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Decomposition and nutrient dynamics in mixed litter of Mediterranean species

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Abstract

In the last decade a great research effort addressed the effects of litter diversity on ecosystem functions, reporting both synergistic and antagonistic effects for decomposition dynamics. Four coexisting Mediterranean species, representing a range of litter quality, were used to arrange litter mixtures at three diversity levels for a litterbag decomposition experiment. Species identity appeared as the major determinant for litter mass loss (Coronilla emerus∼Hedera helix>Festuca drymeia>Quercus ilex) and nutrient release, with rates for all leaf litter types following the sequence K>N>Mg≥Ca>>Fe. Additive diversity effects were prevalent pooling together all data but also for nutrients separately. Antagonistic interactions were more common than synergistic in the cases of mass loss, N and Ca contents, but not for K, Mg and Fe dynamics. The number of species in the litterbag significantly affected the outcome of non-additive interactions, which were mostly antagonistic for two-species mixtures, and synergistic for the combined 4 species. Litter quality appears to be the most important factor affecting mass loss and nutrient dynamics, while litter diversity, influencing the rates of these processes, plays an important role in reducing their variability, thus suggesting a greater stability of ecosystems properties in presence of mixed litter.

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Acknowledgements

The work has been supported with grants by MIUR (PRIN 2005-050197 and FISR MESCOSAGR). We thank two anonymous reviewers whose comments have been useful to improve early version of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Arboricoltura, Botanica e Patologia Vegetale, University of Naples Federico II, via Università 100, Portici, NA, 80055, Italy

    Giuliano Bonanomi, Vincenzo Antignani, Manuela Capodilupo & Stefano Mazzoleni

  2. Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita, University of Trieste, via Giorgieri 10, Trieste, 34127, Italy

    Guido Incerti

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  1. Giuliano Bonanomi
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  2. Guido Incerti
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  3. Vincenzo Antignani
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  4. Manuela Capodilupo
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  5. Stefano Mazzoleni
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Correspondence to Giuliano Bonanomi.

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Responsible Editor: Alfonso Escudero.

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Bonanomi, G., Incerti, G., Antignani, V. et al. Decomposition and nutrient dynamics in mixed litter of Mediterranean species. Plant Soil 331, 481–496 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-009-0269-6

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