title: Plant species traits are the predominant control on litter decomposition rates within biomes worldwide.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: 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
authors.forename: William K
authors.initials: WK
authors.lastname: Cornwell
authors.forename: Johannes H C
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Cornelissen
authors.forename: Kathryn
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Amatangelo
authors.forename: Ellen
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Dorrepaal
authors.forename: Valerie T
authors.initials: VT
authors.lastname: Eviner
authors.forename: Oscar
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Godoy
authors.forename: Sarah E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Hobbie
authors.forename: Bart
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hoorens
authors.forename: Hiroko
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kurokawa
authors.forename: Natalia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Pérez-Harguindeguy
authors.forename: Helen M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Quested
authors.forename: Louis S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Santiago
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Wardle
authors.forename: Ian J
authors.initials: IJ
authors.lastname: Wright
authors.forename: Rien
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Aerts
authors.forename: Steven D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Allison
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: van Bodegom
authors.forename: Victor
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Brovkin
authors.forename: Alex
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chatain
authors.forename: Terry V
authors.initials: TV
authors.lastname: Callaghan
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Díaz
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Garnier
authors.forename: Diego E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Gurvich
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kazakou
authors.forename: Julia A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Klein
authors.forename: Jenny
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Read
authors.forename: Peter B
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: Reich
authors.forename: Nadejda A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Soudzilovskaia
authors.forename: M Victoria
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Vaieretti
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Westoby
mesh_terms: 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
chemical_list: D002244:Carbon