11凋落物混合改变微生物演替并增加其降解速率.pdfVIP

Leaf Litter Mixtures Alter Microbial Community Development: Mechanisms for Non-Additive Effects in Litter Decomposition 1 2 3 2 Samantha K. Chapman *, Gregory S. Newman , Stephen C. Hart , Jennifer A. Schweitzer , George W. Koch4 1 Department of Biology, Villanova University, Villanova, Pennsylvania, United States of America, 2 Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, United States of America, 3 School of Natural Sciences, University of California Merced, Merced, California, United States of America, 4 Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, United States of America Abstract To what extent microbial community composition can explain variability in ecosystem processes remains an open question in ecology. Microbial decomposer communities can change during litter decomposition due to biotic interactions and shifting substrate availability. Though relative abundance of decomposers may change due to mixing leaf litter, linking these shifts to the non-additive patterns often recorded in mixed species litter decomposition rates has been elusive, and links community composition to ecosystem function. We extracted phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs) from single species and mixed species leaf litterbags after 10 and 27 months of decomposition in a mixed conifer forest. Total PLFA concentrations were 70% higher on litter mixtures than single litter types after 10 months, but were only 20% higher after 27 months. Similarly, fungal-to-bacterial ratios differed between mixed and single litter types after 10 months of decomposition, but equalized over time. Microbial community composition, as indicated by principal components ana