title: Tea polyphenols dominate the short-term tea (Camellia sinensis) leaf litter decomposition.
abstract: Polyphenols are one of the most important secondary metabolites, and affect the decomposition of litter and soil organic matter. This study aims to monitor the mass loss rate of tea leaf litter and nutrient release pattern, and investigate the role of tea polyphenols played in this process. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and classical litter bag method were used to simulate the decomposition process of tea leaf litter and track the changes occurring in major polyphenols over eight months. The release patterns of nitrogen, potassium, calcium, and magnesium were also determined. The decomposition pattern of tea leaf litter could be described by a two-phase decomposition model, and the polyphenol/N ratio effectively regulated the degradation process. Most of the catechins decreased dramatically within two months; gallic acid (GA), catechin gallate (CG), and gallocatechin (GC) were faintly detected, while others were outside the detection limits by the end of the experiment. These results demonstrated that tea polyphenols transformed quickly and catechins had an effect on the individual conversion rate. The nutrient release pattern was different from other plants which might be due to the existence of tea polyphenols.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Tea Science, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.
authors.forename: Dong-Mei
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.affiliation: Institute of Tea Science, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.
authors.forename: Kai
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.affiliation: Research Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Wuzhou 543002, China.
authors.forename: Cui-Ping
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Tea Science, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.
authors.forename: Ya-Ting
authors.initials: YT
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Tea Science, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.
authors.forename: Xiao-Chang
authors.initials: XC
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D028241:Camellia sinensis / Q000737:chemistry*; D002244:Carbon / Q000737:chemistry; D002392:Catechin / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000032:analysis; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D002980:Climate; D017753:Ecosystem; D005707:Gallic Acid / Q000032:analysis; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000737:chemistry; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000737:chemistry*; D059808:Polyphenols / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D013662:Tea / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D059808:Polyphenols; D013662:Tea; D005707:Gallic Acid; D002244:Carbon; C417939:catechin gallate; D002392:Catechin; C057580:gallocatechol; D009584:Nitrogen
keywords: Tea polyphenol; Catechin; Decomposition; Nutrient release; Polyphenol/N ratio