Journal
ECOLOGY
Volume 102, Issue 2, Pages -Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1002/ecy.3235
Keywords
decomposition; deer; forests; functional traits; home‐ field advantage; litter diversity effects; macro‐ and mesofauna; top‐ down control
Categories
Funding
- France Canada Research Fund (FCRF), University of Rennes 1 (Defis scientifiques emergents)
- French Embassy in Canada
- French consulate in Vancouver
- Mitacs Globalink Research Award
- Research Group on Introduced Species
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The presence of large herbivores, such as deer, in temperate forests can significantly affect litter decomposition by reducing litter quality and changing decomposer communities. This reduction in litter quality led to a decrease in carbon and nitrogen loss, highlighting the importance of understanding the impact of deer populations on nutrient cycling in ecosystems.
Litter decomposition is a key process that allows the recycling of nutrients within ecosystems. In temperate forests, the role of large herbivores in litter decomposition remains a subject of debate. To address this question, we used two litterbag experiments in a quasiexperimental situation resulting from the introduction of Sitka black-tailed deer Odocoileus hemionus sitkensis on forested islands of Haida Gwaii (Canada). We investigated the two main pathways by which deer could modify litter decomposition: change in litter quality and modification of decomposer communities. We found that deer presence significantly reduced litter mass loss after 1 yr, mainly through a reduction in litter quality. This mass loss reflected a 30 and 28% lower loss of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N), respectively. The presence of deer also reduced the ability of decomposers to break down carbon, but not nitrogen. Indeed, litter placed on an island with deer lost 5% less carbon after 1 yr of decomposition than did litter decomposing on an island without deer. This loss in ability to decompose litter in the presence of deer was outweighed by the differences in mass loss associated with the effect of deer on litter quality. Additional effects of feces deposition by deer on the decomposition process were also significant but minor. These results suggest that the effects dramatic continental-scale increases in deer populations may have on broad-scale patterns of C and N cycling deserve closer attention.
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