Effects of increased water temperature on leaf litter quality and detritivore performance: a whole-reach manipulative experiment

2014 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 184-197 ◽  
Author(s):  
Esther Mas-Martí ◽  
Isabel Muñoz ◽  
Francesc Oliva ◽  
Cristina Canhoto
Keyword(s):  
Water Temperature ◽  
Leaf Litter ◽  
Litter Quality ◽  
Manipulative Experiment

scholarly journals Combined effects of water temperature, grazing snails and terrestrial herbivores on leaf decomposition in urban streams

PeerJ ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. e7580 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hongyong Xiang ◽  
Yixin Zhang ◽  
David Atkinson ◽  
Raju Sekar
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Water Temperature ◽  
Leaf Litter ◽  
Litter Decomposition ◽  
Decomposition Rate ◽  
Litter Quality ◽  
Urban Streams ◽  
Combined Effects ◽  
Decomposition Rates ◽  
Terrestrial Insects

The decomposition of organic matter in freshwaters, such as leaf litter, can affect global nutrient (e.g., carbon) cycling. This process can be influenced by fast urbanization through increased water temperature, reduced aquatic diversity and changed leaf litter quality traits. In this study, we performed a mesocosm experiment to explore the individual and combined effects of warming (8°C higher and ambient), the presence versus absence of grazing snails (Parafossarulus striatulus), and intraspecific difference of leaf litter quality (intact versus > 40% area of Liriodendron chinense leaves grazed by terrestrial insects) on litter decomposition in urban streams. Litter decomposition rates ranged from 0.019 d−1 to 0.058 d−1 with an average decomposition rate of 0.032 ± 0.002 d−1. All the three factors had significant effects on litter decomposition rate. Warming and the presence of snails accelerated litter decomposition rates by 60% and 35% respectively. Litter decomposition rates of leaves damaged by terrestrial insects were 5% slower than that of intact leaves, because litter quality of terrestrial insect-damaged leaves was lower (i.e., higher specific leaf weight) than intact leaves. For treatments with snails, warming stimulated microbial and snail mediated litter decomposition rates by 35% and 167%, respectively. All combinations of treatments showed additive effects on litter decomposition except for the interaction between warming and snails which showed positive synergistic effects. In addition, neither temperature nor litter quality affected snail growth rate. These results imply that higher water temperature and the presence of abundant snails in urban streams greatly enhanced litter decomposition. Moreover, the effect of pest outbreaks, which resulted in lower litter quality, can cascade to aquatic ecosystems by retarding microbe-mediated litter decomposition. When these factors co-occurred, warming could synergistically interact with snails to speed up the depletion of organic matter, while the effect of leaf quality on litter decomposition may be diminished at high water temperature. These effects could further influence stream food webs and nutrient cycling.

Increased atmospheric CO2 and litter quality

1998 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Francesca Cotrufo ◽  
Björn Berg ◽  
Werner Kratz
Keyword(s):  
Chemical Composition ◽  
Leaf Litter ◽  
Decomposition Rate ◽  
Litter Quality ◽  
Castanea Sativa ◽  
Plant Litter ◽  
Decomposition Rates ◽  
Chemical Changes ◽  
Substrate Quality ◽  
N Concentration

There is evidence that N concentration in hardwood leaf litter is reduced when plants are raised in an elevated CO2 atmosphere. Reductions in the N concentration of leaf litter have been found for tree species raised under elevated CO2, with reduction in N concentration ranging from ca. 50% for sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa) to 19% for sycamore (Acer platanoides). However, the effects of elevated CO2 on the chemical composition of litter has been investigated only for a limited number of species. There is also little information on the effects of increased CO2 on the quality of root tissues. If we consider, for example, two important European forest ecosystem types, the dominant species investigated for chemical changes are just a few. Thus, there are whole terrestrial ecosystems in which not a single species has been investigated, meaning that the observed effects of a raised CO2 level on plant litter actually has a large error source. Few reports present data on the effects of elevated CO2 on litter nutrients other than N, which limits our ability to predict the effects of elevated CO2 on litter quality and thus on its decomposability. In litter decomposition three separate steps are seen: (i) the initial stages, (ii) the later stages, and (iii) the final stages. The concept of "substrate quality," translated into chemical composition, will thus change between early stages of decomposition and later ones, with a balanced proportion of nutrients (e.g., N, P, S) being required in the early decomposition phase. In the later stages decomposition rates are ruled by lignin degradation and that process is regulated by the availability of certain nutrients (e.g., N, Mn), which act as signals to the lignin-degrading soil microflora. In the final stages the decomposition comes to a stop or may reach an extremely low decomposition rate, so low that asymptotic decomposition values may be estimated and negatively related to N concentrations. Studies on the effects of changes in chemical composition on the decomposability of litter have mainly been made during the early decomposition stages and they generally report decreased litter quality (e.g., increased C/N ratio), resulting in lower decomposition rates for litter raised under elevated CO2 as compared with control litter. No reports are found relating chemical changes induced by elevated CO2 to litter mass-loss rates in late stages. By most definitions, at these stages litter has turned into humus, and many studies demonstrated that a raising of the N level may suppress humus decomposition rate. It is thus reasonable to speculate that a decrease in N levels in humus would accelerate decomposition and allow it to proceed further. There are no experimental data on the long-term effect of elevated CO2 levels, and a decrease in the storage of humus and nutrients could be predicted, at least in temperate and boreal forest systems. Future works on the effects of elevated CO2 on litter quality need to include studies of a larger number of nutrients and chemical components, and to cover different stages of decomposition. Additionally, the response of plant litter quality to elevated CO2 needs to be investigated under field conditions and at the community level, where possible shifts in community composition (i.e., C3 versus C4 ; N2 fixers versus nonfixers) predicted under elevated CO2 are taken into account.Key words: climate change, substrate quality, carbon dioxide, plant litter, chemical composition, decomposition.

Long-term responses of leaf litter decomposition to temperature, litter quality and litter mixing in plateau wetlands

2016 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 178-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guodong Liu ◽  
Jinfang Sun ◽  
Kun Tian ◽  
Derong Xiao ◽  
Xingzhong Yuan
Keyword(s):  
Leaf Litter ◽  
Litter Decomposition ◽  
Litter Quality ◽  
Leaf Litter Decomposition ◽  
Litter Mixing ◽  
Plateau Wetlands

scholarly journals Influence of leaf litter quality on N mineralization in soils of subtropical humid forest regrowths

1998 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Maithani ◽  
A. Arunachalam ◽  
R. S. Tripathi ◽  
H. N. Pandey
Keyword(s):  
Leaf Litter ◽  
N Mineralization ◽  
Litter Quality ◽  
Humid Forest ◽  
Subtropical Humid Forest

Effects of soil and leaf litter quality on the biomass of two endogeic earthworm species

2016 ◽  
Vol 77 ◽  
pp. 9-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simone Cesarz ◽  
Dylan Craven ◽  
Christoph Dietrich ◽  
Nico Eisenhauer
Keyword(s):  
Leaf Litter ◽  
Litter Quality ◽  
Earthworm Species

Are growth forms consistent predictors of leaf litter quality and decomposability across peatlands along a latitudinal gradient?

2005 ◽  
Vol 93 (4) ◽  
pp. 817-828 ◽  
Author(s):  
ELLEN DORREPAAL ◽  
JOHANNES H.C. CORNELISSEN ◽  
RIEN AERTS ◽  
BO WALLÉN ◽  
RICHARD S.P. VAN LOGTESTIJN
Keyword(s):  
Leaf Litter ◽  
Litter Quality ◽  
Latitudinal Gradient ◽  
Growth Forms

The effect of sunlight on leaf litter quality reduces growth of the shredderKlapopteryx kuscheli

2008 ◽  
Vol 53 (9) ◽  
pp. 1881-1889 ◽  
Author(s):  
RICARDO ALBARIÑO ◽  
VERÓNICA DÍAZ VILLANUEVA ◽  
CRISTINA CANHOTO
Keyword(s):  
Leaf Litter ◽  
Litter Quality
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