Home-field advantage of litter decomposition and its soil biological driving mechanism: a review

Abstract

Decomposition has been studied for decades due to its significance in understanding nutrient cycling and carbon sequestration processes. The current study identified the three interacting factors that control decomposion: the physicochemical environment, litter quality, and decomposer organisms. Exsiting biogeochemical models that that are derived by local cliamte and little quality parameters can explain about 70% of the variation in litter decomposition. However, the role of soil organisms has been largely ignored in these models that assume the functions of soil organisms are mainly controlled by temperature, moisture and litter quality. Recent studies suggest that leaf litters tend to decompose more rapidly in the habitat from which it was derived (i. e. home) than in other habitats (i. e. new home away from its origion) , this phenomena has been termed as the home鄄field advantage (HFA) in litter decomposition. In contrast to plant growth, leaf litter鄄soil feedbacks are expected to consistently cause positive feedback at a home habitat resulting in faster litter decay. This is because 1) leaf litter from different plant species often varies considerably in structure and chemical composition; and 2) leaf litter inputs are a major source of nutrients and energy for soil biota that access decomposed litter. Thus, competition among soil biota for accessing nutrients may create a selective pressure for