Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/13030
Title: A global experiment suggests climate warming will not accelerate litter decomposition in streams but might reduce carbon sequestration
Contributor(s): Boyero, Luz (author); Pearson, Richard G (author); Helson, Julie E (author); Bruder, Andreas (author); Albarino, Ricardo J (author); Yule, Catherine M (author); Arunachalam, Muthukumarasamy (author); Davies, Judy N (author); Figueroa, Ricardo (author); Flecker, Alexander S (author); Rarnirez, Alonso (author); Death, Russell G (author); Gessner, Mark O (author); Iwata, Tomoya (author); Mathooko, Jude M (author); Mathuriau, Catherine (author); Goncalves Jr, Jose F (author); Moretti, Marcelo S (author); Jinggut, Tajang (author); Lamothe, Sylvain (author); M'Erimba, Charles (author); Ratnarajah, Lavenia (author); Schindler, Markus H (author); Barmuta, Leon A (author); Castela, Jose (author); Buria, Leonardo M (author); Cornejo, Aydee (author); Villanueva, Veronica D (author); West, Derek C (author); Ferreira, Veronica (author); Graca, Manuel AS (author); Dudgeon, David (author); Boulton, Andrew J  (author); Callisto, Marcos (author); Chauvet, Eric (author)
Publication Date: 2011
DOI: 10.1111/j.1461-0248.2010.01578.x
Handle Link: https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/13030
Abstract: The decomposition of plant litter is one of the most important ecosystem processes in the biosphere and is particularly sensitive to climate warming. Aquatic ecosystems are well suited to studying warming effects on decomposition because the otherwise confounding influence of moisture is constant. By using a latitudinal temperature gradient in an unprecedented global experiment in streams, we found that climate warming will likely hasten microbial litter decomposition and produce an equivalent decline in detritivore-mediated decomposition rates. As a result, overall decomposition rates should remain unchanged. Nevertheless, the process would be profoundly altered, because the shift in importance from detritivores to microbes in warm climates would likely increase CO₂production and decrease the generation and sequestration of recalcitrant organic particles. In view of recent estimates showing that inland waters are a significant component of the global carbon cycle, this implies consequences for global biogeochemistry and a possible positive climate feedback.
Publication Type: Journal Article
Source of Publication: Ecology Letters, 14(3), p. 289-294
Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd
Place of Publication: United Kingdom
ISSN: 1461-0248
1461-023X
Fields of Research (FoR) 2008: 060204 Freshwater Ecology
050102 Ecosystem Function
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2008: 960505 Ecosystem Assessment and Management of Forest and Woodlands Environments
Peer Reviewed: Yes
HERDC Category Description: C1 Refereed Article in a Scholarly Journal
Appears in Collections:Journal Article

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