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Litter quality and decomposition responses to drought in a northeastern US deciduous forest

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Abstract

Even though drought impacts on tree physiology have been identified, whether drought affects leaf litter chemistry that, in turn, influences litter decay rates is still poorly understood. We compared litter quality and decomposition for two cohorts of leaves from five co-occurring seasonally deciduous tree species: Acer saccharum, Tilia americana, Quercus rubra, Quercus alba, and Ostrya virginiana. One cohort experienced a growing-season drought, and the other cohort came from the same trees in the ensuing, post-drought growing season. Leaf litter production was greater for drought litter than post-drought litter for all five species. Specific leaf area and nitrogen concentrations were 20% greater for the drought cohort than the post-drought cohort. Concentrations of non-structural carbohydrates were about 14% greater for the drought cohort, except for greater values for post-drought A. saccharum litter. Pectin in the middle lamella of leaf litter was 31% lower for the drought cohort compared to post-drought cohort. We found few differences in litter decay rates between drought and post-drought cohorts, although Q. rubra litter had more decomposition for the post-drought cohort than the drought cohort, whereas A. saccharum litter had more decomposition for the drought cohort than the post-drought cohort. Leaf litter decay rates for the drought cohort were related to litter nitrogen and lignin concentrations, whereas decay rates for the post-drought cohort were related to litter carbohydrate concentrations. Our findings suggest that the role of drought events on seasonally deciduous forest ecosystems must recognize species-specific, idiosyncratic responses in leaf litter quality and decomposition.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Molly E Huber, Gwendolyn T Pipes, and Emily C Olmos for laboratory assistance. We thank ad hoc reviewers and editors for comments and suggestions that greatly improved the clarity of the presentation.

Funding

AM Wilson was supported by a Rawlings Cornell Presidential Research Scholarship for undergraduate student research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Natural Resources & the Environment, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853-3001, USA

    Alexis M. Wilson, James C. Burtis, Marc Goebel & Joseph B. Yavitt

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  1. Alexis M. Wilson
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  2. James C. Burtis
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  4. Joseph B. Yavitt
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Contributions

All authors conceived and designed the study and participated in the fieldwork. AMW and JBY analyzed litter and soil samples. JCB and AMW analyzed the data. AMW initiated paper writing and all authors provided editorial advice.

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Correspondence to Joseph B. Yavitt.

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Communicated by Richard P. Phillips.

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Wilson, A.M., Burtis, J.C., Goebel, M. et al. Litter quality and decomposition responses to drought in a northeastern US deciduous forest. Oecologia 200, 247–257 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-022-05263-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-022-05263-z

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