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Relationships between decomposition rate of leaf litter and initial quality across the alpine timberline ecotone in Western Sichuan, China.

YANG Lin, DENG Chang-chun, CHEN Ya-mei, HE Run-lian, ZHANG Jian, LIU Yang   

  1. (Institute of Ecology & Forestry, Sichuan Agricultural University/Sichuan Province Key Laboratory of Ecological Forestry Engineering/Longterm Research Station of Alpine Forest Ecosystems/Collaborative Innovation Center of Ecological Security in the Upper Reaches of Yangtze River, Chengdu 611130, China)
  • Online:2015-12-18 Published:2015-12-18

Abstract: The relationships between litter decomposition rate and their initial quality of 14 representative plants in the alpine forest ecotone of western Sichuan were investigated in this paper. The decomposition rate k of the  litter ranged from 0.16 to 1.70. Woody leaf litter and moss litter decomposed much slower, and shrubby litter decomposed a little faster. Then, herbaceous litters decomposed fastest among all plant forms. There were significant linear regression relationships between the litter decomposition rate and the N content, lignin content, phenolics content, C/N, C/P and lignin/N. Lignin/N and hemicellulose content could explain 78.4% variation of the litter decomposition rate (k) by path analysis. The lignin/N could explain 69.5% variation of k alone, and the direct path coefficient of lignin/N on k was -0.913. Principal component analysis (PCA) showed that the contribution rate of the first sort axis to k  and the decomposition time (t) reached 99.2%. Significant positive correlations existed between lignin/N, lignin content, C/N, C/P and the first sort axis, and the closest relationship existed between lignin/N and the first sort axis (r=0.923). Lignin/N was the key quality factor affecting plant litter decomposition rate across the alpine timberline ecotone, with the higher the initial lignin/N, the lower the decomposition rate of leaf litter.