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Impacts of detritivore diversity loss on instream decomposition are greatest in the tropics.

ABSTRACT: The relationship between detritivore diversity and decomposition can provide information on how biogeochemical cycles are affected by ongoing rates of extinction, but such evidence has come mostly from local studies and microcosm experiments. We conducted a globally distributed experiment (38 streams across 23 countries in 6 continents) using standardised methods to test the hypothesis that detritivore diversity enhances litter decomposition in streams, to establish the role of other characteristics of detritivore assemblages (abundance, biomass and body size), and to determine how patterns vary across realms, biomes and climates. We observed a positive relationship between diversity and decomposition, strongest in tropical areas, and a key role of abundance and biomass at higher latitudes. Our results suggest that litter decomposition might be altered by detritivore extinctions, particularly in tropical areas, where detritivore diversity is already relatively low and some environmental stressors particularly prevalent.

SUBMITTER: Boyero L

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8211652 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Impacts of detritivore diversity loss on instream decomposition are greatest in the tropics.

Boyero Luz L López-Rojo Naiara N Tonin Alan M AM Pérez Javier J Correa-Araneda Francisco F Pearson Richard G RG Bosch Jaime J Albariño Ricardo J RJ Anbalagan Sankarappan S Barmuta Leon A LA Basaguren Ana A Burdon Francis J FJ Caliman Adriano A Callisto Marcos M Calor Adolfo R AR Campbell Ian C IC Cardinale Bradley J BJ Jesús Casas J J Chará-Serna Ana M AM Chauvet Eric E Ciapała Szymon S Colón-Gaud Checo C Cornejo Aydeé A Davis Aaron M AM Degebrodt Monika M Dias Emerson S ES Díaz María E ME Douglas Michael M MM Encalada Andrea C AC Figueroa Ricardo R Flecker Alexander S AS Fleituch Tadeusz T García Erica A EA García Gabriela G García Pavel E PE Gessner Mark O MO Gómez Jesús E JE Gómez Sergio S Gonçalves Jose F JF Graça Manuel A S MAS Gwinn Daniel C DC Hall Robert O RO Hamada Neusa N Hui Cang C Imazawa Daichi D Iwata Tomoya T Kariuki Samuel K SK Landeira-Dabarca Andrea A Laymon Kelsey K Leal María M Marchant Richard R Martins Renato T RT Masese Frank O FO Maul Megan M McKie Brendan G BG Medeiros Adriana O AO Erimba Charles M M' CMM Middleton Jen A JA Monroy Silvia S Muotka Timo T Negishi Junjiro N JN Ramírez Alonso A Richardson John S JS Rincón José J Rubio-Ríos Juan J Dos Santos Gisele M GM Sarremejane Romain R Sheldon Fran F Sitati Augustine A Tenkiano Nathalie S D NSD Tiegs Scott D SD Tolod Janine R JR Venarsky Michael M Watson Anne A Yule Catherine M CM

Nature communications 20210617 1

The relationship between detritivore diversity and decomposition can provide information on how biogeochemical cycles are affected by ongoing rates of extinction, but such evidence has come mostly from local studies and microcosm experiments. We conducted a globally distributed experiment (38 streams across 23 countries in 6 continents) using standardised methods to test the hypothesis that detritivore diversity enhances litter decomposition in streams, to establish the role of other characteris ...[more]

PMID: 34140471

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Project description:A better understanding of the mechanisms driving litter diversity effects on decomposition is needed to predict how biodiversity losses affect this crucial ecosystem process. In a microcosm study, we investigated the effects of litter functional diversity and two major groups of soil macro-detritivores on the mass loss of tree leaf litter mixtures. Furthermore, we tested the effects of litter trait community means and dissimilarity on litter mass loss for seven traits relevant to decomposition. We expected macro-detritivore effects on litter mass loss to be most pronounced in litter mixtures of high functional diversity. We used 24 leaf mixtures differing in functional diversity, which were composed of litter from four species from a pool of 16 common European tree species. Earthworms, isopods, or a combination of both were added to each litter combination for two months. Litter mass loss was significantly higher in the presence of earthworms than in that of isopods, whereas no synergistic effects of macro-detritivore mixtures were found. The effect of functional diversity of the litter material was highest in the presence of both macro-detritivore groups, supporting the notion that litter diversity effects are most pronounced in the presence of different detritivore species. Species-specific litter mass loss was explained by nutrient content, secondary compound concentration, and structural components. Moreover, dissimilarity in N concentrations increased litter mass loss, probably because detritivores having access to nutritionally diverse food sources. Furthermore, strong competition between the two macro-detritivores for soil surface litter resulted in a decrease of survival of both macro-detritivores. These results show that the effects of litter functional diversity on decomposition are contingent upon the macro-detritivore community and composition. We conclude that the temporal dynamics of litter trait diversity effects and their interaction with detritivore diversity are key to advancing our understanding of litter mass loss in nature.

Project description:Habitat degradation and associated reductions in ecosystem functions can be reversed by reintroducing or 'rewilding' keystone species. Rewilding projects have historically targeted restoration of processes such as grazing regimes or top-down predation effects. Few projects focus on restoring decomposition efficiency, despite the pivotal role decomposition plays in global carbon sequestration and nutrient cycling. Here, we tested whether rewilding entire communities of detritivorous invertebrates and fungi can improve litter decomposition efficiency and restore detritivore communities during ecological restoration. Rewilding was conducted by transplanting leaf litter and soil, including associated invertebrate and fungal communities from species-rich remnant sites into species-poor, and geographically isolated, revegetated farmland sites in a temperate woodland region of southeastern Australia. We compared communities in sites under the following treatments: remnant (conservation area and source of litter transplant), rewilded revegetation (revegetated farmland site with litter transplant) and control revegetation (revegetated site, no transplant). In one 'before' and three 'after' sampling periods, we measured litter decomposition and the abundance and diversity of detritivorous invertebrates and fungi. We quantified the effect of detritivores on the rate of litter decomposition using piecewise Structural Equation Modelling. Decomposition was significantly faster in rewilding sites than in both control and remnant areas and was largely driven by a greater abundance of invertebrate detritivores. Similarly, the abundance of invertebrate detritivores in rewilding revegetation sites exceeded the level of remnant communities, whereas there was little difference between control and remnant sites. In contrast, rewilding did not increase saprotrophic fungi relative abundance/diversity and there was no strong relationship between decomposition and fungal diversity. Our findings suggest the relatively simple act of transplanting leaf litter and soil can increase functional efficiency during restoration and alter community composition. Our methods may prove important across a range of contexts where other restoration methods have failed to restore ecosystem processes to pre-degradation levels.

Dataset Information

Impacts of detritivore diversity loss on instream decomposition are greatest in the tropics.

Publications

Impacts of detritivore diversity loss on instream decomposition are greatest in the tropics.

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