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70 results for “leaf litter decomposition”
Data for a leaf litter decomposition study and soil density fractionation analysis at a whole-watershed fertilization experiment in a temperate forest
To assess how elevated N deposition influences leaf litter decomposition dynamics and soil organic matter formation in a temperate deciduous forest, we coupled a reciprocal transplant leaf litter decomposition study with an analysis of the distribution of soil organic matter in mineral associated and particulate organic matter fractions at a long-term, whole-watershed, N fertilization experiment. We found that nearly 30 years of N additions slowed decay rates by about 11% for leaf litter decomposed in the fertilized watershed, regardless of the watershed from which the initial litter was collected. An apparent consequence of the altered rates of decomposition was that the soil in the fertilized watershed had about a 40% greater fraction of SOM in light particulate organic matter compared to the reference watershed, which was positively correlated with the bulk soil carbon to nitrogen ratio. Collectively, our results suggest that under conditions of N saturation, the physical transfer pathway of SOM formation is favored, which can have important implications for the future of the soil organic matter stock and nutrient cycling.
Leaf litter decomposition experiment In QPA and QPB - 2017-2019
We ran a leaf litter decomposition experiment over a seven-week period in each of three different years: 2017, 2018, and 2019. To assess leaf decomposition rates, we incubated leaf packs of freshly abscised Tabonuco (Dacryodes excelsa) leaves in pools in each of our two study stream reaches, and retrieved them at intervals over a seven-week period. We attempted to run experiments before onset of heavy rains which often occur in September-December. We chose to use leaves of Tabonuco for experimental leaf packs because it is a dominant riparian tree species along both of our study reaches. This dataset can be used to asses ecosystem function within tropical headwater streams. Support for this work was provided by grants BSR-8811902, DEB-9411973, DEB-9705814 , DEB-0080538, DEB-0218039 , DEB-0620910 , DEB-1239764, DEB-1546686, and DEB-1831952 from the National Science Foundation to the University of Puerto Rico as part of the Luquillo Long-Term Ecological Research Program. Additional support provided by the University of Puerto Rico and the International Institute of Tropical Forestry, USDA Forest Service.
Leaf Litter Decomposition Experiment in QPA and QPB – Insects - 2019
Macroinvertebrates collected from Tabonuco leaf packs associated with 50-day in-situ leaf litter decomposition experiment from 2019-07-1 – 2019-08-20 in Quebrada Prieta A and Quebrada Prieta B. This data may be used to examine insect colonization of leaf packs within streams. Support for this work was provided by grants BSR-8811902, DEB-9411973, DEB-9705814 , DEB-0080538, DEB-0218039 , DEB-0620910 , DEB-1239764, DEB-1546686, and DEB-1831952 from the National Science Foundation to the University of Puerto Rico as part of the Luquillo Long-Term Ecological Research Program. Additional support provided by the University of Puerto Rico and the International Institute of Tropical Forestry, USDA Forest Service.
leaf litter decomposition experiment In QPA and QPB - visual shrimp observations 2019
Visual shrimp observations from pools associated with 2019 in-situ leaf litter decomposition experiment. Shrimp abundance was recorded over two-minute intervals within pools in Quebrada Prieta A and Quebrada Prieta B. Support for this work was provided by grants BSR-8811902, DEB-9411973, DEB-9705814 , DEB-0080538, DEB-0218039 , DEB-0620910 , DEB-1239764, DEB-1546686, and DEB-1831952 from the National Science Foundation to the University of Puerto Rico as part of the Luquillo Long-Term Ecological Research Program. Additional support provided by the University of Puerto Rico and the International Institute of Tropical Forestry, USDA Forest Service.
Cross-site decomposition of leaf litter in terrestrial and aquatic habitats, CWT and LUQ, 2000 (species Buchenavia capitata, Dacryodes excelsa, Guarea guidonia, Quercus prinus).
Comparison of decomposition and nutrient losses from three species of leaf litter in terrestrial and aquatic habitats at CWT and LUQ LTER sites. Overall hypothesis is that macro-consumers have different patterns and impacts on decomposition rates than microbial decomposers, and that these patterns are magnified in litters of low vs. high qualities over the two years of the experiment.
Multiple Element Limitation in Northern Hardwood Ecosystems (MELNHE): Leaf Litter Decomposition 2012-2014
Decomposition of leaf litter is a major source of nutrient transfer from vegetation to soils and an important carbon flux. In northern hardwood forests, litter decomposition might be affected by nutrient availability, species composition, stand age or structure, or access by soil decomposers. We investigated these factors in four stands at the Bartlett Experimental Forest in New Hampshire that have had nitrogen and phosphorus added in full factorial design since 2011. Leaf litter of early and late successional species was collected in 2012 and deployed in bags of two mesh sizes (63 µm and 2 mm) in two young and two mature stands and collected three times over the next 2 years. Decomposition was evaluated by fitting mass loss as an exponential function of time represented by growing degree days. Litter decomposed more quickly in the small mesh bags (p < 0.001), which excluded mesofauna. This result was surprising, but might be explained by the greater rigidity of the large mesh material making poor contact with the soil. The litter with a species composition characteristic of our young stands decomposed more quickly than the litter representing mature stands (p = 0.01 for species mix in the full model). The environment in which is was placed was not as important: Neither the age of the stand in which it was placed (p = 0.31), nor N addition (p = 0.59), P addition (p = 0.41), or the interaction of N and P addition (p = 0.13) were significant predictors of the decomposition rate, defined by fitting an exponential decay constant. Additional detail on the MELNHE project, including a datatable of site descriptions and a pdf file with the project description and diagram of plot configuration can be found in this data package: https://portal.edirepository.org/nis/mapbrowse?scope=knb-lter-hbr&identifier=344 Litter was collected by Rick Bicher and sorted by species by middle school students. Litterbags were made, filled, and weighed by middle school students. Gracie Gilcrist
Energetic mismatch induced by warming decreases leaf litter decomposition by aquatic detritivores
<p>1. The balance of energetic losses and gains is of paramount importance for understanding and predicting the persistence of populations and ecosystem processes in a rapidly changing world. Previous studies suggested that metabolic rate often increases faster with warming than resource ingestion rate, leading to an energetic mismatch at high temperature. However, little is known about the ecological consequences of this energetic mismatch for population demography and ecosystem functions.</p> <p>2. Here, we combined laboratory experiments and modeling to investigate the energetic balance of a stream detritivore (Gammarus fossarum) along a temperature gradient and the consequences for detritivore populations and organic matter decomposition.</p> <p>3. We experimentally measured the energetic losses (metabolic rate) and supplies (ingestion rate) of Gammarus and we modeled the impact of rising temperatures and changes in Gammarus body size induced by warming on population dynamics and benthic organic matter dynamics in freshwater systems.</p> <p>4. Our experimental results indicated an energetic mismatch in a Gammarus population where losses via metabolic rate increase faster than supplies via food ingestion with warming, which translated in a decrease of energetic efficiency with temperature rising from 5 to 20 °C. Moreover, our consumer-resource model predicts a decrease in the biomass of Gammarus population with warming, associated with lower maximum abundances and steeper abundance decreases after biomass annual peaks. These changes resulted in a decrease of leaf litter decomposition rate and thus longer persistence of leaf litter standing stock over years in the simulations. In addition, Gammarus body size reductions led to shorter persistence for both leaf litter and Gammarus biomasses at low temperature and the opposite trend at high temperature, revealing that body size reduction was weakening the effect of temperature on resource and consumer persistence.</p> <p>5. Our model contributes to identifying the mechanisms that explain how thermal effects at the level of individuals may cascade through trophic interactions and influence important ecosystem processes. Considering the balance of physiological processes is crucial to improve our ability to predict the impact of climate change on carbon stocks and ecosystem functions.</p>
Data for the analysis from "Evidence for positive priming of leaf litter decomposition by contact with eutrophic pond sediments"
<p>These are the data files used in the analysis of the results of the experiments that are reported in the manuscript "Evidence for positive priming of leaf litter decomposition by contact with eutrophic pond sediments". More details on the analysis can be found in at: https://github.com/KennyPeanuts/sediment_priming</p>
Energetic mismatch induced by warming decreases leaf litter decomposition by aquatic detritivores
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Long-term Carbon and Nitrogen, and Phosphorus Dynamics of Leaf and Fine Root Litter project (LIDET-Long-term Intersite Decomposition Experiment Team) data for the ARC, Arctic LTER. 1990 to 2000.
This file is from the Long-term Carbon and Nitrogen, and Phosphorus Dynamics of Leaf and Fine Root Litter project (LIDET-Long-term Intersite Decomposition Experiment Team). This file contains only the Arctic LTER data. In particular the mass looses over the ten year study. Three types of fine roots (graminoid, hardwood, and conifer), six types of leaf litter (which ranged in lignin/nitrogen ratio from 5 to 75), and wooden dowels were used for litter incubations over a ten year period.
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>
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: 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>
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>
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>
How detritivores, plant traits and time modulate coupling of leaf versus woody litter decomposition rates across species
<p>1. Plant functional traits are increasingly used to understand ecological relationships and (changing) ecosystem functions. For understanding ecosystem-level biogeochemistry, we need to understand how (much) traits co-vary between different plant organs across species, and its implications for litter decomposition. However, we do not know how the degree of synchronous variation in decomposition rates between organs across species could be influenced by different keystone invertebrates decomposing different senesced plant organs, especially in warm-climate forests. Here we asked whether interspecific patterns in wood and leaf decomposition rates and in the spectra of resource economics traits underpinning them, co-vary across woody species; and how (much) the keystone invertebrate decomposers of the litter of these organs enhance or lower such co-variation of decomposition rates through time. </p> <p>2. We addressed these questions through an 18-month "common-garden" decomposition experiment using leaf, twig and branch litter of 41 woody species in two distant subtropical forest sites in east China. We quantified the effects of leaf, twig, and branch functional traits and their respective key invertebrates (moth larvae, termites) on the decomposition rates of those organs. </p> <p>3. Interspecific variation in wood traits was partly decoupled from that in leaf traits across species, while strong coupling was found between twigs and branches. The co-variation between leaf and woody organ decomposition rates was altered dynamically through the shifting activities of the key decomposers, which created non-linear relationships of invertebrate litter consumption as a function of species rankings along the resource economic trait spectra of leaves and branches.</p> <p>4. The deviations from coupling of decomposition rates between organs were likely caused by combinations of three mechanisms: (1) (de-)coupling between organs of other traits, not commonly considered in resource economics spectra (e.g., resins) (2) leaf and wood decomposers having specific diet requirements, and (3) temporal patterns of the decomposers' activity.</p> <p>5. Synthesis. Our study highlights the importance of considering the different ways by which invertebrate detritivores drive decomposition processes through time. Under the ongoing biodiversity decline, future research would benefit from a better understanding of the role of the dynamic interactions between detritivore activities and plant functional traits on the carbon turnover in ecosystems.</p>
Chionochloa rubra leaf litter decomposition at Mt Tongariro, New Zealand
<p><strong>Concept</strong>: Decomposition rates are an important component of carbon sequestration rates in soils, potentially mitigating future climate change. Here we aim to better understand decomposition's relationship with temperature in natural conditions.</p> <p><strong>Structure</strong>: In snow-tussock grassland dominated by <em>Chionochloa</em> <em>rubra</em> var. <em>rubra</em> on Mount Tongariro, Tongariro National Park, New Zealand, we measured decomposition of Chionochloa leaf litter along an ~ 700 m altitudinal gradient, as a space-for-temperature experiment, representing 4.2ºC of warming. For litter, we haphazardly collected attached, but achlorophyllous leaves, which were cut into 5 cm long segments and pooled per site. We examined decomposition rates in a full reciprocal translocation of litter bags between 8 plots as both the origin of 8 litter types and the 8 destinations of plating out of litter bags, over 4 years using 6 replicates. Litter decomposition bags, 20 cm x 25 cm in size, were of black nylon rectangular mesh with a pore size of 2 mm. We used 3.00 g of litter per bag, applied a wet/dry weight correction, and measured litter remaining after each time period. Bag recovery was 91 %. We went on to model decomposition's relationships to environmental variates.</p> <p><strong>Results</strong>: Litter decomposed progressively over time, but at the same rate along the altitudinal gradient. There was no home-field advantage. In terms of litter quality, decomposition rates were related only to litter lignin, or fibre or litter N. Only decomposition at Year 4, and that only when organised by litter destination, showed a relationship to mean annual temperature jointly with soil C, and this was only weak and implausible. When studied across the full reciprocal transplant, there were no significant interactions between Origin and Destination data with or without Years. Therefore litter from each plot decomposed at the same rate as other plots' litter at all altitudes, allowing for small, often irregular differences in litter quality and micro-environment. </p>
Plastic responses to hot temperatures homogenize riparian leaf litter, speed decomposition, and reduce detritivores
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Chionochloa rubra leaf litter decomposition at Mt Tongariro, New Zealand
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ScienceDex guides
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These curated guides explain access requirements, typical timelines, costs, and reuse considerations for widely used research datasets.
Allen Brain Atlas
Allen Brain Atlas is an Allen Institute collection of brain map atlases, datasets, APIs, and analysis tools covering mouse, human, and non-human primate brain resources.
Annotated Behaviour and Observability Dataset (ABODe)
ABODe is a University of Edinburgh DataShare dataset for behavior classification in group-housed mice using home-cage video, identities, bounding boxes, ground-plate positions, and annotator labels.
DANDI Archive for NWB datasets
DANDI is a BRAIN Initiative archive for publishing and sharing neurophysiology data, including electrophysiology, optophysiology, and behavioral data packaged as NWB and related standards.
International Brain Laboratory public data
The International Brain Laboratory public data releases expose standardized mouse decision-making experiments, including Neuropixels recordings, widefield calcium imaging, behavior, and session metadata accessed through the ONE API.
OpenNeuro
OpenNeuro is a free, open platform for sharing neuroimaging datasets, with public search, dataset pages, and download paths for web, S3, DataLad, and the OpenNeuro CLI.