What makes decomposition faster under conspecific trees? The factors controlling the magnitude of home-field advantage
Data files
Jun 14, 2024 version files 8.74 GB
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part_01.zip
22.07 KB
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part_02.zip
1.11 GB
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part_03.zip
1.11 GB
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part_04.zip
1.81 GB
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part_05.zip
1.03 GB
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part_06.zip
1.84 GB
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part_07.zip
1.84 GB
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README.md
3.56 KB
Abstract
The “home-field advantage (HFA)” for decomposition means that leaf litter decomposes faster on soils under the conspecific species (i.e., the home field) than on soils under different species (i.e., “away”). Many previous studies have demonstrated the HFA, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. We conducted a reciprocal litter-decomposition experiment using two species with different leaf traits: Abies mariesii, an evergreen conifer, and Fagus crenata, a deciduous broad-leaved tree. The dominance of these species shifts along an elevation gradient with a transition zone where both species coexist. In mixed forests of the transition zone along the elevation gradient, we explored how the magnitude of HFA between these two species was influenced by temperature, soil properties, or leaf litter traits which could directly affect the decomposition rate. The magnitude of HFA observed between the two species varied widely from -3.89% to 28.3%. Our modeling showed that the magnitude of HFA increased with decreasing soil pH and leaf litter N, i.e., in more acidic soil and for less decomposable litter. Soil pH affected leaf litter decomposition in the home plots of each species, whereas leaf litter N did not. The magnitude of the HFA increased as the difference in soil pH between the F. crenata and A. mariesii plots at the same elevation became greater, but decreased as the difference in soil C became greater. Thus, the response of leaf litter decomposition to environmental changes might vary not only through direct effects of vegetation traits but also through indirect effects of the HFA. This highlights the importance of considering HFA for accurately predicting the response of local carbon and nutrient cycles to climate change, particularly in communities where a replacement of dominant species by others is expected due to climate change.
Files
The files were split into 7 zip files. To reproduce the analyses, please extract all files and make the directory structure shown below. When reproducing the analyses, delete rds files in the results directory otherwise the scripts skip the analyses and use the previous calculation.
- 01_k_calculation.r: calculation of k.
- 02_fig_2_3.r: analyses for the Fig. 2 and 3.
- 03_fig_4.r: analyses for the Fig. 4.
- 04_fig_5.r: analyses for the Fig. 5.
- 05_fig_6.r: analyses for the Fig. 6.
- Data: contains original data.
- litter_bag.csv: remaining mass in each litter bag.
- litter_traits.csv: litter traits.
- plot_properties.csv: plot properties.
- subplot_properties.csv: subplot properties.
- figs: directory where figure files will be exported by the scripts.
- results: contains cached results of the analyses.
- fig5_averaged_d10_glm_aicc.rds: part of models used for model averaging.
- fig5_dredge_glm_aicc__litter_ct.rds: part of models used for model averaging.
- fig5_dredge_glm_aicc__litter_lignin.rds: part of models used for model averaging.
- fig5_dredge_glm_aicc__litter_n.rds: part of models used for model averaging.
- fig5_dredge_glm_aicc__mat.rds: part of models used for model averaging.
- fig5_dredge_glm_aicc__soil_c.rds: part of models used for model averaging.
- fig5_dredge_glm_aicc__soil_moisture.rds: part of models used for model averaging.
- fig5_dredge_glm_aicc__soil_nh4.rds: part of models used for model averaging.
- fig5_dredge_glm_aicc__soil_ph.rds: part of models used for model averaging.
- fig5_unique_models_glm_aicc.rds: all models used for the model averaging.
- fig5_pp_info_d10.rds: the intermediate result of Fig. 5.
- fig6_pp_info_d10.rds: the intermediate result of Fig. 6.
Fields
litter_bag.csv
- sample_time: sampling time after placement of the litter bags (year).
- plot_id: plot ID.
- subplot_id: subplot ID.
- dominant_species: dominant species of the plots.
- litter_species: species in the litter bag.
- remaining_mass: remaining mass in the litter bag (g).
litter_traits.csv
- plot_id: plot ID.
- subplot_id: subplot ID.
- litter_species: species in the litter bag.
- litter_ct: condensed tannins content of fresh litter (% dry weight).
- litter_tp: total phenolics content of fresh litter (% dry weight).
- litter_n: nitrogen content of fresh litter (% dry weight).
- litter_c: carbon content of fresh litter (% dry weight).
- litter_cn: C/N ratio of fresh litter.
- litter_lignin: lignin content of fresh litter (% dry weight).
plot_properties.csv
- plot_id: plot ID.
- dominant_species: dominant species of the plots.
- elevation: elevation (m).
- mat: mean annual temperature (°C)
- total_ba: total basal area (m^2/ha)
- fba_tba: Fagus basal area to total basal area ratio.
subplot_properties.csv
- plot_id: plot ID.
- subplot_id: subplot ID.
- dominant_species: dominant species of the plots.
- total_fresh_litter: total fresh litter (g/m^2).
- fagus_litter_ratio: Fagus litter to total fresh litter ratio.
- soil_ph: soil pH.
- soil_nh4: soil NH4 (mg N/kg).
- soil_moisture”: soil moisture (%).
- soil_n: soil nitrogen (%).
- soil_c: soil carbon (%).
- soil_cn: C/N ratio.