Partitioning the effect of composition and diversity of tree communities on leaf litter decomposition and soil respiration

Jewell, Mark Davidson; Shipley, Bill; Low‐Décarie, Étienne; Tobner, Cornelia M.; Paquette, Alain; Messier, Christian

doi:10.1111/oik.03868

Cited by 35 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 84 publications

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“…More specifically, recent studies have shown that certain plant traits are especially relevant for wood decomposition, suggesting that the identity of trees can be of particular significance (Fujii et al, 2016;Jewell et al, 2017;Joly et al, 2017). We considered the role of tree identity for the interactions and the present evidence from other studies in our further analysis and could confirm the relevance of tree identity for decomposition processes and soil microbial properties in forests.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 82%

“…While the exact mechanism behind the canceling result of spruce remains unclear, it also provides further support for the observation that other biodiversity facets—such as functional trait identity and diversity—may be crucial to understand relationships between tree diversity and soil ecosystem functions in general (Cesarz et al, ; Craven et al, ; Schuldt et al, ). More specifically, recent studies have shown that certain plant traits are especially relevant for wood decomposition, suggesting that the identity of trees can be of particular significance (Fujii et al, ; Jewell et al, ; Joly et al, ). We considered the role of tree identity for the interactions and the present evidence from other studies in our further analysis and could confirm the relevance of tree identity for decomposition processes and soil microbial properties in forests.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Tree species identity determines wood decomposition via microclimatic effects

Gottschall

Davids

Newiger‐Dous

et al. 2019

Ecology and Evolution

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Empirical evidence suggests that the rich set of ecosystem functions and nature's contributions to people provided by forests depends on tree diversity. Biodiversity–ecosystem functioning research revealed that not only species richness per se but also other facets of tree diversity, such as tree identity, have to be considered to understand the underlying mechanisms. One important ecosystem function in forests is the decomposition of deadwood that plays a vital role in carbon and nutrient cycling and is assumed to be determined by above‐ and belowground interactions. However, the actual influence of tree diversity on wood decay in forests remains inconclusive. Recent studies suggest an important role of microclimate and advocate a systematical consideration of small‐scale environmental conditions. We studied the influence of tree species richness, tree species identity, and microclimatic conditions on wood decomposition in a 12‐year‐old tree diversity experiment in Germany, containing six native species within a tree species richness gradient. We assessed wood mass loss, soil microbial properties, and soil surface temperature in high temporal resolution. Our study shows a significant influence of tree species identity on all three variables. The presence of Scots pine strongly increased wood mass loss, while the presence of Norway spruce decreased it. This could be attributed to structural differences in the litter layer that were modifying the capability of plots to hold the soil surface temperature at night, consequently leading to enhanced decomposition rates in plots with higher nighttime surface temperatures. Therefore, our study confirmed the critical role of microclimate for wood decomposition in forests and showed that soil microbial properties alone were not sufficient to predict wood decay. We conclude that tree diversity effects on ecosystem functions may include different biodiversity facets, such as tree identity, tree traits, and functional and structural diversity, in influencing the abiotic and biotic soil properties.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 82%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tree species identity determines wood decomposition via microclimatic effects

Gottschall

Davids

Newiger‐Dous

et al. 2019

Ecology and Evolution

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“…) and tree functional diversity (Jewell et al. ). Although specific groups of soil biota can obviously respond to the experimental treatments in forest plantations within 7 yr following their installation, it may take more time for entire soil microbial communities, which include many more species with multi‐functional roles, to change following tree establishment.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, Jewell et al. () found that soil respiration rates responded positively to taxonomic and functional richness of tree species, possibly due to tree community effects on the soil moisture and chemical properties (Rivest et al. ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tree diversity is not always a strong driver of soil microbial diversity: a 7‐yr‐old diversity experiment with trees

2019

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Trees provide organic substrates in the form of root exudates, litterfall, and fine root turnover. They modify soil physical properties and support soil biological activities. Therefore, trees are hypothesized to control soil biodiversity in forested areas. We predicted that (1) experimental forest plantations with higher tree alpha‐diversity have greater soil microbial alpha‐diversity and (2) that plantations with more divergent tree community composition would have more divergent soil microbial assemblages (Whitaker's beta‐diversity). We tested these predictions by measuring soil bacteria and fungi in a 7‐yr‐old tree biodiversity experiment. The experimental plantation contained 37 different tree assemblages, which were composed of one to four native species from temperate mixed deciduous forests. Further, there was a gradient of functional diversity nested within each level of species diversity. Soil samples were assessed for bacteria and fungi by amplicon sequencing. Tree alpha‐diversity weakly, but significantly, affected bacterial alpha‐diversity, without affecting fungal alpha‐diversity. Tree community composition was weakly, but significantly, linked to soil bacterial and fungal assemblages. In these 7‐yr‐old experimental plantations, tree diversity was not the most influential driver of soil microbial diversity.

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“…Our results support our first hypothesis of a significant effect of biodiversity on ecosystem properties. These results can be explained by the fact that SLA is an important component of plant growth (Lambers, Raven, Shaver, & Smith, ), and by leaves with high SLA have low carbon and lignin content, as well as high nitrogen content, which produces easily decomposable litter (Cornelissen et al., ; Jewell et al., ). The best‐fitting model presented a positive and strong relationship between SUI and both SLA and leaf nitrogen content, showing that increasing land‐use intensity moves the community towards a more resource acquisition type community (Shipley, Lechowicz, Wright, & Reich, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Land‐use intensity indirectly affects ecosystem services mainly through plant functional identity in a temperate forest

et al. 2018

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Land‐use change is known to affect biodiversity, and there is increasing concern regarding how these changes may impact the provision of ecosystem services. Although functional composition (diversity and identity) could influence ecosystem properties and services at the community level, there is little quantitative understanding of these relationships in the field. Here, we evaluate the direct and indirect effects (through ecosystem properties) of biodiversity on the provision of multiple ecosystem services in native mixed forest in north‐west Patagonia, and how land‐use intensity influences these relationships. We used structural equation modelling to test hypotheses regarding the relationship between understorey plant functional composition, two ecosystem properties, four ecosystem services and silvopastoral use intensity (SUI). We also evaluated two alternative models to assess the mechanism behind biodiversity and ecosystem properties relationships (biomass ratio and niche complementarity). Finally, we performed pairwise correlations to identify synergies and trade‐offs between ecosystem services. SUI affected functional composition, and the provision of three out of four ecosystem services was indirectly affected by land‐use intensity through changes in ecosystem properties. We found that this indirect effect of biodiversity on ecosystem services happens mainly through changes in functional identity rather than functional diversity. Under increasing land‐use intensity, functional composition changed towards a community characterized by a resource acquisition strategy. Trade‐offs between ecosystem services (provisioning vs. regulating) were enhanced under high SUI, while synergies where enhanced under low SUI (provisioning vs. cultural). Thus, although the strength of these relationships varied between SUI, its nature (trade‐off or synergy) stayed the same. Our results expand on previous studies by simultaneously considering the effect of land‐use intensification directly on functional composition and on the ecosystem processes underpinning ecosystem services, as well as on the relationship among them. We provide evidence of an indirect effect of land‐use intensification on multiple ecosystem services through biodiversity. Moreover, we found that functional identity is more important than diversity for ecosystem functionality. Land‐use intensification affects biodiversity, and thus, ecosystem properties, but does not change the relationship among ecosystem services. A http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2435.13064/suppinfo is available for this article.

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Partitioning the effect of composition and diversity of tree communities on leaf litter decomposition and soil respiration

Cited by 35 publications

References 84 publications

Tree species identity determines wood decomposition via microclimatic effects

Tree species identity determines wood decomposition via microclimatic effects

Tree diversity is not always a strong driver of soil microbial diversity: a 7‐yr‐old diversity experiment with trees

Land‐use intensity indirectly affects ecosystem services mainly through plant functional identity in a temperate forest

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