Butenschoen, O.; Krashevska, V.; Maraun, M.; Marian, F.; Sandmann, D. & Scheu, S. (2014): <b>Litter mixture effects on decomposition in tropical montane rainforests vary strongly with time and turn negative at later stages of decay. </b>. <i>Soil Biology and Biochemistry </i> <b>77</b>, 121-128.
Resource Description
Title:
Litter mixture effects on decomposition in tropical montane rainforests vary strongly with time and turn negative at later stages of decay.
FOR816dw ID:
1338
Publication Date:
2014-10-01
License and Usage Rights:
PAK 823-825 data user agreement. (www.tropicalmountainforest.org/dataagreementp3.do)
Resource Owner(s):
Individual:
Olaf Butenschoen
Contact:
email:
webmaster <at> tropicalmountainforest.org
Individual:
Valentyna Krashevska
Contact:
email:
vkrashe <at> gwdg.de
Berliner Str. 28
37073 Göttingen
Germany
Individual:
Mark Maraun
Contact:
email:
mmaraun <at> gwdg.de
University of Göttingen
Institute of Zoology & Anthropology
Berliner Strasse 28
37073 Göttingen
Germany
email:
sscheu <at> gwdg.de
Untere Karspüle 2
University of Göttingen
J.F.B. Institute of Zoology and Anthropology
37073 Göttingen
Germany
Abstract:
In a litterbag study in a tropical montane rainforest in Ecuador we assessed the impact of leaf litter species identity and richness on decomposition. We incubated leaf litter of six native tree species in monocultures and all possible two and four species combinations and analysed mass loss over a period of 24 months. Mass loss in monocultures averaged 30.7% after 6 month and differed significantly between species with variations being closely related to initial concentrations of lignin, Mg and P. At later harvests mass loss in monocultures averaged 54.5% but did not vary among leaf litter species and, unexpectedly, did not increase between 12 and 24 months suggesting that litter converged towards an extremely poor common quality retarding decomposition. After 6 months mass loss of leaf litter species was significantly faster in mixtures than in monocultures, resulting in synergistic non-additive mixture effects on decomposition, whereas at later harvests mass loss of component litter species was more variable and leaf litter mixture effects differed with species richness. Mass loss in the two species mixtures did not deviate from those predicted from monocultures, while we found antagonistic non-additive mixture effects in the four species mixtures. This suggests that litter species shared a poor common quality but different chemistry resulting in negative interactions in chemically diverse litter mixtures at later stages of decomposition. Overall, the results suggest that interspecific variations in diversity and composition of structural and secondary litter compounds rather than concentrations of individual litter compounds per se, control long term leaf litter decomposition in tropical montane rainforests. Plant species diversity thus appears to act as a major driver for decomposition processes in tropical montane rainforest ecosystems, highlighting the need for increasing plant conservation efforts to protect ecosystem functioning of this threatened biodiversity hotspot.
Keywords:
| litter decomposition |
Literature type specific fields:
ARTICLE
Journal:
Soil Biology and Biochemistry
Volume:
77
Page Range:
121-128
Metadata Provider:
Individual:
Mark Maraun
Contact:
email:
mmaraun <at> gwdg.de
University of Göttingen
Institute of Zoology & Anthropology
Berliner Strasse 28
37073 Göttingen
Germany
