TY - JOUR
T1 - Litter decomposition rates across tropical montane and lowland forests are controlled foremost by climate
AU - Ostertag, Rebecca
AU - Restrepo, Carla
AU - Dalling, James W.
AU - Martin, Patrick H.
AU - Abiem, Iveren
AU - Aiba, Shin ichiro
AU - Alvarez-Dávila, Esteban
AU - Aragón, Roxana
AU - Ataroff, Michelle
AU - Chapman, Hazel
AU - Cueva-Agila, Augusta Y.
AU - Fadrique, Belen
AU - Fernández, Romina D.
AU - González, Grizelle
AU - Gotsch, Sybil G.
AU - Häger, Achim
AU - Homeier, Jürgen
AU - Iñiguez-Armijos, Carlos
AU - Llambí, Luis Daniel
AU - Moore, Georgianne W.
AU - Næsborg, Rikke Reese
AU - Poma López, Laura Nohemy
AU - Pompeu, Patrícia Vieira
AU - Powell, Jennifer R.
AU - Ramírez Correa, Jorge Andrés
AU - Scharnagl, Klara
AU - Tobón, Conrado
AU - Williams, Cameron B.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 The Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation
PY - 2022/3
Y1 - 2022/3
N2 - 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.
AB - 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.
KW - Climate
KW - common litter experiment
KW - decomposition coefficient
KW - leaves
KW - litter arthropods
KW - soil depth
KW - wood
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U2 - 10.1111/btp.13044
DO - 10.1111/btp.13044
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85121380022
SN - 0006-3606
VL - 54
SP - 309
EP - 326
JO - Biotropica
JF - Biotropica
IS - 2
ER -