Abstract
Soil warming from global climate change could increase decomposition of fine woody debris (FWD), but debris size and quality may mitigate this effect. The goal of this study was to investigate the effect of soil warming on decomposition of fine woody debris of differing size and quality. We placed FWD of two size classes (2 × 20 cm and 4 × 40 cm) and four species (Acer saccharum, Betula lenta, Quercus rubra and Tsuga canadensis) in a soil warming and ambient area at Harvard Forest in central Massachusetts. We collected the debris from each area over two years and measured mass loss and lignin concentration. Warming increased mass loss for all species and size classes (by as much as 30%), but larger debris and debris with higher initial lignin content decomposed slower than smaller debris and debris with lower initial lignin content. Lignin degradation did not follow the same trends as mass loss. Lignin loss from the most lignin-rich species, T. canadensis, was the highest despite the fact that it lost mass the slowest. Our results suggest that soil warming will increase decomposition of FWD in temperate forests. It is imperative that future models and policy efforts account for this potential shift in the carbon storage pool.
Highlights
The stability of the fine woody debris (FWD) carbon pool is at risk from global climate change
Our results suggest that soil warming will increase decomposition of FWD in temperate forests
We found no difference between the two areas for debris size class or decay class
Summary
The stability of the fine woody debris (FWD) carbon pool is at risk from global climate change. While some studies have investigated the effect of debris quality and size on decomposition of FWD (Vávřová et al 2009; Fasth et al 2011; Tuomi et al 2011), few have simultaneously examined how these factors will interact with warming in an experimental field setting. As a result, it is not clear how much warming will speed decomposition from this carbon pool or what factors could mitigate this mass loss. Soil warming from global climate change could increase decomposition of fine woody debris (FWD), but debris size and quality may mitigate this effect. The goal of this study was to investigate the effect of soil warming on decomposition of fine woody debris of differing size and quality
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