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 faster than that of leaf litter monocultures, except for R. pseudoacacia. Litter mixtures without R. pseudoacacia showed non-additive synergistic effects, whereas litter mixtures with R. pseudoacacia exerted additive effects; 2) Litter species in the absence of R. pseudoacacia significantly decreased the nutrient retention rates of litter mixtures compared to those of monocultures; 3) Litter mixtures with or without R. pseudoacacia showing additive and non-additive effects in monocultures had a distinct bacterial community structure; 4) Bacterial community structure was also modified by initial litter traits; carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) concentrations in monocultures; N/P and C/N ratios of mixtures with R. pseudoacacia; and the lignin/N ratio of mixtures without R. pseudoacacia. Overall, these findings indicate that tree species diversity controls decomposition and nutrient cycling, implying that an appropriate species community composition is beneficial to maintaining forest ecosystems.

Keywords

• bacterial community
• mixture effect
• nutrient cycling
• non-additive effect