Yang Wan-Qin, Deng Ren-Ju, Zhang Jian
College of Forestry and Horticulture, Sichuan Agricultural University, Ya' an 625014, Sichuan, China.
Ying Yong Sheng Tai Xue Bao. 2007 Dec;18(12):2889-95.
Litter decomposition is one of the important processes in forest ecosystem, which is controlled by both biotic and abiotic factors such as climate, litter quality, and soil organisms. Up to now, numerous studies have been made on the dynamics of aboveground litter in different forest ecosystems, nutrient release during its decomposition, and effects of biotic and abiotic factors on the decomposition, but less information has been reported on the decomposition of belowground forest litter. Recently, the responses of forest litter decomposition to global climate change characterized by elevated atmospheric CO2 concentration and temperature have got worldwide concern, but there remains uncertainty in research results. In the further study, more attention should be paid on the contribution of forest litter decomposition to soil organic carbon sequestration, the physical, chemical and biological processes of below- and above-ground litter decomposition, the responses of forest litter decomposition to the ecological factors (e.g. seasonal freeze-thaw cycle and drying-rewetting cycle) and their interactions, and the mechanisms of litter (especially belowground litter) decomposition responses to global climate change.
凋落物分解是森林生态系统中的重要过程之一，它受气候、凋落物质量和土壤生物等生物和非生物因素的控制。到目前为止，人们已经对不同森林生态系统中地上凋落物的动态、其分解过程中的养分释放以及生物和非生物因素对分解的影响进行了大量研究，但关于地下森林凋落物分解的报道较少。最近，以大气CO2浓度升高和温度升高为特征的森林凋落物分解对全球气候变化的响应已引起全球关注，但研究结果仍存在不确定性。在进一步的研究中，应更多关注森林凋落物分解对土壤有机碳固存的贡献、地下和地上凋落物分解的物理、化学和生物学过程、森林凋落物分解对生态因素（如季节性冻融循环和干湿循环）及其相互作用的响应，以及凋落物（尤其是地下凋落物）分解对全球气候变化响应的机制。
