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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
environmental science
Global decomposition experiment shows soil animal impacts on decomposition are climate-dependent
Global Change Biology, Volume 14, No. 11, Year 2008
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Description
Climate and litter quality are primary drivers of terrestrial decomposition and, based on evidence from multisite experiments at regional and global scales, are universally factored into global decomposition models. In contrast, soil animals are considered key regulators of decomposition at local scales but their role at larger scales is unresolved. Soil animals are consequently excluded from global models of organic mineralization processes. Incomplete assessment of the roles of soil animals stems from the difficulties of manipulating invertebrate animals experimentally across large geographic gradients. This is compounded by deficient or inconsistent taxonomy. We report a global decomposition experiment to assess the importance of soil animals in C mineralization, in which a common grass litter substrate was exposed to natural decomposition in either control or reduced animal treatments across 30 sites distributed from 43°S to 68°N on six continents. Animals in the mesofaunal size range were recovered from the litter by Tullgren extraction and identified to common specifications, mostly at the ordinal level. The design of the trials enabled faunal contribution to be evaluated against abiotic parameters between sites. Soil animals increase decomposition rates in temperate and wet tropical climates, but have neutral effects where temperature or moisture constrain biological activity. Our findings highlight that faunal influences on decomposition are dependent on prevailing climatic conditions. We conclude that (1) inclusion of soil animals will improve the predictive capabilities of region- or biome-scale decomposition models, (2) soil animal influences on decomposition are important at the regional scale when attempting to predict global change scenarios, and (3) the statistical relationship between decomposition rates and climate, at the global scale, is robust against changes in soil faunal abundance and diversity. © 2008 The Authors Journal compilation © 2008 Blackwell Publishing.
Authors & Co-Authors
Wall, Diana H.
United States, Fort Collins
Colorado State University
Bradford, Mark A.
United States, Athens
University of Georgia
St. John, Mark G.
New Zealand, Lincoln
Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research
Trofymow, John A.
Canada, Ottawa
Canadian Forest Service
Behan-Pelletier, Valerie M.
Canada, Ottawa
Agriculture and Agri-food Canada
Bignell, David E.
United Kingdom, London
Queen Mary University of London
Dangerfield, J. Mark
Australia, Sydney
Macquarie University
Parton, William J.
United States, Fort Collins
Colorado State University
Rusek, Josef
Czech Republic, Ceske Budejovice
Institute of Soil Biology Ceske Budejovice
Voigt, Winfried
Germany, Jena
Friedrich-schiller-universität Jena
Wolters, Volkmar
Germany, Giessen
Justus-liebig-universität Gießen
Gardel, Holley Zadeh
United States, Fort Collins
Colorado State University
Ayuke, Fredo O.
Kenya, Meru
Kenya Methodist University
Bashford, Richard
Unknown Affiliation
Beljakova, Olga I.
Unknown Affiliation
Bohlen, Patrick J.
United States, Lake Placid
Macarthur Agro-ecology Research Center
Brauman, Alain
France, Montpellier
Ird Centre de Montpellier
Flemming, Stephen
Unknown Affiliation
Henschel, Joh R.
Namibia, Walvis Bay
Gobabeb Namib Research Institute
Johnson, Dan L.
Canada, Lethbridge
University of Lethbridge
Jones, T. Helfin
United Kingdom, Cardiff
College of Biomedical and Life Sciences
Kovarova, Marcela
Czech Republic, Pruhonice
Institute of Botany of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic
Kranabetter, John Marty
Canada, Victoria
Ministry of Forests and Range
Kutny, Les
Canada
Inuvik Medical Clinic
Lin, Kuo Chuan
Taiwan, Taipei
Taiwan Forestry Research Institute
Mohamed, Maryati
Malaysia, Kota Kinabalu
Universiti Malaysia Sabah
Masse, Dominique
France, Marseille
Ird Institut de Recherche Pour le Developpement
Pokarzhevskii, Andrei
Russian Federation, Moscow
A.n. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution Russian Academy of Sciences
Rahman, Homathevi
Malaysia, Kota Kinabalu
Universiti Malaysia Sabah
Sabará, Millor G.
Brazil, Ipatinga
Centro Universitário do Leste de Minas Gerais
Salamon, Joerg Alfred
Germany, Giessen
Justus-liebig-universität Gießen
Swift, M. J.
Kenya, Nairobi
World Agroforestry Centre
Varela, Amanda
Colombia, Bogota
Pontificia Universidad Javeriana
Vasconcelos, Heraldo L.
Brazil, Uberlandia
Universidade Federal de Uberlândia
White, Don
Unknown Affiliation
Zou, Xiao Ming
China, Kunming
Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden Chinese Academy of Sciences Kunming
Puerto Rico, San Juan
Universidad de Puerto Rico
Statistics
Citations: 433
Authors: 36
Affiliations: 29
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1111/j.1365-2486.2008.01672.x
ISSN:
13541013
e-ISSN:
13652486
Research Areas
Environmental
Study Approach
Quantitative