Non-additive effect of species diversity and temperature sensitivity of mixed litter decomposition in the alpine meadow on Tibetan Plateau

Abstract

Few studies of the effects of litter diversity on the temperature sensitivity of mixed litter mass loss (MLML) are available. We tested the hypothesis that high litter diversity would reduce the magnitude of effects of climate and environmental change on MLML with 0.5/1 mm litter bags and sampling once after 1 yr of decomposition, using 51 combinations of litter mixtures from 25 dominant species at 3200 and 3800 m elevations on the Tibetan Plateau. Generally, our study supported our hypothesis. High temperature (i.e. lower elevation) reduced the dependency of MLML and non-additive effects on species richness. Species composition significantly affected MLML and its Q10 (i.e. the ratio of litter mass loss rate at a temperature T1 that is 10 °C lower than a temperature T2) when species richness was less than 8. Shrubs significantly decreased the Q10 of MLML when the species richness of litter mixture was less than 4. These findings suggest that the influence of future warming on MLML may depend on the balance between the magnitude of the impacts of climate change on shrub invasion and loss of species diversity in alpine region.