Nitrogen addition, not initial phylogenetic diversity, increases litter decomposition by fungal communities.

ABSTRACT: Fungi play a critical role in the degradation of organic matter. Because different combinations of fungi result in different rates of decomposition, determining how climate change will affect microbial composition and function is fundamental to predicting future environments. Fungal response to global change is patterned by genetic relatedness, resulting in communities with comparatively low phylogenetic diversity (PD). This may have important implications for the functional capacity of disturbed communities if lineages sensitive to disturbance also contain unique traits important for litter decomposition. Here we tested the relationship between PD and decomposition rates. Leaf litter fungi were isolated from the field and deployed in microcosms as mock communities along a gradient of init

SUBMITTER: Amend AS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4332350 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature