TY - JOUR

T1 - Effects of Litter Quality Diminish and Effects of Vegetation Type Develop During Litter Decomposition of Two Shrub Species in an Alpine Treeline Ecotone

AU - Zheng, Haifeng

AU - Chen, Yamei

AU - Liu, Yang

AU - Heděnec, Petr

AU - Peng, Yan

AU - Xu, Zhenfeng

AU - Tan, Bo

AU - Zhang, Li

AU - Guo, Li

AU - Wang, Lifeng

AU - Vesterdal, Lars

PY - 2021

Y1 - 2021

N2 - Because climate change is predicted to have a strong impact on high-altitude ecosystems, a better knowledge of litter decomposition in alpine ecosystems is critical to improve our predictions of the effect of climate change on ecosystem processes and services such as nutrient cycling, carbon sequestration, and below-ground biodiversity. To evaluate the effects of vegetation types [alpine shrubland (AS) and alpine meadow (AM)] and litter quality on litter decomposition and related biochemical processes, the decomposition of leaf litter of two dominant shrub species, Sorbus rufopilosa (SR, high quality) and Rhododendron lapponicum (RL, low quality), was studied using the litterbag method in an alpine treeline ecotone on the eastern Tibetan Plateau. After 1 year of decomposition, cellulolytic enzyme activities and gram-negative bacterial biomass were higher in shrubland than in meadow. However, higher fungal biomass, fungal/bacteria ratio and ligninolytic activity were observed in meadow than in shrubland after 2 years of decomposition. During the first year of decomposition, litter decomposition was faster in shrubland than in meadow probably due to the home-field advantage (HFA) effect and the bacteria-dominated decomposition, whereas in later decomposition stages, litter decomposition was faster in meadow than in shrubland, as the HFA effect diminished and fungal-dominated decomposition of recalcitrant components took over. These results indicated that litter quality effects were generally strongest in the first year and diminished in later stages when the effect of vegetation type in incubation sites developed.

AB - Because climate change is predicted to have a strong impact on high-altitude ecosystems, a better knowledge of litter decomposition in alpine ecosystems is critical to improve our predictions of the effect of climate change on ecosystem processes and services such as nutrient cycling, carbon sequestration, and below-ground biodiversity. To evaluate the effects of vegetation types [alpine shrubland (AS) and alpine meadow (AM)] and litter quality on litter decomposition and related biochemical processes, the decomposition of leaf litter of two dominant shrub species, Sorbus rufopilosa (SR, high quality) and Rhododendron lapponicum (RL, low quality), was studied using the litterbag method in an alpine treeline ecotone on the eastern Tibetan Plateau. After 1 year of decomposition, cellulolytic enzyme activities and gram-negative bacterial biomass were higher in shrubland than in meadow. However, higher fungal biomass, fungal/bacteria ratio and ligninolytic activity were observed in meadow than in shrubland after 2 years of decomposition. During the first year of decomposition, litter decomposition was faster in shrubland than in meadow probably due to the home-field advantage (HFA) effect and the bacteria-dominated decomposition, whereas in later decomposition stages, litter decomposition was faster in meadow than in shrubland, as the HFA effect diminished and fungal-dominated decomposition of recalcitrant components took over. These results indicated that litter quality effects were generally strongest in the first year and diminished in later stages when the effect of vegetation type in incubation sites developed.

KW - Alpine treeline ecotone

KW - Lignocellulolytic enzyme

KW - Litter decomposition

KW - Litter quality

KW - Microbial community

KW - Soil carbon

U2 - 10.1007/s10021-020-00512-9

DO - 10.1007/s10021-020-00512-9

M3 - Journal article

AN - SCOPUS:85084984483

VL - 24

SP - 197

EP - 210

JO - Ecosystems

JF - Ecosystems

SN - 1432-9840

ER -