Plant species traits are the predominant control on litter decomposition rates within biomes worldwide.
Worldwide decomposition rates depend both on climate and the legacy of plant functional traits as litter quality. To quantify the degree to which functional differentiation among species affects their litter decomposition rates, we brought together leaf trait and litter mass loss data for 818 species from 66 decomposition experiments on six continents. We show that: (i) the magnitude of species-driven differences is much larger than previously thought and greater than climate-driven variation; (ii) the decomposability of a species' litter is consistently correlated with that species' ecological strategy within different ecosystems globally, representing a new connection between whole plant carbon strategy and biogeochemical cycling. This connection between plant strategies and decomposability is crucial for both understanding vegetation-soil feedbacks, and for improving forecasts of the global carbon cycle.
Cornwell
William K
WK
Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences, Department of Systems Ecology, Institute of Ecological Science, Vrije Universiteit, De Boelelaan 1085, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands. cornwell@zoology.ubc.ca
Cornelissen
Johannes H C
JH
Amatangelo
Kathryn
K
Dorrepaal
Ellen
E
Eviner
Valerie T
VT
Godoy
Oscar
O
Hobbie
Sarah E
SE
Hoorens
Bart
B
Kurokawa
Hiroko
H
Pérez-Harguindeguy
Natalia
N
Quested
Helen M
HM
Santiago
Louis S
LS
Wardle
David A
DA
Wright
Ian J
IJ
Aerts
Rien
R
Allison
Steven D
SD
van Bodegom
Peter
P
Brovkin
Victor
V
Chatain
Alex
A
Callaghan
Terry V
TV
Díaz
Sandra
S
Garnier
Eric
E
Gurvich
Diego E
DE
Kazakou
Elena
E
Klein
Julia A
JA
Read
Jenny
J
Reich
Peter B
PB
Soudzilovskaia
Nadejda A
NA
Vaieretti
M Victoria
MV
Westoby
Mark
M
D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D044822:Biodiversity; D018533:Biomass; D002244:Carbon / Q000737:chemistry; D002980:Climate; D010802:Phylogeny; D063245:Plant Development; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D010944:Plants / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D013045:Species Specificity
D002244:Carbon