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Dr. Wen Zhou

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CAS Key Laboratory of Aquatic Botany and Watershed Ecology, Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430074, China

Prof. Dr. Guihua Liu

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CAS Key Laboratory of Aquatic Botany and Watershed Ecology, Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430074, China

Litter Decompositions: From Individuals to Ecosystems

Abstract submission deadline

28 February 2025

Manuscript submission deadline

30 May 2025

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Topic Information

Dear Colleagues,

Litter decomposition is a fundamental process influencing not only energy resources and nutrient cycling in ecosystems but also the extraordinarily diverse communities connected by highly complex interactions. Plant litter decomposition has major control over nutrient availability, element cycling, and, consequently, plant growth and community structure. The litter compositions and traits, in turn, significantly affect ecological functions through food webs, interactions, and micro-environmental changes. Despite the overwhelming importance of litter decompositions for plants, soil fauna, microorganism communities, biogeochemical cycles, and ecosystem functions, information about their ecology is lacking.

For this topic, we welcome manuscripts that provide novel insights on a broad range of topics in the scope of litter decompositions, including:

Ecological stoichiometry and nutrient cycling in the process of litter decompositions, with a particular focus on elements dynamics and seasonal patterns;
The abiotic and biotic factors affecting litter decomposition, as well as the ecological interaction and the co-evolution between plant litters and their interaction partners;
How diversity in litter mixtures can alter community structures and ecological functions in variable ecosystems, especially under the stress of climate change and human activities.

Original works, reviews, and short communications are all very welcome.

Dr. Wen Zhou
Prof. Dr. Guihua Liu
Topic Editors

Keywords

decomposition
fine roots
leaf litters
element cycling
ecological interaction
co-evolution
community structure
ecosystem function

Participating Journals

Journal Name	Impact Factor	CiteScore	Launched Year	First Decision (median)	APC
Biology biology	3.6	5.7	2012	16.4 Days	CHF 2700	Submit
Ecologies ecologies	1.7	1.8	2020	25.1 Days	CHF 1000	Submit
Forests forests	2.4	4.4	2010	16.2 Days	CHF 2600	Submit
Microorganisms microorganisms	4.1	7.4	2013	11.7 Days	CHF 2700	Submit
Plants plants	4.0	6.5	2012	18.9 Days	CHF 2700	Submit

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Published Papers (6 papers)

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14 pages, 3579 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Unraveling the Role of Bacteria in Nitrogen Cycling: Insights from Leaf Litter Decomposition in the Knyszyn Forest

by Nataliia Khomutovska, Iwona Jasser and Valery A. Isidorov

Forests 2024, 15(6), 1065; https://doi.org/10.3390/f15061065 - 20 Jun 2024

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1110

Abstract

Microorganisms are vital in leaf litter decomposition and contribute significantly to global nutrient cycling. However, there is a need for improved understanding of the taxonomic and functional diversity of litter-associated bacteria. The Knyszyn Forest comprises a unique ecosystem providing diverse microhabitats for microorganisms in central Europe, similar to the southwestern taiga in many respects. This study presents the results of high-throughput sequencing performed for Betula pendula, B. pubescens, and Carpinus betulus litter-associated microbial communities from northern Poland. Microbial assemblage composition and structure at different stages of litter decomposition revealed the domination of phyllosphere-associated taxa of Sphingomonas and Pseudomonas in bacterial communities in the early stages. Meanwhile, at the later stages of decomposition, the representation of soil-associated bacterial communities, such as Pedobacter, was higher. This study identifies key bacteria (Pedobacter, Mucilaginibacter, and Luteibacter) as pivotal in nutrient cycling through cellulose and hemicellulose decomposition, dominating later decomposition phases. Taxonomic analysis based on functional markers associated with nitrogen metabolism highlights the pivotal role of specific Pseudomonadota (Proteobacteria) taxa in driving nitrogen cycling dynamics during litter decomposition. Most of these taxa were unclassified at the genus level, particularly in the later stages of litter decomposition, and are crucial in mediating nitrogen transformation processes, underscoring their significance in ecosystem nutrient cycling. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic Litter Decompositions: From Individuals to Ecosystems)

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Figure 1

Figure 1
Taxonomic classification of bacterial reads at class level. Names of samples correspond to the species providing leaf litter (BP, Betula pendula; BS, Betula pubescens; CB, Carpinus betulus) and phase of decomposition (0 m, 6 m, 15 m, and 18 m are 0, 6, 15, and 18 months of decomposition, respectively). Full article ">Figure 2
Taxonomic classification of bacterial reads at species level. Names of samples correspond to the species providing leaf litter (BP, Betula pendula; BS, Betula pubescens; CB, Carpinus betulus) and phase of decomposition (0 m, 6 m, 15 m, and 18 m are 0, 6, 15, and 18 months of decomposition, respectively). Full article ">Figure 3
Heatmap of the functional profile of microbial communities. Names of samples correspond to the species providing leaf litter (BP, Betula pendula; BS, Betula pubescens; CB, Carpinus betulus) and phase of decomposition (0 m, 6 m, 15 m, and 18 m are 0, 6, 15, and 18 months of decomposition, respectively). Full article ">Figure 4
Heatmap of the co-occurrence of functional groups and bacterial taxa. Full article ">Figure 5
NMDS of the functional gene annotation of microbial communities (birch_s, Betula pendula; birch_d, Betula pubescens; hornbeam, Carpinus betulus). A stress value of 0.05 indicates an excellent fit for the NMDS ordination. The result of ANOSIM (Analysis of Similarities), the R statistic of 0.04, suggests that there is a moderate separation between the groups in your dissimilarity matrix. Full article ">Figure 6
Functional annotation of selected MAGs. Full article ">

11 pages, 2097 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Fast Bacterial Succession Associated with the Decomposition of Larix gmelinii Litter in Wudalianchi Volcano

by Lihong Xie, Jiahui Cheng, Hongjie Cao, Fan Yang, Mingyue Jiang, Maihe Li and Qingyang Huang

Microorganisms 2024, 12(5), 948; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms12050948 - 7 May 2024

Viewed by 1024

Abstract

In order to understand the role of microorganisms in litter decomposition and the nutrient cycle in volcanic forest ecosystems, the dominant forest species Larix gmelinii in the volcanic lava plateau of the Wudalianchi volcano was considered as the research object. We analyzed the response of bacterial community structure and diversity to litter decomposition for 1 year, with an in situ decomposition experimental design using litter bags and Illumina MiSeq high-throughput sequencing. The results showed that after 365 days, the litter quality residual rate of Larix gmelinii was 77.57%, and the litter N, P, C:N, C:P, and N:P showed significant differences during the decomposition period (p < 0.05). The phyla Cyanobacteria and the genus unclassified_o_Chloroplast were the most dominant groups in early decomposition (January and April). The phyla Proteobacteria, Actinobacteriota, and Acidobacteriota and the genera Massilia, Pseudomonas, and Sphingomona were higher in July and October. The microbial communities showed extremely significant differences during the decomposition period (p < 0.05), with PCoa, RDA, and litter QRR, C:P, and N as the main factors driving litter bacteria succession. Microbial functional prediction analysis showed that Chloroplasts were the major functional group in January and April. Achemoheterotrophy and aerobic chemoheterotrophy showed a significant decrease as litter decomposition progressed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic Litter Decompositions: From Individuals to Ecosystems)

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Figure 1

Figure 1
Overview of the WDLC study area. The asterisk indicates the study site in the WDLC National Park, Heilongjiang Province, China. Full article ">Figure 2
The setup of the litter decomposition experiment. Full article ">Figure 3
Relative abundance at the phylum level during the decomposition process. If the letter is the same, the divergence is not significant; on the contrary, divergence is significant at the 0.05 level. Full article ">Figure 4
Relative abundance at the genus level during the decomposition process. If the letter is the same, the divergence is not significant; on the contrary, divergence is significant at the 0.05 level. Full article ">Figure 5
Analysis of PCoA based on the OTU data between different sampling dates. Full article ">Figure 6
Redundancy analysis (RDA) of the variation in litter bacterial community structure as explained by litter properties. Full article ">Figure 7
Spearman’s rank correlation coefficients describing the relationships between litter nutrients and microbial community compositions at the phylum level (a) and the genus levels (b). (*** p < 0.001), (** p < 0.01), and (* p < 0.05). Full article ">

15 pages, 5658 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of Leaf Size and Defensive Traits on the Contribution of Soil Fauna to Litter Decomposition

by Dangjun Wang, Fang Yuan, Wuyang Xie, Juan Zuo and Huakun Zhou

Forests 2024, 15(3), 481; https://doi.org/10.3390/f15030481 - 5 Mar 2024

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2197

Abstract

Leaf litter quality has been acknowledged as a crucial determinant affecting litter decomposition on broad spatial scales. However, the extent of the contribution of soil fauna to litter decomposability remains largely uncertain. Nor are the effects of leaf size and defensive traits on soil fauna regulating litter decomposability clear when compared to economics traits. Here, we performed a meta-analysis of 81 published articles on litterbag experiments to quantitatively evaluate the response ratio of soil fauna to litter decomposition at the global level. Our results revealed that soil fauna significantly affected litter mass loss across diverse climates, ecosystems, soil types, litter species, and decomposition stages. We observed significantly positive correlations between the response ratio of soil fauna and leaf length, width, and area, whereas the concentrations of cellulose, hemicellulose, total phenols, and condensed tannins were negatively correlated. Regarding economic traits, the response ratio of soil fauna showed no relationship with carbon and nitrogen concentrations but exhibited positive associations with phosphorus concentration and specific leaf area. The mean annual temperature and precipitation, and their interactions were identified as significant moderators of the effects of soil fauna on litter decomposition. We evidenced that the contribution of soil fauna to litter decomposability is expected to be crucial under climate change, and that trait trade-off strategies should be considered in modulating litter decomposition by soil fauna. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic Litter Decompositions: From Individuals to Ecosystems)

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Figure 1

Figure 1
Geographical distribution of the experimental sites used in this study. Red dots represent sampling spots. Full article ">Figure 2
Mean effect size of soil fauna presence on litter mass loss at global scale. (a–f) represent the climate, ecosystem, soil, litter type, decomposition duration, and faunal community, respectively. The numbers adjacent to each circle represent the sample sizes. For sample sizes below 20, confidence intervals were calculated using bootstrapping. Error bars represent 95% confidence intervals. The significance of the faunal effect was determined by the absence of overlap between the 95% confidence intervals and zero. Full article ">Figure 3
Effects of initial economics traits on soil fauna regulation of litter decomposition. (a, b, c, d) represent carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus concentration, and specific leaf area, respectively. Blue circles and dashed lines present that there is no statistically significant correlation between the economics traits and response ratio of soil fauna to mass loss, while red circles and solid lines indicate a significant correlation between the economics traits and the response ratio of soil fauna to mass loss. Full article ">Figure 4
Effects of initial size and shape traits on soil fauna regulation of litter decomposition. (a, b, c, d) represent leaf length, width, area, and shape, respectively. Blue circles and dashed lines indicate that there is no significant correlation between size–shape traits and the response ratio of soil fauna to mass loss, while red circles and solid lines indicate a significant correlation between size and shape traits and the response ratio of soil fauna to mass loss. Full article ">Figure 5
Effects of initial defense traits on soil fauna regulation of litter decomposition. (a, b, c, d) represent cellulose, hemicellulose, total phenols, and condensed tannins concentrations, respectively. Solid lines indicate a significant correlation between the defensive trait response ratio of soil fauna to mass loss. Full article ">Figure 6
Effects of initial metal elements on soil fauna regulation of litter decomposition. (a, b, c) represent sodium, calcium, and magnesium concentrations, respectively. Solid lines indicate a significant correlation between metal elements and the response ratio of soil fauna to mass loss. Full article ">Figure 7
Effects of mean annual temperature (a) and precipitation (b) on soil fauna regulation of litter decomposition. Solid lines indicate that there is a significant correlation between the mean annual temperature or precipitation and the response ratio of soil fauna to mass loss. Full article ">

15 pages, 2497 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Long-Term Nitrogen Addition Accelerates Litter Decomposition in a Larix gmelinii Forest

by Miao Wang, Guancheng Liu, Yajuan Xing, Guoyong Yan and Qinggui Wang

Forests 2024, 15(2), 372; https://doi.org/10.3390/f15020372 - 16 Feb 2024

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1288

Abstract

Elevated atmospheric N deposition has the potential to alter litter decomposition patterns, influencing nutrient cycling and soil fertility in boreal forest ecosystems. In order to study the response mechanism of litter decomposition in Larix gmelinii forest to N deposition, we established four N addition treatments (0, 25, 50, 75 kg N ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹) in the Greater Khingan Mountains region. The results showed that (1) both needle and mixed leaf litter (Betula platyphylla and Larix gmelinii) exhibited distinct decomposition stages, with N addition accelerating decomposition for both litter types. The decomposition of high-quality (low C/N ratio) mixed leaf litter was faster than that of low-quality needle litter. (2) Mixed leaf litter increased the decomposition coefficients of litter with lower nutrients. (3) All N addition treatments promoted the decomposition of needle litter, while the decomposition rate of mixed leaf litter decreased under high-N treatment. (4) N addition inhibited the release of N and P in needle litter and promoted the release of N in mixed leaf litter, while high-N treatment had no positive effect on the release of C and P in mixed leaf litter. Our research findings suggest that limited nutrients in litter may be a key driving factor in regulating litter decomposition and emphasize the promoting effect of litter mixing and nitrogen addition on litter decomposition. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic Litter Decompositions: From Individuals to Ecosystems)

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Figure 1

Figure 1
Nitrogen sampling plot and experimental design diagram within the forest ecosystem of the Greater Khingan Mountains in China. CK, LN, MN, and HN represent control and low-nitrogen treatment, medium-nitrogen treatment, and high-nitrogen treatment, respectively. Full article ">Figure 2
Mass and nutrient remains of needle and mixed leaf litter under different nitrogen treatments. CK, LN, MN, and HN represent the control and low-nitrogen, medium-nitrogen, and high-nitrogen addition treatments, respectively. (A) The needle litter mass remaining; (B) the needle litter C content (%); (C) the needle litter N content (%); (D) the needle litter P content (%); (E) the mixed leaf litter mass remaining; (F) the mixed leaf litter C content (%); (G) the mixed leaf litter N content (%); (H) the mixed leaf litter P content (%). Full article ">Figure 3
The relationship between the litter ratio of C:N and mass remaining under different nitrogen treatments. CK, LN, MN, and HN represent the control and low−nitrogen, medium−nitrogen, and high−nitrogen addition treatments, respectively. (A) The relationship between the needle litter ratio of C:N and needle litter mass remaining; (B) the relationship between the mixed leaf litter ratio of C:N and mixed leaf litter mass remaining; (C) the needle litter ratio of C:N; (D) the mixed leaf litter ratio of C:N. Different superscript letters within each column represent significant differences between treatments (p < 0.05). Full article ">Figure 4
Random forest variable importance plot. The variables are ranked in order of relevance for predicting the decomposition of litter quality ((A) needle litter, (B) mixed leaf litter). The importance measure considered for the analysis is the mean decrease in accuracy computed via a random forest classification algorithm. MSE represents the mean square error, * represents p < 0.05, and ** represents p < 0.01. Full article ">Figure 5
Perform redundancy analysis (RDA) evaluate the relationship between litter decomposition, soil fauna, and soil properties. NLMR, needle litter mass remaining; MLLMR, mixed leaf litter mass remaining; ISO, ONY, ENT, HYP, ORI, and MES represent Isotomidae, Onychiuridae, Entomobryidae, hypogastruridae, Oribatida, and Mesostigmata, respectively. Full article ">

16 pages, 8577 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Functional Diversity Accelerates the Decomposition of Litter Recalcitrant Carbon but Reduces the Decomposition of Labile Carbon in Subtropical Forests

by Guang Zhou, Jing Wan, Zhenjun Gu, Wei Ding, Shan Hu, Qiang Du, Shengwang Meng and Chunxia Yang

Forests 2023, 14(11), 2258; https://doi.org/10.3390/f14112258 - 16 Nov 2023

Viewed by 1528

Abstract

The biodiversity of litter can regulate carbon and nutrient cycling during mixed decomposition. It is common knowledge that the decomposition rates of mixed litters frequently deviate from those predicted for these component litter species. However, the direction and magnitude of the nonadditive effects on the degradation of mixed litters remain difficult to predict. Previous studies have reported that the different carbon fractions of leaf litters responded to litter mixture differently, which may help to explain the ambiguous nonadditive effect of diversity on bulk litter decomposition. Therefore, we conducted decomposition experiments on 32 litter mixtures from seven common tree species to test the responses of different carbon fractions to litter diversity in subtropical forests. We found that the overall mass loss of the mixed litter was faster than that estimated from single species. The relative mixing effects (RMEs) of different carbon fractions exhibited different patterns to litter diversity and were driven by different aspects of litter functional dissimilarity. Soluble carbon fractions decomposed more slowly than expected from single species, while lignin fractions decayed more quickly. Moreover, we found that the RMEs of bulk litter decomposition may be determined by the lignin fraction decomposition. Our findings further support that distinguishing the response of different carbon fractions to litter diversity is important for elucidating the nonadditive effects of total litter decomposition. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic Litter Decompositions: From Individuals to Ecosystems)

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Figure 1

Figure 1
Species-level decomposition rates (k; yr−1) for litter mass and different carbon fractions. Different lowercase letters indicate significant differences in decomposition rate between different species based on Tukey’s multiple comparisons (p < 0.05). Error bars indicate standard error. Full article ">Figure 2
Partial least squares regression model was used to explore the effects of initial litter physical and chemical traits on decomposition rate (k) of (a) litter total mass loss, (b) soluble fraction loss, (c) cellulose fraction loss, and (d) lignin fraction loss. The relative influence of a single trait variable on the decomposition rate was represented by the variable importance of projection (VIP). Full article ">Figure 3
The dynamics of relative mixing effects (RMEs) on (a) litter total mass loss, (b) soluble fraction loss, (c) cellulose fraction loss, and (d) lignin fraction loss in the litter decomposition process. Black lines represent the regression lines between RMEs and litter total mass/carbon fraction losses, with grey areas representing the 95% confidence intervals of regression lines. Full article ">Figure 4
Principal component analysis (PCA) of litter functional diversity. Black lines depict the variable loadings, and the yellow lines depict the correlation between the PCA axes and the RMEs on decomposition rates (k) of litter total mass and different carbon fractions. Full article ">Figure 5
The relationships between relative mixing effects (RMEs) on decomposition rates (k) of (a) litter total mass, (b) soluble carbon fraction, (c) cellulose carbon fraction, and (d) lignin carbon fraction and the PC3, PC2, PC5, and PC3 scores of litter functional dissimilarity, with grey areas representing the 95% confidence intervals of regression lines. Full article ">

18 pages, 10432 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Long Term Seasonal Variability on Litterfall in Tropical Dry Forests, Western Thailand

by Dokrak Marod, Tohru Nakashizuka, Tomoyuki Saitoh, Keizo Hirai, Sathid Thinkampheang, Lamthai Asanok, Wongsatorn Phumphuang, Noppakun Danrad and Sura Pattanakiat

Forests 2023, 14(10), 2107; https://doi.org/10.3390/f14102107 - 20 Oct 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2377

Abstract

Nutrient recycling is one of the most important services that supports other processes in ecosystems. Changing litterfall patterns induced by climate change can cause imbalances in nutrient availability. In this study, we reported the long-term (28-year) interplay between environmental factors and variability among litterfall fractions (leaves, flowers, and fruit) in a tropical dry forest located in Kanchanaburi, Thailand. A long-term litter trap dataset was collected and analyzed by lagged generalized additive models. Strong seasonality was observed among the litter fractions. The greatest leaf and flower litterfall accumulated mostly during the cool, dry season, while fruit litterfall occurred mostly during the rainy season. For leaf litter, significant deviations in maximum temperature (Tmax), volumetric soil moisture content (SM), and evapotranspiration (ET) during the months prior to the current litterfall month were the most plausible factors affecting leaf litter production. Vapor pressure deficit (VPD) and ET were isolated as the most significant factors affecting flower litterfall. Interestingly, light, mean temperature (Tmean), and the southern oscillation index (SOI) were the most significant factors affecting fruit litterfall, and wetter years proved to be highly correlated with elevated fruit litterfall. Such environmental variability affects both the triggering of litterfall and its quantity. Shifting environmental conditions can therefore alter nutrient recycling rates through the changing characteristics and quantity of litter. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic Litter Decompositions: From Individuals to Ecosystems)

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Journal Name	Impact Factor	CiteScore	Launched Year	First Decision (median)	APC
Biology biology	3.6	5.7	2012	16.4 Days	CHF 2700	Submit
Ecologies ecologies	1.7	1.8	2020	25.1 Days	CHF 1000	Submit
Forests forests	2.4	4.4	2010	16.2 Days	CHF 2600	Submit
Microorganisms microorganisms	4.1	7.4	2013	11.7 Days	CHF 2700	Submit
Plants plants	4.0	6.5	2012	18.9 Days	CHF 2700	Submit

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