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Dynamics of alpine plant litter decomposition in a changing climate

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Abstract

Climatic changes resulting from anthropogenic activities over the passed century are repeatedly reported to alter the functioning of pristine ecosystems worldwide, and especially those in cold biomes. Available literature on the process of plant leaf litter decomposition in the temperate Alpine zone is reviewed here, with emphasis on both direct and indirect effects of climate change phenomena on rates of litter decay. Weighing the impact of biotic and abiotic processes governing litter mass loss, it appears that an immediate intensification of decomposition rates due to temperature rise can be retarded by decreased soil moisture, insufficient snow cover insulation, and shrub expansion in the Alpine zone. This tentative conclusion, remains speculative unless empirically tested, but it has profound implications for understanding the biogeochemical cycling in the Alpine vegetation belt, and its potential role as a buffering mechanism to climate change.

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Acknowledgements

I express my deepest gratitude to Dr. J.H.C. Cornelissen who assisted me in compiling this comprehensive list of literature on Alpine biogeochemistry. His enthusiasm about the work and his critical comments are heartily praised. The two anonymous referees enriched the manuscript even further with proposed topics from their specific fields of expertise. This project was partly funded through CCES (Competence Center Environment and Sustainability of the ETH Domain).

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  1. Laboratory of Ecological Systems (ECOS) - Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) & Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland

    Konstantin S. Gavazov

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Gavazov, K.S. Dynamics of alpine plant litter decomposition in a changing climate. Plant Soil 337, 19–32 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-010-0477-0

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