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Leaf litter traits of invasive species slow down decomposition compared to Spanish natives: a broad phylogenetic comparison

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Abstract

Leaf traits related to the performance of invasive alien species can influence nutrient cycling through litter decomposition. However, there is no consensus yet about whether there are consistent differences in functional leaf traits between invasive and native species that also manifest themselves through their “after life” effects on litter decomposition. When addressing this question it is important to avoid confounding effects of other plant traits related to early phylogenetic divergences and to understand the mechanism underlying the observed results to predict which invasive species will exert larger effects on nutrient cycling. We compared initial leaf litter traits, and their effect on decomposability as tested in standardized incubations, in 19 invasive-native pairs of co-familial species from Spain. They included 12 woody and seven herbaceous alien species representative of the Spanish invasive flora. The predictive power of leaf litter decomposition rates followed the order: growth form > family > status (invasive vs. native) > leaf type. Within species pairs litter decomposition tended to be slower and more dependent on N and P in invaders than in natives. This difference was likely driven by the higher lignin content of invader leaves. Although our study has the limitation of not representing the natural conditions from each invaded community, it suggests a potential slowing down of the nutrient cycle at ecosystem scale upon invasion.

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Acknowledgements

Thanks are due to Margarita Costa-Tenorio, Antonio Gallardo, Rob Broekman and Manuel Godoy for field help, supplying ion exchange resin membranes and lab assistance, respectively. Financial support was provided by the Spanish Ministry for Education and Science grants RASINV GL2004-04884-C02 02/BOS (as part of the coordinate project RINVE) and CGL2007-61873/BOS.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Recursos Naturales, Centro de Ciencias Medioambientales, CSIC, Serrano 115 dpdo, 28006, Madrid, Spain

    Oscar Godoy & Fernando Valladares

  2. Departamento de Ecología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Alcalá, 28871, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain

    Oscar Godoy & Pilar Castro-Díez

  3. Department of Systems Ecology, Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences, Institute of Ecological Science, Vrije Universiteit, De Boelelaan 1085, 1081 HV, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Richard S. P. Van Logtestijn & Johannes H. C. Cornelissen

  4. Departamento de Biología y Geología, Área de Biodiversidad & Conservación, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, ESCET, Tulipán s/n, 28933, Móstoles, Madrid, Spain

    Fernando Valladares

  5. Laboratorio Internacional de Cambio Global (LINCGlobal), Departamento de Ecología, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, PUC, UC-CSIC, Alameda 340, 6513677, Santiago, Chile

    Fernando Valladares

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  1. Oscar Godoy
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Correspondence to Oscar Godoy.

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Communicated by Stephan Hattenschwiler.

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Godoy, O., Castro-Díez, P., Van Logtestijn, R.S.P. et al. Leaf litter traits of invasive species slow down decomposition compared to Spanish natives: a broad phylogenetic comparison. Oecologia 162, 781–790 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-009-1512-9

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