we test underlying assumptions of the dominant conceptual model of litter decomposition. The model posits that a primary control on the rate of decomposition at regional to global scales is climate (temperature and moisture), with the controlling effects of decomposers negligible at such broad spatial scales. Using a regional-scale litter decomposition experiment at six sites spanning from northern Sweden to southern France – and capturing both within and among site variation in putative controls – we find that contrary to predictions from the hierarchical model, decomposer (microbial) biomass strongly regulates decomposition at regional scales. Further, the size of the microbial biomass dictates the absolute change in decomposition rates with changing climate variables. Our findings suggest the need for revision of the hierarchical model, with decomposers acting as both local- and broad-scale controls on litter decomposition rates, necessitating their explicit consideration in global biogeochemical models.
Optical traits perform equally well as directly-measured functional traits in explaining the impact of an invasive plant on litter decomposition
<p>1. Functional traits can help elucidate and predict the impact of invasive plant species on ecosystem functioning. Yet, this approach requires comprehensive and labor-intensive trait collection campaigns, covering intraspecific trait variation of both the invader and native species in the invaded community. One potential way to overcome these logistic constraints is using hyperspectral remote sensing technology to efficiently quantify functional trait values. Although such spectrally derived or 'optical' traits are known to closely link to directly-measured functional traits, little research has explored how well these optical traits perform in assessing invader-induced ecosystem impact. 2. Here, we explored the trait-mediated impact of the invasive Rosa rugosa on litter decomposition and evaluated whether optical traits perform equally well as directly-measured traits in predicting litter decomposition variation. We collected data on species-specific functional traits, leaf hyperspectral reflectance and standardized 'tea bag index' litter decomposition across 25 invaded and 25 uninvaded coastal grassland plots. The selected traits were all potentially related to litter decomposition and covered the leaf economics spectrum, additional leaf structural components and competitive ability. Optical traits were quantified through a combination of a physical radiative transfer model inversion and vegetation indices calculations. 3. Invasion significantly increased the stabilization factor, i.e. the amount of resulting recalcitrant litter. Invader impact on litter decomposition could be entirely explained by changes it induced in the functional traits of the native community, rather than by the invader's traits itself. More specifically, the invader pushed the invaded community towards traits associated with high litter quality. Optical traits performed equally well as directly-measured traits in explaining the invasion impact on the stabilization factor (R2= 41.9% vs. 38.5%). Furthermore, the interpretation of the results based on optical traits resulted in a similar functional understanding of the invader impact. 4. Synthesis: Our results indicate the potential of hyperspectral data to explain changes in ecosystem functioning. The combination of radiative transfer models and vegetation indices allowed to extract all relevant trait information from the hyperspectral data. This framework thus presents a practical short-cut to assess relevant leaf traits, requiring only a limited amount of field trait measurements.</p>
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Allen Brain Atlas
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DANDI Archive for NWB datasets
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International Brain Laboratory public data
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OpenNeuro
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