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Chemical composition rather than plant geographic origin drives the breakdown of riparian plant litter with changes in associated invertebrate diversity

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Abstract

Background and aims

The study aimed to assess the effects of the potential replacement of dominant native plants by co-occurring exotic invasives on organic matter degradation in a riparian area. The questions were: i) Is there a relationship between the litter breakdown rate and species origin? ii) Is the chemical composition more relevant than species origin? iii) Does species origin influence the associated saprophagous invertebrate community?

Methods

Within the riparian zone of the Garonne River (France), we conducted a litterbag experiment using pairs of native and exotic species selected in the stages of the successional gradient.

Results

Native and exotic species did not differ in their primary chemical composition and breakdown rate. Litter breakdown rates were primarily driven by the C:N ratio with no influence of species origin. The abundance and diversity of saprophagous invertebrates of exotic and native species did not differ, but the composition did. Only one plant litter was completely degraded much earlier than expected (next litterfall) while remnant litter were still present at this time for the other species.

Conclusions

The replacement of a dominant native by an exotic invasive plant species does not generally result in noticeable changes in the litter breakdown rate, which mainly depends on litter composition. Litter from quickly degrading exotic species may cause a resource discontinuity in invaded areas stabilized by river regulation.

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Acknowledgments

We are gratefull to Celinde Ricoveri, Thomas Lheureux, Mickael Taland, Didier Lambrigot, Sylvain Lamothe, Lydie Roques, Raphaëlle Leclerc and Bruno Buatois for laboratory assistance. We also thank Jean Moro to make the field access easier. We thank the two anonymous reviewers for helpful comments. M. Bottollier-Curtet benefited from a French MESR fellowship.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Association “les Ecologistes de l’Euzière” Domaine de Restinclière, 34730, Prades-le-Lez, France

    Marion Bottollier-Curtet

  2. CNRS, INP, UPS; EcoLab Laboratoire Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Environnement, Université de Toulouse, 31326, Castanet-Tolosan, France

    Jean-Yves Charcosset

  3. INP, UPS; EcoLab Laboratoire Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Environnement, Université de Toulouse, 118 route de Narbonne, 31062, Toulouse, France

    Anne-Marie Planty-Tabacchi

  4. CNRS, INP, UPS; EcoLab Laboratoire Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Environnement, Université de Toulouse, 118 route de Narbonne, 31062, Toulouse, France

    Eric Tabacchi

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  1. Marion Bottollier-Curtet
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  2. Jean-Yves Charcosset
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Correspondence to Eric Tabacchi.

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Bottollier-Curtet, M., Charcosset, JY., Planty-Tabacchi, AM. et al. Chemical composition rather than plant geographic origin drives the breakdown of riparian plant litter with changes in associated invertebrate diversity. Plant Soil 390, 265–278 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-015-2394-8

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