Speaker
Description
Litter decomposition is a key process in terrestrial ecosystems, representing the primary mechanism of carbon turnover and driving the cycling of nutrients such as nitrogen and sulfur. In addition to nutrient release, decomposition influences soil structure by affecting porosity, aeration, and the distribution of organic matter within the soil environment. This process involves an interconnected system comprising litter transformation by soil fauna, enzymatic activity of the microbiome, and the leaching of water-soluble compounds, all of which strongly depend on abiotic conditions and litter quality. Consequently, mixed litter may alter microbial communities and litter-dwelling fauna. However, despite increasing interest in biodiversity-ecosystem functioning relationships, most studies have focused on microbial communities, while the effects of plant diversity on litter-associated fauna remain comparatively understudied. We hypothesized that tree species richness, together with decomposition stage, would influence the species composition and richness of Quercus petraea leaf litter-associated soil fauna. To test these hypotheses, we investigated soil fauna within the MyDiv biodiversity-ecosystem functioning experiment, sampling seven plots representing three diversity levels (oak-only, oak +1 species, and oak +3 species). In each plot, soil fauna was collected from five sampling spots over three consecutive two-day sampling blocks. Soil fauna samples were characterized using COI-based DNA metabarcoding and sequenced using Illumina technology. Our findings suggest that tree diversity influences the composition (presence/absence of taxa) rather than the overall richness of litter dwellers during early decomposition stages. Community composition differed significantly across diversity levels and sampling time, with pairwise comparisons revealing significant differences between the first and third sampling periods. In contrast, alpha diversity was not significantly affected by diversity treatments. These findings highlight the importance of plant diversity in shaping belowground trophic interactions during early decomposition and suggest that increased diversity of plant-derived organic matter can modify litter-dweller community assembly, potentially influencing decomposition dynamics and ecosystem functioning.
| Status Group | Doctoral Researcher |
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