Authors: Merian Skouw Haugwitz Anders Michelsen Anders Priemé
Publish Date: 2016/05/18
Volume: 408, Issue: 1-2, Pages: 183-193
Abstract
Fungi play a central role in litter decomposition a key process controlling the terrestrial carbon cycle and nutrient availability for plants and microorganisms Climate change and elevated CO2 affect soil fungi but the relative importance of the global change variables for litter decomposition is still uncertain The main objective was therefore to assess the shortterm litter decomposition and associated fungal community in a global change manipulated temperate heath ecosystemThe heath had been exposed to 6 years of warming elevated atmospheric CO2 and an extended presummer drought Litterbags with litter from heather Calluna vulgaris and wavyhair grass Deschampsia flexuosa were incubated in the litter layer for 6 months where after we analyzed the litterassociated fungal community litter loss CO2 respiration and total content of carbon nitrogen and phosphorusElevated temperature tended to increase litter decomposition rates whereas elevated CO2 had no effect on the process The presummer drought treatment had a positive impact on litter decomposition CO2 respiration and fungal abundance in the litterbags although we observed no major changes in fungal community compositionThe drought treatment during presummer had a legacy effect on litter decomposition as decomposition rates were positively affected later in the year The community structure of litterdecomposing fungi was not affected by the drought treatment Hence the legacy effect was not mediated by a change in the fungal community structureFig S2 Weekly averages of climatic data from 2011 at the CLIMAITE experimental site a Soil water content vol in 0–20 cm soil depth in plots without presummer drought treatment filled triangles and plots with presummer drought treatment open triangles Daily precipitation mm is shown in lightgrey bars b Soil surface temperature in plots without temperature treatment filled circles and plots with temperature treatment open circles GIF 64 kb
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