Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Species-specific characteristics of trees can determine the litter macroinvertebrate community and decomposition process below their canopies

  • Regular Article
  • Published:
Plant and Soil Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This paper tests whether individual trees in a mature forest stand influence the process of litter decomposition and the macroinvertebrate communities in the soil underneath their canopies, as a result of species-specific characteristics. A field decomposition experiment was performed in a mature forest stand of tropical montane cloud forest in Mexico. The areas under the canopies of Quercus laurina Humbl. & Bompl., Oreopanax xalapensis (Kunth) Decne. & Planchon and Beilschmedia ovalis (Blake) C. K. Allen trees were used as experimental units. The natural soil and litter macroinvertebrate communities were monitored and compared to the community that invaded decomposition boxes with reciprocally transplanted leaf litter. The abundances of four macroinvertebrate taxa in natural litter differed among tree species independently of season. No differences were found in the soil community. The response to experimental litter by macroinvertebrate taxa suggests that the production of a specific quality of litter is an important mechanism by which a tree influences the litter macroinvertebrate community that develops under its canopy. However, not all differences in community composition naturally found between tree species can be explained by differences in litter quality during the first year of decomposition. Differences in nutrient release that occur after the first year, and physical properties of litter also probably play an important role. Independently of the canopy tree, the initial chemical quality (N, P, Ca, Mg and lignin) of experimental litter largely determined the decomposition rate and nutrient dynamics of decomposing leaves. However, it was found that under O. xalapensis trees the breakdown of lignin from the litter produced by the same species of tree was particularly effective. This suggests that a feedback has developed between this tree species and the decomposer community prevailing under its canopy.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Allan JE (1971) The preparation of agricultural samples for analysis by atomic absorption spectroscopy. Varian Techtron, Walnut Creek, p 15

    Google Scholar 

  • Anderson JM (1975) Succession, diversity and trophic relationships of some soil animals in decomposing leaf litter. Ecology 44:475–495

    Google Scholar 

  • Anderson JM, Ingram JSI (1993) Tropical soil biology and fertility: a handbook of methods. C.A.B. International, Wallingford, pp 1–221

    Google Scholar 

  • Anonymous (1999) Estadístico del Estado de Oaxaca. Instituto Nacional de Geografía e Informática, Aguascalientes, Mexico

    Google Scholar 

  • Ayres E, Dromph KM, Bardgett RD (2006) Do plant species encourage soil biota that specialise in the rapid decomposition of their litter? Soil Biol Biochem 38:183–186

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bardgett RD, Mawdsley JL, Edwards S, Hobbs PJ, Rodwell JS, Davies WJ (1999) Plant species and nitrogen effects on soil biological properties of temperate upland grassland. Funct Ecol 13:650–660

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bautista-Cruz A, del Castillo RF (2005) Soil changes during secondary succession in a tropical montane cloud forest area. Soil Sci Soc Am J 69:906–914

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Benjamini Y, Hochberg Y (1995) Controlling the false discovery rate: a practical and powerful approach to multiple testing. J R Stat Soc B 57:289–300

    Google Scholar 

  • Blanco-Macias AM (2001) Análisis sucesional del bosque mesófilo de montaña en El Rincón, Sierra Norte de Oaxaca. Facultad de Estudios Superiores Iztacala, UNAM, Mexico, pp 1–62

    Google Scholar 

  • Boettcher SE, Kalisz PJ (1990) Single-tree influence on soil properties in the mountains of eastern Kentucky. Ecology 71:1365–1372

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Conn C, Dighton J (2000) Litter quality influences on decomposition, ectomycorrhizal community structure and mycorrhizal root surface acid phosphatase activity. Soil Biol Biochem 32:489–496

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Coûteaux M-M, Mousseau M, Célérier M-L, Bottner P (1991) Increased atmospheric CO2 and litter quality: decomposition of sweet chestnut leaf litter with animal food webs of different complexity. Oikos 61:54–64

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crawley MJ (2005) Statistics. An introduction using R. Wiley, Sussex, p 327

    Google Scholar 

  • del Castillo RF (1996) Aspectos autoecológicos de Pinus chiapensis. In: Garduño LL, Chavarria GV, Magdaleno PL, Pérez IM (eds) Memorias del 2do. Coloquio Regional de Investigación, Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, Toluca, Estado de México.. Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, Toluca, pp 63–68

    Google Scholar 

  • Dijkstra FA (2003) Calcium mineralization in forest floor and surface soil beneath tree species in the northeastern US. For Ecol Manage 175:185–195

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ettema CH, Wardle DA (2002) Spatial soil ecology. Trends Ecol Evol 17:177–183

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Görres JH, Dichiaro MJ, Lyons JB, Amador JA (1998) Spatial and temporal patterns of soil biological activity in a forest and an old field. Soil Biol Biochem 30:219–230

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guevara R, Romero I (2007) Buttressed trees of Brosimum alicatrum Sw. affect mycelial mat abundance and indirectly the composition of soil meso-fauna.. Soil Biol Biochem 39:289–294

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Halaj J, Wise DH (2002) Impact of a detrital subsidy on the trophic cascade in a terrestrial grazing food web. Ecology 83:3141–3151

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hansen RA, Coleman DC (1998) Litter complexity and composition are determinant of the diversity and species composition of oribatid mites (Acari: Oribatid) in litterbags. Appl Soil Ecol 9:17–23

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hendrick RL, Pregitzer KS (1996) Temporal and depth-related patterns of fine root dynamics in northern hardwood forest. J Ecol 84:167–176

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kaye JP, Hart SC (1997) Competition for nitrogen between plants and soil microorganisms. Trends Ecol Evol 12:139–143

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kourtev PS, Ehrenfeld JG, Häggblom M (2002) Exotic plant species alter the microbial community structure and function in the soil. Ecology 83:3152–3166

    Google Scholar 

  • Lavelle P, Blanchart E, Martin A, Martin S, Spain A, Toutain F, Barois I, Schaefer R (1993) A hierarchical model for decomposition in terrestrial ecosystems: application to soils of the humid tropics. Biotropica 25:130–150

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lavelle P, Decaens T, Aubert M, Barot S, Blouin M, Bureau F, Margerie P, Mora P, Rossi JP (2006) Soil invertebrates and ecosystem services. Eur J Soil Biol 42:S3–S15

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Migge S, Maraun M, Scheu S, Schaefer M (1998) The oribatid mite community (Acarina) of pure and mixed stands of beech (Fagus sylvatica) and spruce (Picea abies) of different age. Appl Soil Ecol 9:115–121

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Negrete-Yankelevich S, Fragoso C, Newton AC, Heal OW (2006) Spatial patchiness of litter, nutrients and macroinvertebrates during secondary succession in a Tropical Montane Cloud Forest. Plant Soil 286:123–139

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Negrete-Yankelevich S, Fragoso C, Newton AC (2007a) The impact of logging and secondary succession on the below-ground system of a cloud forest in Mexico. In: Newton AC (ed) Biodiversity loss and conservation in fragmented forest landscapes. Evidence from tropical Montane and South Temperate rain forests in Latin America. CABI International, Oxfordshire, pp 181–199

    Google Scholar 

  • Negrete-Yankelevich S, Fragoso C, Newton AC, Heal OW (2007b) Successional changes in soil, litter and macroinvertebrate parameters following selective logging in a Mexican Cloud Forest. Appl Soil Ecol 35:340–355

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Phillips JD, Marion DA (2004) Pedological memory in forest soil development. For Ecol Manage 188:363–380

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Salamon JA, Alphei J, Ruf A, Schaefer M, Scheu S, Schneider K, Suhrig A, Maraun M (2006) Transitory dynamic effects in the soil invertebrate community in a temperate deciduous forest: Effects of resource quality. Soil Biol Biochem 38:209–221

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Santos FP, Phillips J, Whitford WG (1981) The role of mites and nematodes in early stages of buried litter decomposition in a desert. Ecology 62:664–669

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scheu S, Schaffer M (1998) Bottom-up control of the soil macrofauna community in a beechwood limestone: manipulation of a food resource. Ecology 79:1573–1585

    Google Scholar 

  • Stohlgren TJ (1988) Litter dynamics in two Sierra mixed conifer forests. II. Nutrient release in decomposing leaf litter.. Can J Bot 18:1136–1144

    Google Scholar 

  • Swift MJ, Heal OW, Anderson JM (1979) Decomposition in terrestrial ecosystems. Blackwell, Oxford, pp 1–372

    Google Scholar 

  • Turner DP, Franz EH (1985) The influence of western hemlock and western red cedar on microbial numbers, nitrogen mineralization, and nitrification. Plant Soil 88:259–267

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Soest PJ (1994) Fiber and physicochemical properties of feeds. In: Van Soest PJ (ed) Nutritional ecology of the ruminant. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, pp 140–160

    Google Scholar 

  • Vohland K, Schroth G (1999) Distribution patterns of the litter macrofauna in agroforestry and monoculture plantations in central Amazonia as affected by plant species and management. Appl Soil Ecol 13:57–68

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wardle DA (1992) A comparative assessment of factors which influence microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen levels in the soil. Biol Rev 67:321–358

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wardle DA, Bonner KI, Barker GM (2002) Linkages between plant litter decomposition, litter quality, and vegetation responses to herbivores. Funct Ecol 16:585–595

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wardle DA, Yeates GW, Williamson W, Bonner KI (2003) The response of three trophic level soil food web to the identity and diversity of plant species and functional groups. Oikos 102:45–56

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Warren MW, Zou X (2002) Soil macrofauna and litter nutrients in three tropical tree plantations on a disturbed site in Puerto Rico. For Ecol Manage 170:161–171

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Whelan MJ, Anderson JM (1996) Modelling spatial patterns of throughfall and interception loss in a Norway spruce (Picea abies) plantation at the plot scale. J Hydrol 186:335–354

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Widden P (1985) Microfungal community structure from forest soils in southern Quebec, using discriminant function and factor analysis. Can J Bot-Rev Can Bot 64:1402–1412

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zinke PJ (1962) The pattern of influence of individual forests trees on soil properties. Ecology 43:130–133

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This research was funded by a postgraduate scholarship provided by the Mexican Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (Num. Reg. 131536) and by supplementary support by The UK Darwin Initiative. We are indebted to Jo Anderson, David Wardle, Vinicio Sosa, Roger Guevara, Carolina Valdespino and Rafael del Castillo for invaluable suggestions during the development of this research. We are particularly grateful for field assistance by Raúl Rivera and dedicated illustration by Rafael Ruiz.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Biología de Suelos, Instituto de Ecología A.C., Apartado postal 63, Congregación El Haya, 91070, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico

    Simoneta Negrete-Yankelevich & Carlos Fragoso

  2. School of Geosciences, University of Edinburgh, Crew Building, The King’s Buildings, West Mains Road, Edinburgh, EH9 3JN, UK

    Simoneta Negrete-Yankelevich & Graham Russell

  3. School of Conservation Sciences, Bournemouth University, Talbot Campus, Poole, Dorset, BH12 5BB, UK

    Adrian C. Newton

  4. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Durham, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK

    O. William Heal

Authors
  1. Simoneta Negrete-Yankelevich
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Carlos Fragoso
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Adrian C. Newton
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Graham Russell
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. O. William Heal
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Simoneta Negrete-Yankelevich.

Additional information

Responsible Editor: Tibor Kalapos.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Negrete-Yankelevich, S., Fragoso, C., Newton, A.C. et al. Species-specific characteristics of trees can determine the litter macroinvertebrate community and decomposition process below their canopies. Plant Soil 307, 83–97 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-008-9585-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-008-9585-5

Keywords

Search

Navigation