Abstract
Litter decomposition involves multiple complex processes, including interactions between the physicochemical characteristics of litter species and various environmental factors. We selected four representative pine species in South Korea (Pinus densiflora Siebold & Zucc., Pinus thunbergii Parl., Pinus koraiensis Siebold & Zucc., and Pinus rigida Miller) to investigate the decay rate and effects of the physicochemical properties on decomposition. Needle litters were incubated in microcosms at 23 °C for 280 days and retrieved four times in about 70-day intervals. The mass loss showed significant differences among the species and was higher in the order of P. densiflora (30.5%), P. koraiensis (27.8%), P. rigida (26.5%), and P. thunbergii (23.6%). The needle litter decomposition showed a negative relationship with the initial surface area, volume, density, cellulose content, and lignin/nitrogen of the litter, and a positive relationship with the initial specific leaf area (SLA), surface-area-to-volume ratio (SA/V), and water- and ethanol-soluble substances. The decomposition rate was highly affected by the physical properties of litter when compared with the initial chemical litter quality, and it was strongly influenced by SLA and SA/V. Accordingly, the physical properties of pine needle litter, especially SLA and SA/V, may be the key factors, and they could be used as predictive indices for the decomposition rate of pine tree litters.
Highlights
Litter decomposition is a key ecological process responsible for the release of nutrients from litter and is controlled by the three main factors of environmental conditions, decomposer community, and substrate quality [1,2,3]
The physical properties and chemical composition of needle litter of the four pine tree species are presented in Table 1, and analysis of variance (ANOVA) indicated significant differences in both physical and chemical properties according to the species (p < 0.001)
The present study demonstrated that, in the temperate forests of the Northern Hemisphere, decomposition of pine needle litter is largely affected by physical properties of the litter comparable to initial litter chemical quality
Summary
Litter decomposition is a key ecological process responsible for the release of nutrients from litter and is controlled by the three main factors of environmental conditions, decomposer community, and substrate quality [1,2,3]. Climate (especially temperature and moisture) governs the decay rates at broad regional scales, whereas initial litter quality variables (carbon/nitrogen, lignin, and nitrogen) are more important in controlling the decay rates at small scales, i.e., within the sites [4]. Initial litter chemical quality, characterized by N and lignin concentrations or C/N and lignin/N, is an important factor that influences the decomposition rate. Decomposition rate has been found to correlate positively with nitrogen [9,10], and it correlates negatively with molecules composed of large carbon chains, such as lignin and cellulose [9,10,11], and high C/N or lignin/N [8,10,12]
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