Litter Mixing Alters Microbial Decomposer Community to Accelerate Tomato Root Litter Decomposition.

ABSTRACT: Mixing plant litters of multiple species can alter litter decomposition, a key driver of carbon and nutrient cycling in terrestrial ecosystems. Changes in microbial decomposer communities is proposed as one of the mechanisms explaining this litter-mixture effect, but the underlying mechanism is unclear. In a microcosm litterbag experiment, we found that, at the early stage of decomposition, litter mixing promoted tomato root litter decomposition, thus generating a synergistic nonadditive litter-mixture effect. The transplanting decomposer community experiment showed that changes in microbial decomposer communities contributed to the nonadditive litter-mixture effect on tomato root litter decomposition. Moreover, litter mixing altered the abundance and diversity of bacterial and fungal comm

SUBMITTER: Jin X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9241821 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature