Systems Ecology, Department of Ecological Science, Faculty of Science, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1085, 1081 HV, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, 2109, Australia.
New Phytol. 2017 Nov;216(3):653-669. doi: 10.1111/nph.14766. Epub 2017 Sep 11.
Contents 653 I. 654 II. 657 III. 659 IV. 661 V. 662 VI. 663 VII. 665 665 References 665 SUMMARY: Biological decomposition and wildfire are connected carbon release pathways for dead plant material: slower litter decomposition leads to fuel accumulation. Are decomposition and surface fires also connected through plant community composition, via the species' traits? Our central concept involves two axes of trait variation related to decomposition and fire. The 'plant economics spectrum' (PES) links biochemistry traits to the litter decomposability of different fine organs. The 'size and shape spectrum' (SSS) includes litter particle size and shape and their consequent effect on fuel bed structure, ventilation and flammability. Our literature synthesis revealed that PES-driven decomposability is largely decoupled from predominantly SSS-driven surface litter flammability across species; this finding needs empirical testing in various environmental settings. Under certain conditions, carbon release will be dominated by decomposition, while under other conditions litter fuel will accumulate and fire may dominate carbon release. Ecosystem-level feedbacks between decomposition and fire, for example via litter amounts, litter decomposition stage, community-level biotic interactions and altered environment, will influence the trait-driven effects on decomposition and fire. Yet, our conceptual framework, explicitly comparing the effects of two plant trait spectra on litter decomposition vs fire, provides a promising new research direction for better understanding and predicting Earth surface carbon dynamics.
内容 653 I. 654 II. 657 III. 659 IV. 661 V. 662 VI. 663 VII. 665 665 参考文献 665 摘要：生物分解和野火是死亡植物物质的两种连接碳释放途径：较慢的凋落物分解会导致燃料积累。分解和地表火灾是否也通过植物群落组成，通过物种的特征来连接？我们的核心概念涉及与分解和火灾有关的两个特征变化轴。“植物经济学谱”（PES）将生物化学特征与不同细器官的凋落物分解能力联系起来。“大小和形状谱”（SSS）包括凋落物颗粒大小和形状及其对燃料床结构、通风和可燃性的影响。我们的文献综述表明，PES 驱动的分解能力与主要由 SSS 驱动的地表凋落物可燃性在物种间很大程度上是解耦的；这一发现需要在各种环境条件下进行实证检验。在某些条件下，碳释放将以分解为主，而在其他条件下，凋落物燃料将积累，火灾可能主导碳释放。分解和火灾之间的生态系统水平反馈，例如通过凋落物量、凋落物分解阶段、群落水平的生物相互作用和改变的环境，将影响特征对分解和火灾的影响。然而，我们的概念框架明确比较了两个植物特征谱对凋落物分解与火灾的影响，为更好地理解和预测地球表面碳动态提供了一个有前途的新研究方向。
