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Differential responses of litter decomposition in the air and on the soil surface to shrub encroachment in a graminoid-dominated temperate wetland

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Abstract

Background and aims

Graminoid-dominated wetlands have been subjected to widespread shrub encroachment, yet the effect of this shift in species composition on litter decomposition remains unclear, especially in the standing-dead stage.

Methods

We collected labile (Deyeuxia angustifolia) and recalcitrant (Carex schmidtii) graminoid leaf litter from a freshwater wetland in northeast China, and used the litterbag method to characterize litter ash-free dry mass (AFDM) loss and nitrogen (N) release in the air and on the soil surface in open wetlands and two shrub islands (Salix floderusii producing phenol-poor litter and Betula fruticosa producing phenol-rich litter) over 360 days of decomposition.

Results

Litter decomposition in the air and on the soil surface responded differentially to shrub expansion. In the air, AFDM loss and N release for both labile and recalcitrant litter were often lower in shrub islands than in open wetlands. On the soil surface, labile litter decomposition was decelerated in the presence of shrubs with phenol-rich litter, but accelerated in the presence of shrubs with phenol-poor litter. Despite the absence of significant differences in N release, recalcitrant litter AFDM loss was lower in shrub islands than in open wetlands after 360 days of decomposition on the soil surface.

Conclusions

Shrub encroachment retards litter decomposition in the air, but the effects on litter decomposition on the soil surface vary with shrub type and litter degradability in graminoid-dominated wetlands. Moreover, these findings emphasize that standing litter decomposition should be considered to enhance our understanding of shrub encroachment effects on litter decomposition in these wetlands.

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Acknowledgements

This study was financed by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 41671091 and 31570479). We thank the editor and the anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments on our manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Environment, Nanjing Normal University, 1 Wenyuan Rd, Nanjing, 210023, China

    Xinhou Zhang, Wei Jiang & Shuangshuang Jiang

  2. Key Laboratory of State Forestry and Grassland Administration on Forest Ecosystem Protection and Restoration of Poyang Lake Watershed, College of Forestry, Jiangxi Agricultural University, 1101 Zhimin Rd, Nanchang, 330045, China

    Shuangshuang Jiang & Rong Mao

  3. Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Environment, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, 130102, China

    Wenwen Tan

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  1. Xinhou Zhang
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  5. Rong Mao
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Correspondence to Rong Mao.

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Zhang, X., Jiang, W., Jiang, S. et al. Differential responses of litter decomposition in the air and on the soil surface to shrub encroachment in a graminoid-dominated temperate wetland. Plant Soil 462, 477–488 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-021-04893-1

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