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Dryad

Condo or cuisine? The function of fine woody debris in driving decomposition, detritivores, and their predators

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Sep 17, 2024 version files 374.21 KB

Abstract

Community structure and ecosystem function may be driven by the size or the energy within a given habitat, but these metrics (space and energy) are difficult to separate, especially in systems where the habitat itself is also food such as detritus. Only a handful of studies have attempted isolate potential mechanisms experimentally, which has left a notable knowledge gap in understanding the drivers of community structure and function. Here we tested whether fine woody debris (FWD) affects leaf litter communities primarily as a source of space or energy. We used a crossed factor design to isolate the effects of fine woody debris as space and energy, with four treatments: (1) no fine woody debris, (2) only energy-providing fine woody debris (sawdust), (3) only space-providing synthetic wood debris, and (4) a combination of both space and energy. We hypothesized that the highest levels of diversity, carnivore-to-detritivore ratio, and decomposition rate would occur on plots supplied with sawdust (representing energy), synthetic woody debris (representing space), or a combination of both, depending on the relative significance of fine woody debris as a source of either energy and space. After 7 months, FWD as a source of energy but not space led to decreased decomposer abundance and richness. Conversely, increased proportion of carnivores and labile substrate decomposition was primarily driven by FWD as a source of space. However, the fastest decomposition of more recalcitrant substrates required both space and energy (additive), and the synergy of space and energy supported the greatest proportion of carnivores. These results suggest that the presence of FWD in forest ecosystems supports increased diversity and decomposition through a synergistic interaction of space and energy and the maintenance of deadwood like FWD in forest ecosystems can thus significantly contribute to forest ecosystem function.