Influences of the bark economics spectrum and positive termite feedback on bark and xylem decomposition

التفاصيل البيبلوغرافية
العنوان: Influences of the bark economics spectrum and positive termite feedback on bark and xylem decomposition
المؤلفون: En-Rong Yan, Hang Ci, Bin Tuo, Matty P. Berg, Chao Guo, Johannes H. C. Cornelissen
المساهمون: Systems Ecology, Animal Ecology, Conservation Ecology Group
المصدر: Ecology, 102(10):e03480, 1-11. Ecological Society of America
Tuo, B, Yan, E R, Guo, C, Ci, H, Berg, M P & Cornelissen, J H C 2021, ' Influences of the bark economics spectrum and positive termite feedback on bark and xylem decomposition ', Ecology, vol. 102, no. 10, e03480, pp. 1-11 . https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.3480
Ecology, 102(10):e03480. Wiley-Blackwell
سنة النشر: 2021
مصطلحات موضوعية: Isoptera, Forests, Biology, complex mixtures, Decomposer, Feedback, chemistry.chemical_compound, Xylem, Animals, Lignin, evergreen broadleaved forest, Ecosystem, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, trait diversity, Ecology, invertebrate feedback, Interspecific competition, Evergreen, plant functional types, chemistry, visual_art, deadwood decomposition, inner and outer bark, Plant Bark, visual_art.visual_art_medium, Bark, carbon turnover, termite, Woody plant, bark traits
الوصف: The plant economics spectrum integrates trade-offs and covariation in resource economic traits of different plant organs and their consequences for pivotal ecosystem processes, such as decomposition. However, in this concept stems are often considered as one unit ignoring the important functional differences between wood (xylem) and bark. These differences may not only affect the performance of woody plants during their lifetime, but may also have important “afterlife effects.” Specifically, bark quality may strongly affect deadwood decomposition of different woody species. We hypothesized that (1) bark quality strongly influences bark decomposability to microbial decomposers, and possibly amplifies the interspecific variation in decomposition by invertebrate consumption, especially termites; and (2) bark decomposition has secondary effects on xylem mass loss by providing access to decomposers including invertebrates such as termites. We tested these hypotheses across 34 subtropical woody species representing five common plant functional types, by conducting an in situ deadwood decomposition experiment over 12-month in two sites in subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest in China. We employed visual examination and surface density measurement to quantify termite consumption to both bark and the underlying xylem, respectively. Using principal component analysis, we synthesized seven bark traits to provide the first empirical evidence for a bark economics spectrum (BES), with high BES values (i.e., bark thickness, nitrogen, phosphorus, and cellulose contents) indicating a resource acquisitive strategy and low BES values (i.e., carbon, lignin, and dry matter contents) indicating a resource conservative strategy. The BES affected interspecific variation in bark mass loss and this relationship was strongly amplified by termites. The BES also explained nearly half of the interspecific variation in termite consumption to xylem, making it an important contributor to deadwood decomposition overall. Moreover, the above across-species relationships manifested also within plant functional types, highlighting the value of using continuous variation in bark traits rather than categorical plant functional types in carbon cycle modeling. Our findings demonstrate the potent role of the BES in influencing deadwood decomposition including positive invertebrate feedback thereon in warm-climate forests, with implications for the role of bark quality in carbon cycling in other woody biomes.
وصف الملف: application/pdf
اللغة: English
تدمد: 0012-9658
URL الوصول: https://explore.openaire.eu/search/publication?articleId=doi_dedup___::5c6f118f7b879e38b84dce2b15f343c9
https://research.vu.nl/en/publications/67416ee2-ba70-40c6-a2ec-892b335e58ef
حقوق: OPEN
رقم الأكسشن: edsair.doi.dedup.....5c6f118f7b879e38b84dce2b15f343c9
قاعدة البيانات: OpenAIRE