title: [Contribution of soil fauna to the mass loss of Betula albosinensis leaf litter at early decomposition stage of subalpine forest litter in western Sichuan].
abstract: In order to quantify the contribution of soil fauna to the decomposition of birch (Betula albosinensis) leaf litter in subalpine forests in western Sichuan of Southwest China during freeze-thaw season, a field experiment with different mesh sizes (0.02, 0.125, 1 and 3 mm) of litterbags was conducted in a representative birch-fir (Abies faxoniana) forest to investigate the mass loss rate of the birch leaf litter from 26 October, 2010 to 18 April, 2011, and the contributions of micro-, meso- and macro-fauna to the decomposition of the leaf litter. Over the freeze-thaw season, 11.8%, 13.2%, 15.4% and 19.5% of the mass loss were detected in the litterbags with 0.02, 0. 125, 1 and 3 mm mesh sizes, respectively. The total contribution of soil fauna to the litter decomposition accounted for 39.5% of the mass loss, and the taxa and individual relative density of the soil fauna in the litterbags had the similar variation trend with that of the mass loss rate. The contribution rate of soil fauna to the leaf litter mass loss showed the order of micro- < meso- < macro-fauna, with the highest contribution of micro-fauna (7.9%), meso-fauna (11.9%), and macro-fauna (22.7%) at the onset of freezing stage, deeply frozen stage, and thawing stage, respectively. The results demonstrated that soil fauna played an important role in the litter decomposition in subalpine forests of western Sichuan during freeze-thaw season.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Ecological Forestry Engineering, Institute of Ecological Forestry, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, China. xialei20051659@yahoo.com.cn
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Xia
authors.forename: Fu-Zhong
authors.initials: FZ
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Wan-Qin
authors.initials: WQ
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Tan
mesh_terms: D028202:Abies / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D000531:Altitude; D000818:Animals; D029662:Betula / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D002681:China; D017753:Ecosystem; D007448:Invertebrates / Q000502:physiology*; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000378:metabolism*; D012987:Soil / Q000032:analysis* / Q000469:parasitology
chemical_list: D012987:Soil