Soil fauna accelerate litter mixture decomposition globally, especially in dry environments

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Denis Mburu Njoroge ◽  
Si‐Chong Chen ◽  
Juan Zuo ◽  
Gbadamassi G.O. Dossa ◽  
Johannes H. C. Cornelissen
Keyword(s):  
Soil Fauna ◽  
Mixture Decomposition ◽  
Litter Mixture

scholarly journals C, N and P fertilization in an Amazonian rainforest supports stoichiometric dissimilarity as a driver of litter diversity effects on decomposition

2014 ◽  
Vol 281 (1796) ◽  
pp. 20141682 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra Barantal ◽  
Heidy Schimann ◽  
Nathalie Fromin ◽  
Stephan Hättenschwiler
Keyword(s):  
Leaf Litter ◽  
Soil Fauna ◽  
Individual Species ◽  
Litter Mixtures ◽  
Mixture Effects ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Litter Mixture ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms ◽  
Strong Control ◽  
Diversity Effects

Plant leaf litter generally decomposes faster as a group of different species than when individual species decompose alone, but underlying mechanisms of these diversity effects remain poorly understood. Because resource C : N : P stoichiometry (i.e. the ratios of these key elements) exhibits strong control on consumers, we supposed that stoichiometric dissimilarity of litter mixtures (i.e. the divergence in C : N : P ratios among species) improves resource complementarity to decomposers leading to faster mixture decomposition. We tested this hypothesis with: (i) a wide range of leaf litter mixtures of neotropical tree species varying in C : N : P dissimilarity, and (ii) a nutrient addition experiment (C, N and P) to create stoichiometric similarity. Litter mixtures decomposed in the field using two different types of litterbags allowing or preventing access to soil fauna. Litter mixture mass loss was higher than expected from species decomposing singly, especially in presence of soil fauna. With fauna, synergistic litter mixture effects increased with increasing stoichiometric dissimilarity of litter mixtures and this positive relationship disappeared with fertilizer addition. Our results indicate that litter stoichiometric dissimilarity drives mixture effects via the nutritional requirements of soil fauna. Incorporating ecological stoichiometry in biodiversity research allows refinement of the underlying mechanisms of how changing biodiversity affects ecosystem functioning.

Soil fauna under eucalypt stands of different ages in the Savanna of Piauí

Científica ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 280 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catharina Teixeira Cortes ◽  
Leovanio Rodrigues Barbosa ◽  
Gildean Portela de Morais ◽  
Luís Alfredo Pinheiro Leal Nunes ◽  
Ademir Sérgio Ferreira de Araújo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Fauna ◽  
Different Ages

Effect of leaf litter quantity and type on forest soil fauna and biological quality

2013 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 206-213 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuan Zhizhong ◽  
Cui Yang ◽  
Yan Shaokui
Keyword(s):  
Forest Soil ◽  
Leaf Litter ◽  
Soil Fauna ◽  
Biological Quality ◽  
Litter Quantity
Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document