Dataset Information

Large herbivores influence plant litter decomposition by altering soil properties and plant quality in a meadow steppe.

ABSTRACT: Large herbivores act as a major driver of plant litter decomposition in grasslands. The modifications of soil biotic and abiotic properties, as well as the changes in quality (C/N ratio) of plant litter, are two key pathways by which large herbivores can affect litter decomposition. Yet we know little about the relative role of these two mechanisms in mediating decomposition. Here, by combining a large-scale and a small-scale field manipulative experiment, we examined how livestock (cattle and sheep) grazing affects standing litter decomposition of a dominant grass, Leymus chinensis in grasslands in northeast China. We found that livestock grazing affected litter decay rate both by its influences on soil property (soil moisture, nutrient content, and microbial communities) and on plant litter quality (C/N ratio). Due to their distinct body size and diet preference, cattle and sheep affected soil property and litter quality, thus litter decay rate, differently by causing varying disturbance regimes and by feeding on different dominant species. Our study provides evidence that herbivore grazing can influence litter decomposition by modifying soil conditions and litter quality independently. Therefore, choosing the proper large herbivore(s) in grazing regimes may be important in maintaining nutrient cycling in grassland ecosystems.

SUBMITTER: Wang Z

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6002471 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Large herbivores influence plant litter decomposition by altering soil properties and plant quality in a meadow steppe.

Wang Zhongnan Z Yuan Xia X Wang Deli D Zhang Yang Y Zhong Zhiwei Z Guo Qinfeng Q Feng Chao C

Scientific reports 20180614 1

Large herbivores act as a major driver of plant litter decomposition in grasslands. The modifications of soil biotic and abiotic properties, as well as the changes in quality (C/N ratio) of plant litter, are two key pathways by which large herbivores can affect litter decomposition. Yet we know little about the relative role of these two mechanisms in mediating decomposition. Here, by combining a large-scale and a small-scale field manipulative experiment, we examined how livestock (cattle and s ...[more]

PMID: 29904052

Similar Datasets

Project description:What is the effect of phyllosphere microorganisms on litter decomposition in the absence of colonization by soil microorganisms? Here, we simulated the litter standing decomposition stage in the field to study the differences in the composition and structure of the phyllosphere microbial community after the mixed decomposition of Populus × canadensis and Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica litter. After 15 months of mixed decomposition, we discovered that litters that were not in contact with soil had an antagonistic effect (the actual decomposition rate was 18.18%, which is lower than the expected decomposition rate) and the difference between the litters themselves resulted in a negative response to litter decomposition. In addition, there was no significant difference in bacterial and fungal community diversity after litter decomposition. The litter bacterial community was negatively responsive to litter properties and positively responsive to the fungal community. Importantly, we found that bacterial communities had a greater impact on litter decomposition than fungi. This study has enriched our understanding of the decomposition of litter itself and provided a theoretical basis for further exploring the "additive and non-additive effects" of litter decomposition and the mechanism of microbial drive.ImportanceThe study of litter decomposition mechanism plays an important role in the material circulation of the global ecosystem. However, previous studies have often looked at contact with soil as the starting point for decomposition. But actually, standing litter is very common in forest ecosystems. Therefore, we used field simulation experiments to simulate the decomposition of litters without contact with soil for 15 months, to explore the combined and non-added benefits of the decomposition of mixed litters, and to study the influence of microbial community composition on the decomposition rate while comparing the differences of microbial communities.

Dataset Information

Large herbivores influence plant litter decomposition by altering soil properties and plant quality in a meadow steppe.

Publications

Large herbivores influence plant litter decomposition by altering soil properties and plant quality in a meadow steppe.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets