Home Field Advantage of Litter Decomposition in Pure and Mixed Plantations Under Boreal Climate

Chomel, Mathilde, Guittonny-Larchevêque, Marie, DesRochers, Annie et Baldy, Virginie (2015). Home Field Advantage of Litter Decomposition in Pure and Mixed Plantations Under Boreal Climate. Ecosystems , 18 (6). pp. 1014-1028. doi:10.1007/s10021-015-9880-y Repéré dans Depositum à https://depositum.uqat.ca/id/eprint/1223 (Soumis)

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Résumé

Tree species can affect the decomposition process by promoting decomposer communities adapted both to litter quality and to soil microclimatic conditions. Thus, plant litter could decompose faster when placed in the habitat from which it was derived than in a foreign habitat, which has been termed home field advantage (HFA) of litter decomposition. In mixed-plant species environments however, it is not known whether a specific decomposer community under one tree species is affected by the presence of another tree species in the vicinity. To address this question, we tested if spruce and poplar litters showed HFA in mono-specific and in mixed species plantations under each tree species by reciprocally transplanting litter in the two plantation types. Decomposition rates, as well as the composition and ability of decomposer communities to degrade the different types of litter, were monitored during two years. Only spruce litter exhibited a faster decomposition rate at home. This HFA could be explained by higher abundance of decomposers. Furthermore, cellulose was less decomposed in this environment, suggesting that soil communities of mono-specific spruce plantations were more able to decompose relatively recalcitrant litter, but they were less able to decomposing more “simple” substrates. In mixed plantations, there was no more HFA, but this “mixed environment” had synergistic effects on decomposition rates under poplar trees. These ‘tree environment-specific’ results highlighted the possible importance of spatial distribution of each litter on decomposition rates in mixed stands. Thus the influence of litter dispersal should be taken into account in future studies.

Type de document:	Article
Informations complémentaires:	Version postprint
Mots-clés libres:	litter decomposition; white spruce; hybrid poplar; cellulose; home field advantage; mites; collembola; microorganisms; reciprocal transplant; mixed plantation
Divisions:	Forêts Mines et eaux souterraines
Date de dépôt:	16 juin 2020 20:05
Dernière modification:	16 juin 2020 20:17
URI:	https://depositum.uqat.ca/id/eprint/1223

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