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Plant species- and stage-specific differences in microbial decay of mangrove leaf litter: the older the better?

ABSTRACT: Leaf litter and its breakdown products represent an important input of organic matter and nutrients to mangrove sediments and adjacent coastal ecosystems. It is commonly assumed that old-grown stands with mature trees contribute more to the permanent sediment organic matter pool than younger stands. However, neither are interspecific differences in leaf decay rates taken into account in this assumption nor is our understanding of the underlying mechanisms or drivers of differences in leaf chemistry sufficient. This study examines the influence of different plant species and ontogenetic stage on the microbial decay of mangrove leaf litter. A litterbag experiment was conducted in the Matang Mangrove Forest Reserve, Malaysia, to monitor leaf litter mass loss, and changes in leaf litter chemistry and microbial enzyme activity. Four mangrove species of different morphologies were selected, namely the trees Rhizophora apiculata and Bruguiera parviflora, the fern Acrostichum aureum and the shrub Acanthus ilicifolius. Decay rates of mangrove leaf litter decreased from A. ilicifolius to R. apiculata to B. parviflora to A. aureum. Leaf litter mass, total phenolic content, protein precipitation capacity and phenol oxidase activity were found to decline rapidly during the early stage of decay. Leaf litter from immature plants differed from that of mature plants in total phenolic content, phenolic signature, protein precipitating capacity and protease activity. For R. apiculata, but not of the other species, leaf litter from immature plants decayed faster than the litter of mature plants. The findings of this study advance our understanding of the organic matter dynamics in mangrove stands of different compositions and ages and will, thus, prove useful in mangrove forest management.

SUBMITTER: Pradisty NA

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8052233 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:Biodiversity loss in riparian forests has the potential to alter rates of leaf litter decomposition in stream ecosystems. However, studies have reported the full range of positive, negative and no effects of plant diversity loss on decomposition, and there is currently no explanation for such inconsistent results. Furthermore, it is uncertain whether plant diversity loss affects other ecological processes related to decomposition, such as fine particulate organic matter production or detritivore growth, which precludes a thorough understanding of how detrital stream food webs are impacted by plant diversity loss. We used a microcosm experiment to examine the effects of plant diversity loss on litter decomposition, fine particulate organic matter production, and growth of a dominant leaf-shredding detritivore, using litter mixtures varying in species composition. We hypothesized that plant diversity loss would decrease the rates of all studied processes, but such effects would depend on the leaf traits present in litter mixtures (both their average values and their variability). Our findings partly supported our hypotheses, showing that plant diversity loss had a consistently negative effect on litter decomposition and fine particulate organic matter production (but not on detritivore growth) across litter mixtures, which was mediated by detritivores. Importantly, the magnitude of the diversity effect and the relative importance of different mechanisms underlying this effect (i.e., complementarity vs. selection) varied depending on the species composition of litter mixtures, mainly because of differences in litter nutritional quality and trait variability. Complementarity was prevalent but varied in size, with positive selection effects also occurring in some mixtures. Our results support the notion that loss of riparian plant species is detrimental to key stream ecosystem processes that drive detrital food webs, but that the magnitude of such effects largely depends on the the order of species loss.

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Plant species- and stage-specific differences in microbial decay of mangrove leaf litter: the older the better?

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