Alpine Litter Humification and Its Response to Reduced Snow Cover: Can More Carbon Be Sequestered in Soils?

Abstract

While carbon loss from plant litter is well understood, the mechanisms by which this carbon is sequestered in the decomposing litter substrate remains unclear. Here we assessed humus accumulations in five foliar litters during four years of decomposition and their responses to reduced snow cover in an alpine forest. In contrast to the traditional understanding (i.e., the three-stage model), we found that fresh litter had a high humus content (8–13% across species), which consistently increased during litter decomposition and such an increase primarily depended on the accumulation of humic acid. Further, reduced snow cover decreased humus accumulation at early stages but increased it at late stages. These results suggested that humification simultaneously occurred with decomposition during early litter decay, but this process was more sensitive to the changing climate in seasonally snow-covered ecosystems, as previously expected.