Functionally dissimilar neighbors accelerate litter decomposition in two grass species. Issue 3 (16th February 2017)
- Record Type:
- Journal Article
- Title:
- Functionally dissimilar neighbors accelerate litter decomposition in two grass species. Issue 3 (16th February 2017)
- Main Title:
- Functionally dissimilar neighbors accelerate litter decomposition in two grass species
- Authors:
- Barbe, Lou
Jung, Vincent
Prinzing, Andreas
Bittebiere, Anne‐Kristel
Butenschoen, Olaf
Mony, Cendrine - Abstract:
- Summary: Plant litter decomposition is a key regulator of nutrient recycling. In a given environment, decomposition of litter from a focal species depends on its litter quality and on the efficiency of local decomposers. Both may be strongly modified by functional traits of neighboring species, but the consequences for decomposition of litter from the focal species remain unknown. We tested whether decomposition of a focal plant's litter is influenced by the functional‐trait dissimilarity to the neighboring plants. We cultivated two grass species ( Brachypodium pinnatum and Elytrigia repens ) in experimental mesocosms with functionally similar and dissimilar neighborhoods, and reciprocally transplanted litter. For both species, litter quality increased in functionally dissimilar neighborhoods, partly as a result of changes in functional traits involved in plant–plant interactions. Furthermore, functional dissimilarity increased overall decomposer efficiency in one species, probably via complementarity effects. Our results suggest a novel mechanism of biodiversity effects on ecosystem functioning in grasslands: interspecific functional diversity within plant communities can enhance intraspecific contributions to litter decomposition. Thus, plant species might better perform in diverse communities by benefiting from higher remineralization rates of their own litter.
- Is Part Of:
- New phytologist. Volume 214:Issue 3(2017)
- Journal:
- New phytologist
- Issue:
- Volume 214:Issue 3(2017)
- Issue Display:
- Volume 214, Issue 3 (2017)
- Year:
- 2017
- Volume:
- 214
- Issue:
- 3
- Issue Sort Value:
- 2017-0214-0003-0000
- Page Start:
- 1092
- Page End:
- 1102
- Publication Date:
- 2017-02-16
- Subjects:
- after‐life traits -- biotic interactions -- decomposer community -- functional dissimilarity -- intraspecific variation -- litter quality -- plant litter decomposition -- plant neighborhood
Botany -- Periodicals
580 - Journal URLs:
- http://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/hub/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1469-8137/ ↗
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/ ↗ - DOI:
- 10.1111/nph.14473 ↗
- Languages:
- English
- ISSNs:
- 0028-646X
- Deposit Type:
- Legaldeposit
- View Content:
- Available online (eLD content is only available in our Reading Rooms) ↗
- Physical Locations:
- British Library DSC - 6085.000000
British Library DSC - BLDSS-3PM
British Library STI - ELD Digital store - Ingest File:
- 22186.xml