Litter Decomposition

Cotrufo, M. E.; Miller, Morten; Zeller, Bernd

doi:10.1007/978-3-642-57219-7_13

Cited by 20 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…Leaf litter that is rich in N or poor in lignin (Cotrufo et al ., ; Prescott, ) has been shown to be positively correlated to the rate of leaf litter decomposition, at least in ecosystems where microbial activity dominates litter processing and/or Ca‐demanding earthworms are not abundant (Hobbie et al ., ). In the presence of earthworms, however, species differences in litter Ca have been found to determine litter decomposition rates, apparently because of the positive influence of litter Ca on earthworm populations (Reich et al ., ; Hobbie et al ., ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tree species traits cause divergence in soil acidification during four decades of postagricultural forest development

Schrijver

Frenne

Staelens

et al. 2011

Global Change Biology

137

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A change in land use from agriculture to forest generally increases soil acidity. However, it remains unclear to what extent plant traits can enhance or mitigate soil acidification caused by atmospheric deposition. Soil acidification is detrimental for the survival of many species. An in-depth understanding of tree species-specific effects on soil acidification is therefore crucial, particularly in view of the predicted global increases in acidifying nitrogen (N) deposition. Here, we report soil acidification rates in a chronosequence of broadleaved deciduous forests planted on former arable land in Belgium. This region receives one of the highest loads of potentially acidifying atmospheric deposition in Europe, which allowed us to study a 'worst case scenario'. We show that less than four decades of forest development caused significant soil acidification. Atmospheric deposition undoubtedly and unequivocally drives postagricultural forests towards more acidic conditions, but the rate of soil acidification is also determined by the tree species-specific leaf litter quality and litter decomposition rates. We propose that the intrinsic differences in leaf litter quality among tree species create fundamentally different nutrient cycles within the ecosystem, both directly through the chemical composition of the litter and indirectly through its effects on the size and composition of earthworm communities. Poor leaf litter quality contributes to the absence of a burrowing earthworm community, which retards leaf litter decomposition and, consequently, results in forest-floor build-up and soil acidification. Also nutrient uptake and N 2 fixation are causing soil acidification, but were found to be less important. Our results highlight the fact that tree species-specific traits significantly influence the magnitude of human pollution-induced soil acidification.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tree species traits cause divergence in soil acidification during four decades of postagricultural forest development

Schrijver

Frenne

Staelens

et al. 2011

Global Change Biology

137

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“…Less is known on biodiversity effects on other key ecosystem processes such as decomposition and nutrient cycling. The decomposition process of plant litter influences the release of essential plant nutrients such as nitrogen (N) and, thereby, exerts a large influence on the growth rates of plant species (e.g., Cotrufo et al 2000 ; Parton et al 2007 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Leaf litter decomposition in temperate deciduous forest stands with a decreasing fraction of beech (Fagus sylvatica)

et al. 2010

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We hypothesised that the decomposition rates of leaf litter will increase along a gradient of decreasing fraction of the European beech (Fagus sylvatica) and increasing tree species diversity in the generally beech-dominated Central European temperate deciduous forests due to an increase in litter quality. We studied the decomposition of leaf litter including its lignin fraction in monospecific (pure beech) stands and in stands with up to five tree genera (Acer spp., Carpinus betulus, Fagus sylvatica, Fraxinus excelsior, Tilia spp.) using a litterbag approach. Litter and lignin decomposition was more rapid in stand-representative litter from multispecific stands than in litter from pure beech stands. Except for beech litter, the decomposition rates of species-specific tree litter did not differ significantly among the stand types, but were most rapid in Fraxinus excelsior and slowest in beech in an interspecific comparison. Pairwise comparisons of the decomposition of beech litter with litter of the other tree species (except for Acerplatanoides) revealed a “home field advantage” of up to 20% (more rapid litter decomposition in stands with a high fraction of its own species than in stands with a different tree species composition). Decomposition of stand-representative litter mixtures displayed additive characteristics, not significantly more rapid than predicted by the decomposition of litter from the individual tree species. Leaf litter decomposition rates were positively correlated with the initial N and Ca concentrations of the litter, and negatively with the initial C:N, C:P and lignin:N ratios. The results support our hypothesis that the overall decomposition rates are mainly influenced by the chemical composition of the individual litter species. Thus, the fraction of individual tree species in the species composition seems to be more important for the litter decomposition rates than tree species diversity itself.

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“…At the forest in Collelongo, average annual estimates of heterotrophic respiration by all models were quite high (LPJ‐GUESS=3.9 t C ha −1 yr −1 , RHESSys=2.3 t C ha −1 yr −1 and ORCHIDEE=6.5 t C ha −1 yr −1 ) in comparison with observed values reported in the literature (0.8–1.2 ha −1 yr −1 according to Mollicone et al , 2003); this is likely to lead to an underestimation of simulated NEE fluxes at this site. Low soil temperatures during winter, summer drought stress, high percentage of clay in soil and aluminium content (Persson et al , 2000) along with low litter quality reported from this site (Cotrufo et al , 2000) are factors that could have limited heterotrophic respiration values in comparison with model estimates.…”

mentioning

confidence: 97%

Comparing and evaluating process‐based ecosystem model predictions of carbon and water fluxes in major European forest biomes

Morales

Sykes

Prentice

et al. 2005

Global Change Biology

274

227

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Process-based models can be classified into: (a) terrestrial biogeochemical models (TBMs), which simulate fluxes of carbon, water and nitrogen coupled within terrestrial ecosystems, and (b) dynamic global vegetation models (DGVMs), which further couple these processes interactively with changes in slow ecosystem processes depending on resource competition, establishment, growth and mortality of different vegetation types. In this study, four models -RHESSys, GOTILWA 1 , LPJ-GUESS and ORCHIDEErepresenting both modelling approaches were compared and evaluated against benchmarks provided by eddy-covariance measurements of carbon and water fluxes at 15 forest sites within the EUROFLUX project. Overall, model-measurement agreement varied greatly among sites. Both modelling approaches have somewhat different strengths, but there was no model among those tested that universally performed well on the two variables evaluated. Small biases and errors suggest that ORCHIDEE and GOTILWA 1 performed better in simulating carbon fluxes while LPJ-GUESS and RHESSys did a better job in simulating water fluxes. In general, the models can be considered as useful tools for studies of climate change impacts on carbon and water cycling in forests. However, the various sources of variation among models simulations and between models simulations and observed data described in this study place some constraints on the results and to some extent reduce their reliability. For example, at most sites in the Mediterranean region all models generally performed poorly most likely because of problems in the representation of water stress effects on both carbon uptake by photosynthesis and carbon release by heterotrophic respiration (R h ).The use of flux data as a means of assessing key processes in models of this type is an important approach to improving model performance. Our results show that the models have value but that further model development is necessary with regard to the representation of the some of the key ecosystem processes.

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Litter Decomposition

Cited by 20 publications

References 51 publications

Tree species traits cause divergence in soil acidification during four decades of postagricultural forest development

Tree species traits cause divergence in soil acidification during four decades of postagricultural forest development

Leaf litter decomposition in temperate deciduous forest stands with a decreasing fraction of beech (Fagus sylvatica)

Comparing and evaluating process‐based ecosystem model predictions of carbon and water fluxes in major European forest biomes

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