4.2 Article

Litter decomposition rates across tropical montane and lowland forests are controlled foremost by climatePalabras clave

期刊

BIOTROPICA
卷 54, 期 2, 页码 309-326

出版社

WILEY
DOI: 10.1111/btp.13044

关键词

Climate; common litter experiment; decomposition coefficient; leaves; litter arthropods; soil depth; wood

类别

资金

  1. National Science Foundation [(DEB)-1146446]

向作者/读者索取更多资源

The hierarchy of factors hypothesis suggests that decomposition rates are primarily controlled by climatic, biological, and soil variables. This study conducted a common litter decomposition experiment in tropical montane forests (TMF) across the Americas, Asia, and Africa, finding that litter type was the main biological factor influencing decomposition within TMF. Climate was identified as the predominant control over decomposition rates and differences in controlling factors between biomes highlight the importance of explicitly considering TMF when developing theories and models for understanding carbon cycling rates in the tropics.
The hierarchy of factors hypothesis states that decomposition rates are controlled primarily by climatic, followed by biological and soil variables. Tropical montane forests (TMF) are globally important ecosystems, yet there have been limited efforts to provide a biome-scale characterization of litter decomposition. We designed a common litter decomposition experiment replicated in 23 tropical montane sites across the Americas, Asia, and Africa and combined these results with a previous study of 23 sites in tropical lowland forests (TLF). Specifically, we investigated (1) spatial heterogeneity in decomposition, (2) the relative importance of biological factors that affect leaf and wood decomposition in TMF, and (3) the role of climate in determining leaf litter decomposition rates within and across the TMF and TLF biomes. Litterbags of two mesh sizes containing Laurus nobilis leaves or birchwood popsicle sticks were spatially dispersed and incubated in TMF sites, for 3 and 7 months on the soil surface and at 10-15 cm depth. The within-site replication demonstrated spatial variability in mass loss. Within TMF, litter type was the predominant biological factor influencing decomposition (leaves > wood), with mesh and burial effects playing a minor role. When comparing across TMF and TLF, climate was the predominant control over decomposition, but the Yasso07 global model (based on mean annual temperature and precipitation) only modestly predicted decomposition rate. Differences in controlling factors between biomes suggest that TMF, with their high rates of carbon storage, must be explicitly considered when developing theory and models to elucidate carbon cycling rates in the tropics. Abstract in Spanish is available with online material.

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