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Leaf litter quality drives litter mixing effects through complementary resource use among detritivores

  • Ecosystem Ecology - Original Research
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Abstract

To comprehend the potential consequences of biodiversity loss on the leaf litter decomposition process, a better understanding of its underlying mechanisms is necessary. Here, we hypothesize that positive litter mixture effects occur via complementary resource use, when litter species complement each other in terms of resource quality for detritivores. To investigate this, monocultures and mixtures of two leaf litter species varying in quality were allowed to decompose with and without a single macro-detritivore species (the terrestrial woodlice Oniscus asellus). Resource quality of the mixture was assessed by the mean concentration, the dissimilarity in absolute and relative concentrations, and the covariance between nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and calcium (Ca) supply. Our results clearly show that litter mixing effects were driven by differences in their resource quality for detritivores. In particular, complementary supply of N and P was a major driver of litter mixing effects. Interestingly, litter mixing effects caused by the addition of woodlice were predominantly driven by N dissimilarity, whereas in their absence, increased P concentration was the main driver of litter mixing effects. These results show that ultimately, litter diversity effects on decomposition may be driven by complementary resource use of the whole decomposer community (i.e., microbes and macro-detritivores).

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Acknowledgments

This study is an individual subproject contributing to the “BioCycle” collaborative research project funded by the EuroCORES programme EuroDIVERSITY of the European Science Foundation (ESF) and the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO). “BioCycle” is endorsed by DIVERSITAS as contributing towards their current scientific research priorities in biodiversity science. We would like to thank Frans Möller and Jan van Walsem for their practical help during the experiment and the Alterra Freshwater ecology group for the use of their climate chamber.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nature Conservation and Plant Ecology Group, Centre for Ecosystem Studies, Environmental Sciences Group, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA, Wageningen, The Netherlands

    Veronique C. A. Vos, Jasper van Ruijven & Frank Berendse

  2. Department of Ecological Science, Animal Ecology Group, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Matty P. Berg

  3. Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management Group, Centre for Water and Climate, Environmental Sciences Group, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands

    Edwin T. H. M. Peeters

Authors
  1. Veronique C. A. Vos
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  2. Jasper van Ruijven
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  3. Matty P. Berg
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  4. Edwin T. H. M. Peeters
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  5. Frank Berendse
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Veronique C. A. Vos.

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Communicated by Michael Madritch.

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Vos, V.C.A., van Ruijven, J., Berg, M.P. et al. Leaf litter quality drives litter mixing effects through complementary resource use among detritivores. Oecologia 173, 269–280 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-012-2588-1

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