Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, USA.
Ecol Lett. 2012 Oct;15(10):1180-8. doi: 10.1111/j.1461-0248.2012.01837.x. Epub 2012 Aug 16.
The chemical complexity of decomposing plant litter is a central feature shaping the terrestrial carbon (C) cycle, but explanations of the origin of this complexity remain contentious. Here, we ask: How does litter chemistry change during decomposition, and what roles do decomposers play in these changes? During a long-term (730 days) litter decomposition experiment, we tracked concurrent changes in decomposer community structure and function and litter chemistry using high-resolution molecular techniques. Contrary to the current paradigm, we found that the chemistry of different litter types diverged, rather than converged, during decomposition due to the activities of decomposers. Furthermore, the same litter type exposed to different decomposer communities exhibited striking differences in chemistry, even after > 90% mass loss. Our results show that during decomposition, decomposer community characteristics regulate changes in litter chemistry, which could influence the functionality of litter-derived soil organic matter (SOM) and the turnover and stabilisation of soil C.
分解植物凋落物的化学复杂性是塑造陆地碳（C）循环的一个核心特征，但对于这种复杂性的起源解释仍然存在争议。在这里，我们提出了以下问题：凋落物化学在分解过程中如何变化，以及分解者在这些变化中扮演什么角色？在一项长期（730 天）的凋落物分解实验中，我们使用高分辨率分子技术跟踪了分解者群落结构和功能以及凋落物化学的同时变化。与当前的范式相反，我们发现由于分解者的活动，不同凋落物类型的化学性质在分解过程中出现了分歧，而不是趋同。此外，即使在 > 90%的质量损失后，暴露于不同分解者群落的同一凋落物类型在化学性质上也表现出惊人的差异。我们的结果表明，在分解过程中，分解者群落特征调节凋落物化学性质的变化，这可能影响凋落物衍生土壤有机质（SOM）的功能以及土壤 C 的周转和稳定。
