Home-field advantage of litter decomposition and nitrogen release in forest ecosystems
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ORIGINAL PAPER
Home-field advantage of litter decomposition and nitrogen release in forest ecosystems Qingkui Wang & Micai Zhong & Tongxin He
Received: 16 July 2012 / Revised: 4 September 2012 / Accepted: 14 September 2012 / Published online: 27 September 2012 # Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2012
Abstract Litter decomposition is a major fundamental ecological process that regulates nutrient cycling, thereby affecting net ecosystem carbon (C) storage as well as primary productivity in forest ecosystems. Litter decomposes in its home environment faster than in any other environment. However, evidence for this phenomenon, which is called the home-field advantage (HFA), has not been universal. We provide the first HFA quantification of litter decomposition and nutrient release through meta-analysis of published data in global forest ecosystems. Litter mass loss was 4.2 % faster on average, whereas nitrogen (N) release was 1.7 % lower at the home environment than in another environment. However, no HFA of phosphorus (P) release was observed. Broadleaf litter (4.4 %) had a higher litter mass loss HFA than coniferous litter (1.0 %). The positive HFA of N release was found in the coniferous litter. Mass loss HFA was significantly and negatively correlated with the initial lignin:N litter ratio. The litter decomposition and N release HFAs were obtained when mesh size ranged from 0.15 mm to 2.0 mm. The HFA of litter decomposition increased with decomposition duration during the early decomposition stage. The HFA of N release was well correlated with mass loss, and the greatest HFA was at mass loss less than 20 %. Q. Wang : M. Zhong : T. He Huitong Experimental Station of Forest Ecology, State Key Laboratory of Forest and Soil Ecology, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110164, People’s Republic of China Q. Wang (*) Huitong National Research Station of Forest Ecosystem, Huitong 418307, People’s Republic of China e-mail: [email protected] M. Zhong : T. He Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100039, People’s Republic of China
Our results suggest that the litter decomposition and N release HFAs are widespread in forest ecosystems. Furthermore, soil mesofauna is significantly involved in the HFA of litter decomposition. Keywords Mass loss . Nutrient release . Soil fauna . Litter quality . Meta-analysis
Introduction In terrestrial ecosystems, most of the net primary production is returned to the soil as plant litter. Litter decomposition is a fundamental ecological process that regulates nutrient cycling, which affects net ecosystem C storage as well as primary productivity in forest ecosystems (Berg and McClaugherty 2008; Moore et al. 2004; Swift et al. 1979). Litter decomposition is highly dependent on mean annual temperature and precipitation (Berg et al. 1993; Gholz et al. 2000; Parton et al. 2007) as well as chemical quality of litter (e.g., initial N and lignin contents and the lignin:N ratio; Cornwell et al. 2008; Swift et al. 1979). These factors can explain about 70
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