Leaf litter mixtures alter decomposition rate, nutrient retention, and bacterial community composition in a temperate forest.

ABSTRACT: Litter decomposition is a key step in global biogeochemical cycling. In forest ecosystems, litter from different tree spec1ies often decompose together. Although species diversity is widely acknowledged to accelerate decomposition through the regulation of nutrient transfer between litter and decomposer communities, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. To explore the association between the bacterial community and mixed-litter chemical transformation, we conducted a one-year litter mixing decomposition experiment using leaf litter from four dominant tree species in Mount Tai (Eastern China), Robinia pseudoacacia, Quercus acutissima, Pinus tabulaeformis, and Pinus densiflora. Our results showed that: 1) Mass loss of leaf litter mixtures was significantly fas

SUBMITTER: Li K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11524288 | biostudies-literature | 2023

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature