Department of Entomology.
Insect Sci. 2013 Oct;20(5):671-8. doi: 10.1111/j.1744-7917.2012.01532.x. Epub 2012 Aug 2.
The extensive land use conversion expected to occur to meet demands for bioenergy feedstock production will likely have widespread impacts on agroecosystem biodiversity and ecosystem services, including carbon sequestration. Although arthropod detritivores are known to contribute to litter decomposition and thus energy flow and nutrient cycling in many plant communities, their importance in bioenergy feedstock communities has not yet been assessed. We undertook an experimental study quantifying rates of litter mass loss and nutrient cycling in the presence and absence of these organisms in three bioenergy feedstock crops-miscanthus (Miscanthus x giganteus), switchgrass (Panicum virgatum), and a planted prairie community. Overall arthropod abundance and litter decomposition rates were similar in all three communities. Despite effective reduction of arthropods in experimental plots via insecticide application, litter decomposition rates, inorganic nitrogen leaching, and carbon-nitrogen ratios did not differ significantly between control (with arthropods) and treatment (without arthropods) plots in any of the three community types. Our findings suggest that changes in arthropod faunal composition associated with widespread adoption of bioenergy feedstock crops may not be associated with profoundly altered arthropod-mediated litter decomposition and nutrient release.
为满足生物能源原料生产的需求，预计会大规模改变土地用途，这很可能对农业生态系统生物多样性和生态系统服务产生广泛影响，包括碳固存。虽然众所周知节肢动物分解者有助于许多植物群落的凋落物分解，从而促进能量流动和养分循环，但它们在生物能源原料群落中的重要性尚未得到评估。我们开展了一项实验研究，量化了在 3 种生物能源原料作物（芒属植物、柳枝稷和人工草地群落）中存在和不存在这些生物时的凋落物质量损失和养分循环速率。总体而言，所有 3 个群落中的节肢动物丰度和凋落物分解速率相似。尽管通过杀虫剂的应用有效减少了实验小区中的节肢动物，但在这 3 种群落类型中，无论是对照（有节肢动物）小区还是处理（无节肢动物）小区，凋落物分解速率、无机氮淋溶和碳氮比都没有显著差异。我们的研究结果表明，与广泛采用生物能源原料作物相关的节肢动物区系组成的变化，可能不会导致节肢动物介导的凋落物分解和养分释放发生显著改变。
