A test of the hierarchical model of litter decomposition
Our basic understanding of plant litter decomposition informs the assumptions underlying widely applied soil biogeochemical models, including those embedded in Earth system models. Confidence in projected carbon cycle-climate feedbacks therefore depends on accurate knowledge about the controls regul...
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-017-0367-4 |
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ftncar:oai:drupal-site.org:articles_21423 2023-09-05T13:21:59+02:00 A test of the hierarchical model of litter decomposition Bradford, Mark A. (author) Veen, G. F. (author) Bonis, Anne (author) Bradford, Ella M. (author) Classen, Aimee T. (author) Cornelissen, J. Hans C. (author) Crowther, Thomas. W. (author) De Long, Jonathan R. (author) Freschet, Gregoire T. (author) Kardol, Paul (author) Manrubia-Freixa, Marta (author) Maynard, Daniel S. (author) Newman, Gregory S. (author) Logtestijn, Richard S. P. (author) Viketoft, Maria (author) Wardle, David A. (author) Wieder, William R. (author) Wood, Stephen A. (author) van der Putten, Wim H. (author) 2017-12-13 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-017-0367-4 en eng Nature Ecology & Evolution--Nat Ecol Evol--2397-334X articles:21423 ark:/85065/d71r6t6x doi:10.1038/s41559-017-0367-4 Copyright 2017 Author(s). Published under license by the Nature Publishing Group. article Text 2017 ftncar https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-017-0367-4 2023-08-14T18:48:01Z Our basic understanding of plant litter decomposition informs the assumptions underlying widely applied soil biogeochemical models, including those embedded in Earth system models. Confidence in projected carbon cycle-climate feedbacks therefore depends on accurate knowledge about the controls regulating the rate at which plant biomass is decomposed into products such as CO2. Here we test underlying assumptions of the dominant conceptual model of litter decomposition. The model posits that a primary control on the rate of decomposition at regional to global scales is climate (temperature and moisture), with the controlling effects of decomposers negligible at such broad spatial scales. Using a regional-scale litter decomposition experiment at six sites spanning from northern Sweden to southern France-and capturing both within and among site variation in putative controls-we find that contrary to predictions from the hierarchical model, decomposer (microbial) biomass strongly regulates decomposition at regional scales. Furthermore, the size of the microbial biomass dictates the absolute change in decomposition rates with changing climate variables. Our findings suggest the need for revision of the hierarchical model, with decomposers acting as both local-and broad-scale controls on litter decomposition rates, necessitating their explicit consideration in global biogeochemical models. Article in Journal/Newspaper Northern Sweden OpenSky (NCAR/UCAR - National Center for Atmospheric Research/University Corporation for Atmospheric Research) Nature Ecology & Evolution 1 12 1836 1845 |
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Open Polar |
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OpenSky (NCAR/UCAR - National Center for Atmospheric Research/University Corporation for Atmospheric Research) |
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ftncar |
language |
English |
description |
Our basic understanding of plant litter decomposition informs the assumptions underlying widely applied soil biogeochemical models, including those embedded in Earth system models. Confidence in projected carbon cycle-climate feedbacks therefore depends on accurate knowledge about the controls regulating the rate at which plant biomass is decomposed into products such as CO2. Here we test underlying assumptions of the dominant conceptual model of litter decomposition. The model posits that a primary control on the rate of decomposition at regional to global scales is climate (temperature and moisture), with the controlling effects of decomposers negligible at such broad spatial scales. Using a regional-scale litter decomposition experiment at six sites spanning from northern Sweden to southern France-and capturing both within and among site variation in putative controls-we find that contrary to predictions from the hierarchical model, decomposer (microbial) biomass strongly regulates decomposition at regional scales. Furthermore, the size of the microbial biomass dictates the absolute change in decomposition rates with changing climate variables. Our findings suggest the need for revision of the hierarchical model, with decomposers acting as both local-and broad-scale controls on litter decomposition rates, necessitating their explicit consideration in global biogeochemical models. |
author2 |
Bradford, Mark A. (author) Veen, G. F. (author) Bonis, Anne (author) Bradford, Ella M. (author) Classen, Aimee T. (author) Cornelissen, J. Hans C. (author) Crowther, Thomas. W. (author) De Long, Jonathan R. (author) Freschet, Gregoire T. (author) Kardol, Paul (author) Manrubia-Freixa, Marta (author) Maynard, Daniel S. (author) Newman, Gregory S. (author) Logtestijn, Richard S. P. (author) Viketoft, Maria (author) Wardle, David A. (author) Wieder, William R. (author) Wood, Stephen A. (author) van der Putten, Wim H. (author) |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
title |
A test of the hierarchical model of litter decomposition |
spellingShingle |
A test of the hierarchical model of litter decomposition |
title_short |
A test of the hierarchical model of litter decomposition |
title_full |
A test of the hierarchical model of litter decomposition |
title_fullStr |
A test of the hierarchical model of litter decomposition |
title_full_unstemmed |
A test of the hierarchical model of litter decomposition |
title_sort |
test of the hierarchical model of litter decomposition |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-017-0367-4 |
genre |
Northern Sweden |
genre_facet |
Northern Sweden |
op_relation |
Nature Ecology & Evolution--Nat Ecol Evol--2397-334X articles:21423 ark:/85065/d71r6t6x doi:10.1038/s41559-017-0367-4 |
op_rights |
Copyright 2017 Author(s). Published under license by the Nature Publishing Group. |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-017-0367-4 |
container_title |
Nature Ecology & Evolution |
container_volume |
1 |
container_issue |
12 |
container_start_page |
1836 |
op_container_end_page |
1845 |
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1776202535203241984 |