Chemistry and toughness predict leaf litter decomposition rates over a wide spectrum of functional types and taxa in central Argentina

Plant and Soil

Volumn 218, Issue 1-2, 2000, Pages 21-30

  Pérez Harguindeguy, Natalia ^a   Díaz, Sandra ^a   Cornelissen, Johannes H C ^b   Vendramini, Fernanda ^a   Cabido, Marcelo ^a   Castellanos, Alejandro ^c  

^a Centro de Investigaciones En Quimica Biologica de Cordoba   (Argentina)

^b NATURAL ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH COUNCIL   (United Kingdom)

^c UNIVERSIDAD DE SONORA   (Mexico)

Author keywords

Carbon; Functional types; Leaf tensile strength; Litter quality; Mass loss; Nitrogen

Indexed keywords

DECOMPOSITION; FUNCTIONAL GROUP; LEAF LITTER; PHYTOCHEMISTRY;

ARGENTINA;

EID: 19244369522     PISSN: 0032079X     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1023/a:1014981715532     Document Type: Article

References (62)

1. Aerts R 1997 Climate, leaf litter chemistry and leaf litter decomposition in terrestrial ecosystems: a triangular relationship. Oikos 79, 439-449.
2. Aerts R and De Caluwe H 1997 Nutritional and plant-mediated controls on leaf litter decomposition of Carex species. Ecology 78, 244-260.
3. Ågren G I and Bosatta E 1996 Quality: a bridge between theory and experiment in soil organic matter studies. Oikos 76, 522-528.
4. Anderson J M 1991 The effects of climate change on decomposition processes in grassland and coniferous forests. Ecol. Appl. 1, 326-347.
5. Berendse F 1994 Litter decomposability - a neglected component of plant fitness. J. Ecol. 82, 187-190.
6. Burrows C J 1990 Processes of vegetation change. Unwin Hyman, London.
7. Cabido M 1985 Las comunidades vegetales de la Pampa de Achala, Sierras de Córdoba, Argentina. Documents Phytosociologiques 9, 431-443.
8. Cabido M, Acosta A and Díaz S 1989 Estudios fitosociológicos en pastizales de las Sierras de Córdoba, Argentina. Las comunidades de la Pampa de San Luis. Phytocoenologia 17, 569-592.
9. Cabido M, Acosta A and Díaz S 1990 The vascular flora and vegetation of granitic outcrops in the upper Córdoba mountains (Argentina). Phytocoenologia 19, 267-281.
10. Cabido M, Manzur A, Carranza M L and González C 1993 La vegetación y el medio físico del Chaco Árido en la Provincia de Córdoba, Argentina Central. Phytocoenologia 24, 423-460.
11. Cadisch G and Giller K E 1997 Driven by Nature: Plant Litter Quality and Decomposition. CAB International-University Press, Cambridge.
12. Capitanelli R G 1979 Bosquejo geomorfologico de la Provincia de Córdoba. Revista del IGM 5, 66-70.
13. Cepeda-Pizarro J G and Whitford W G 1989 Decomposition patterns of surface leaf litter of six species along a Chihuahuan Desert watershed. Am. Midd. Nat. 123, 319-330.
14. Chapin F S III 1980 The mineral nutrition of wild plants. Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 2, 233-260.
15. Chapin F S III, Autumn K and Pugnaire F 1993. Evolution of suites of traits in response to environmental stress. Am. Nat. 142 (Suppl.), 78-92.
16. Chapin F S III, Walker B H, Hobbs R J, Hooper D U, Lawton J H, Sala O E and Tilman D 1997 Biotic control over the functioning of ecosystems. Science 277, 500-504.
17. Choong M F 1996 What makes a leaf tough and how this affects the pattern of Castanopsis fissa leaf consumption by caterpillars. Func. Ecol. 10, 668-674.
18. Choong M F, Lucas P W, Ong J S Y, Pereira B, Tan H T W and Turner I M 1992 Leaf fracture toughness and sclerophylly: their correlations and ecological implications. New Phytol. 121, 597-610.
19. Coley P D 1980 Effects of leaf age and plant life history patterns on herbivory. Nature 283, 545-546.
20. Coley P D, Bryant J P and Chapin F S III 1985 Resource availability and plant antiherbivore defence. Science 230, 895-899.
21. Cornelissen J H C 1996 An experimental comparison of leaf decomposition rates in a wide range of temperate plant species and types. J. Ecol. 84, 573-582.
22. Cornelissen J H C and Thompson K 1997 Functional leaf attributes predict litter decomposition rate in herbaceous plants. New Phytol. 135, 109-114.
23. Cornelissen J H C, Pérez-Harguindeguy N, Díaz S, Grime J P, Marzano B, Cabido M, Vendramini F and Cerabolini B 1999 Leaf structure and defence control litter decomposition rate across species and life forms in regional floras of two continents. New Phytol. 143, 191-200.
24. 2: Effect on litter quality. Plant Soil 163, 121-130.
25. Côuteaux M M, Bottner P and Berg B 1995 Litter decomposition, climate and litter quality. Trends Ecol. Evol. 10, 63-66.
26. Díaz S and Cabido M 1997 Plant functional types and ecosystem function in response to global change: a multiscale approach. J. Veg. Sci. 8, 463-474.
27. Gallardo A and Merino J 1993 Leaf decomposition in two Mediterranean ecosystems of Southwest Spain - influence of substrate quality. Ecology 74, 152-161.
28. Grime J P 1997 Biodiversity and ecosystem function: the debate deepens. Science 277, 1260-1261.
29. Grime J P 1979 Plant Strategies and Vegetation Processes. J Wiley and Sons, Chichester.
30. Grime J P, Cornelissen J H C, Thompson K and Hodgson J G 1996 Evidence of a causal connection between anti-herbivore defence and the decomposition rate of leaves. Oikos 77, 489-494.
31. Heal O W and Ineson P 1984 Carbon and energy flow in terrestrial ecosystems: relevance to microflora. In Current Perspectives in Microbial Ecology. Eds M J Klug and C A Reddy. pp 394-404. Amer. Soc. Microbiol., Washington.
32. Hendry G A F and Grime J P 1993 Methods in comparative plant ecology: a laboratory manual. Chapman and Hall, London.
33. Herms D A and Mattson W J 1992 The dilemma of plants: to grow or defend. Quart. Rev. Biol. 67, 283-335.
34. Hobbie S E 1992 Effects of plant species on nutrient cycling. Trends Ecol. Evol. 7, 336-339.
35. Hobbie S E 1996 Temperature and plant species control over litter decomposition in Alaskan tundra. Ecol. Monogr. 66, 503-522.
36. Hollander M and Wolfe D A 1972 Non-parametric Statistical Methods. John Wiley and Sons, New York.
37. Hooper D U and Vitousek P M 1997 The effects of plant composition and diversity on ecosystem processes. Science 277, 1302-1305.
38. Howard P J A and Howard D M 1974 Microbial decomposition of tree and shrub leaf litter. 1. Weight loss and chemical composition of decomposing litter. Oikos 25, 341-352.
39. Huntley B, Cramer W, Morgan A V, Prentice H C and Allen J R M 1997 Past and Future Rapid Environmental Changes: the Spatial and Evolutionary Responses of Terrestrial Biota. NATO ASI Series 1. Springer, Berlin.
40. Iritani W M and Arnold C Y 1960 Nitrogen release of vegetable crop residues during incubation as related to their chemical composition. Soil Science 89, 74-82.
41. Lavelle P, Blanchart E, Martin A, Martin S, Spain A V, Toutain F, Barois I and Schaefer R 1993 A hierarchical model for decomposition in terrestrial ecosystems: applications to soils of the humid tropics. Biotropica 25, 130-150.
42. McClaugherty C A, Pastor J, Aber J D and Melillo J M 1985 Forest litter decomposition in relation to soil nitrogen dynamics and litter quality. Ecology 66, 266-275.
43. Meentemeyer V 1978 Macroclimate and lignin control over litter decomposition rates. Ecology 59, 465-472.
44. Melillo J M, Aber J D and Muratore J F 1982 Nitrogen and lignin control of hardwood leaf litter decomposition dynamics. Ecology 63, 571-584.
45. Mtambanengwe F and Kirchmann H 1995 Litter from a tropical savanna woodland (MIOMBO): chemical composition and C and N mineralization. Soil Biol. Biochem. 27, 1639-1651.
46. Murphy K L, Klopatek J M and Klopatek C C 1998 The effect of litter quality and climate on decomposition along an elevational gradient. Ecol. Appl. 8, 1061-1071.
47. Nicolai V 1988 Phenolic and mineral content of leaves inflluences decomposition in European forest ecosystems. Oecologia 75, 575-579.
48. Norby R J and Cotrufo M F 1998 A question of litter quality. Nature 396, 17-18.
49. Norusis M J 1992 SPSS for Windows base system user's guide, Release 5.0. SPSS Inc., Chicago.
50. Palm C A and Rowland A P 1997 A minimum dataset for characterization of plant quality for decomposition. In Driven by Nature: Plant Litter Quality and Decomposition. Eds G Cadisch and K E Giller. pp 379-392. CAB International-University Press, Cambridge.
51. Pérez-Harguindeguy N, Díaz S, Cornelissen J H C and Cabido M 1997 Comparación experimental de la tasa de descomposición foliar potential de especies vegetales del centro-oeste de Argentina. Ecología Austral 7, 87-94.
52. Seastedt T R, Crossley D A Jr, Meentemeyer V and Waide J B 1983 A two-year study of leaf litter decomposition as related to microclimatic factors and microarthropods abundance in the southern Appalachians. Holarctic Ecology 6, 11-16.
53. Schaefer D, Steinberger Y and Whitford W G 1985 The failure of nitrogen and lignin decomposition in a North American Desert ecosystem. Oecologia 65, 383-386.
54. Shlelinger W H 1977. Carbon balance in terrestrial detritus. Ann. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 8, 51-81.
55. Swift M J, Heal O W and Anderson J M 1979 Decomposition in Terrestrial Ecosystems. Studies in Ecology 5. Blackwell, Oxford.
56. Taylor B R, Parkinson D, Parsons W J F 1989 Nitrogen and lignin content as predictors of litter decay rates: a microcosm test. Ecology 70, 97-104.
57. Tilman D, Knops J, Wedin J D, Reich P B, Ritchie M and Siemann E 1997 The influence of functional diversity and composition on ecosystem processes. Science 277, 1300-1302.
58. van der Putten W H 1997 Plant-soil feedback as a selective force. Trends Ecol. Evol. 12, 169-170.
59. Vitousek P M, Mooney H A, Lubchenko J and Melillo J M 1997 Human domination of Earth's ecosystem. Science 277, 494-499.
60. Wardle D A, Bonner K I and Nicholson K S 1997 Biodiversity and plant litter: experimental evidence which does not support the view that enhanced species richness improves ecosystem function. Oikos 79, 247-258.
61. Wardle D A, Barker G M, Bonner K I and Nicholson K S 1998 Can comparative approaches based on plant ecophysiological traits predict the nature of biotic interactions and individual plant species effects in ecosystems? J. Ecol. 86, 405-420.
62. Wright W and Illius A W 1995 A comparative study of the fracture properties of five grasses. Func. Ecol. 9, 269-278.