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Marian F, Sandmann D, Krashevska V, et al. Leaf and root litter decomposition is discontinued at high altitude tropical montane rainforests contributing to carbon sequestration. Ecol Evol. 2017;7(16):6432-6443doi: 10.1002/ece3.3189.
Marian, F., Sandmann, D., Krashevska, V., Maraun, M., & Scheu, S. (2017). Leaf and root litter decomposition is discontinued at high altitude tropical montane rainforests contributing to carbon sequestration. Ecology and evolution, 7(16), 6432-6443. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.3189
Marian, Franca, et al. "Leaf and root litter decomposition is discontinued at high altitude tropical montane rainforests contributing to carbon sequestration." Ecology and evolution vol. 7,16 (2017): 6432-6443. doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.3189
Marian F, Sandmann D, Krashevska V, Maraun M, Scheu S. Leaf and root litter decomposition is discontinued at high altitude tropical montane rainforests contributing to carbon sequestration. Ecol Evol. 2017 Jul 10;7(16):6432-6443. doi: 10.1002/ece3.3189. eCollection 2017 Aug. PMID: 28861246; PMCID: PMC5574766.
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Ecol Evol. 2017 Jul 10;7(16):6432-6443. doi: 10.1002/ece3.3189. eCollection 2017 Aug.

Leaf and root litter decomposition is discontinued at high altitude tropical montane rainforests contributing to carbon sequestration.

Ecology and evolution

Franca Marian, Dorothee Sandmann, Valentyna Krashevska, Mark Maraun, Stefan Scheu

Affiliations

  1. J.F. Blumenbach Institute of Zoology and Anthropology University of Göttingen Göttingen Germany.
  2. Centre of Biodiversity and Sustainable Land Use University of Göttingen Göttingen Germany.

PMID: 28861246 PMCID: PMC5574766 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.3189

Abstract

We investigated how altitude affects the decomposition of leaf and root litter in the Andean tropical montane rainforest of southern Ecuador, that is, through changes in the litter quality between altitudes or other site-specific differences in microenvironmental conditions. Leaf litter from three abundant tree species and roots of different diameter from sites at 1,000, 2,000, and 3,000 m were placed in litterbags and incubated for 6, 12, 24, 36, and 48 months. Environmental conditions at the three altitudes and the sampling time were the main factors driving litter decomposition, while origin, and therefore quality of the litter, was of minor importance. At 2,000 and 3,000 m decomposition of litter declined for 12 months reaching a limit value of ~50% of initial and not decomposing further for about 24 months. After 36 months, decomposition commenced at low rates resulting in an average of 37.9% and 44.4% of initial remaining after 48 months. In contrast, at 1,000 m decomposition continued for 48 months until only 10.9% of the initial litter mass remained. Changes in decomposition rates were paralleled by changes in microorganisms with microbial biomass decreasing after 24 months at 2,000 and 3,000 m, while varying little at 1,000 m. The results show that, irrespective of litter origin (1,000, 2,000, 3,000 m) and type (leaves, roots), unfavorable microenvironmental conditions at high altitudes inhibit decomposition processes resulting in the sequestration of carbon in thick organic layers.

Keywords: Ecuador; altitudinal gradient; litter quality; litter type; litterbag; microbial biomass

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