Boyero, Luz

Pearson, Richard G

Barmuta, Leon A

Boulton, Andrew

Bruder, Andreas

Callisto, Marcos

Chauvet, Eric

Death, Russell G

Dudgeon, David

Encalada, Andrea C

Ferreira, Veronica

Figueroa, Ricardo

Hui, Cang

Flecker, Alexander S

Goncalves Jr, Jose F

Helson, Julie

Iwata, Tomoya

Jinggut, Tajang

Mathooko, Jude

Mathuriau, Catherine

M'Erimba, Charles

Moretti, Marcelo S

Pringle, Catherine M

Gessner, Mark O

Ramirez, Alonso

Ratnarajah, Lavenia

Rincon, Jose

Yule, Catherine M

Perez, Javier

Alexandrou, Markos A

Graca, Manuel A S

Cardinale, Bradley J

Albarino, Ricardo J

Arunachalam, Muthukumarasamy

2016

Plant litter breakdown is a key ecological process in terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems. Streams and rivers, in particular, contribute substantially to global carbon fluxes. However, there is little information available on the relative roles of different drivers of plant litter breakdown in fresh waters, particularly at large scales. We present a global-scale study of litter breakdown in streams to compare the roles of biotic, climatic and other environmental factors on breakdown rates. We conducted an experiment in 24 streams encompassing latitudes from 47.8° N to 42.8° S, using litter mixtures of local species differing in quality and phylogenetic diversity (PD), and alder (Alnus glutinosa) to control for variation in litter traits. Our models revealed that breakdown of alder was driven by climate, with some influence of pH, whereas variation in breakdown of litter mixtures was explained mainly by litter quality and PD. Effects of litter quality and PD and stream pH were more positive at higher temperatures, indicating that different mechanisms may operate at different latitudes. These results reflect global variability caused by multiple factors, but unexplained variance points to the need for expanded global-scale comparisons.

Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 283(1829), p. 1-10

1471-2954

0962-8452

https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/22098

en

The Royal Society Publishing

Biotic and abiotic variables influencing plant litter breakdown in streams: a global study

Journal Article

Publication