Effect of wood density and water permeability on wood decomposition rates of 32 Bornean rainforest trees

Abstract

Aims A better understanding of wood litter decomposition is essential for predicting responses of forest ecosystems to global climate change. Recent studies suggest that chemical properties of wood litters, rather than physical ones such as wood density, are more important for inter - We found large variation in the wood decomposition rate (a 49-fold range), suggesting that we need to consider this variation when cal- culating community-level carbon dynamics of tropical rain forests. The physical traits of wood, i.e. wood density and water perme- ability, were related to wood decomposition rate and its pattern over time. Decomposition half-time related positively and negatively to initial wood density and water permeability, respectively. The time-dependent- rate model fitted better for 18 species (56% of the study species) that had higher water permeabilities than the others, suggesting that micelle porosity in wood relates to temporal changes in decomposition rate.