Worlds apart: Location above- or below-ground determines plant litter decomposition in a semi-arid Patagonian steppe

Autores
Berenstecher, Paula; Araujo, Patricia Ines; Austin, Amy T.
Año de publicación
2021
Idioma
inglés
Tipo de recurso
artículo
Estado
versión publicada
Descripción
While considerable attention has been devoted to how precipitation modulates net primary productivity in arid and semi-arid ecosystems, the emergence of multi-faceted controls on carbon (C) turnover suggests that there is much to be understood with respect to the mechanistic controls on plant litter decomposition. In the Patagonian steppe, we conducted a long-term factorial experiment, evaluating the importance of position, litter quality, tissue origin and soil resources on rates of C turnover under natural field conditions. Leaf and root litter of dominant grass species were placed in litterbags in different positions, on the soil surface and buried at 5-cm depth, with soil treatments of labile C, nitrogen (N) and their combination (C + N) over a 3-year period. As predicted, leaf litter decomposed significantly (nearly sixfold) faster above-ground than did root litter below-ground (p < 0.001). Surprisingly, root litter decomposed significantly faster than leaf litter above-ground (p < 0.001), and above-ground decomposition was not strongly affected by soil resource additions. Below-ground decomposition was largely determined by the interaction of litter quality and soil resource availability. Determining a C balance by integrating biomass allocation and primary productivity from this field site, combined with the data from this study, suggests large differences between the contribution of the above- and below-ground biomass to soil organic matter (SOM) pools and a long residence time of undecomposed root litter. Synthesis. Litter position clearly emerged as the predominant variable determining C turnover in this semi-arid steppe ecosystem, with litter quality and soil resources having significant, but more modest, effects. The near complete independence of above-ground litter decomposition from soil resources and rapid decomposition of surface litter, coupled with the counterintuitive relationships with litter quality, suggests that, in the long term, C loss from photodegradation may result in a minimal contribution of above-ground litter to SOM formation. These results have mechanistic implications for the distinct functionality of litter decomposition above- and below-ground in semi-arid ecosystems, and how these differential controls may alter the C balance due to future changes in climate and land use.
EEA Pergamino
Fil: Berenstecher, Paula. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura; Argentina
Fil: Berenstecher, Paula. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura; Argentina
Fil: Araujo, Patricia Inés. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura; Argentina
Fil: Araujo, Patricia Inés. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura; Argentina
Fil: Araujo, Patricia Inés. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Pergamino; Argentina
Fil: Austin, Amy T. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura; Argentina
Fil: Austin, Amy T. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura; Argentina
Fuente
Journal of Ecology 109 (8) : 2885-2896. (August 2021)
Materia
Ecosistema
Zona Semiárida
Gramíneas
Biomasa sobre el Suelo
Biomasa por Debajo del Suelo
Ciclo del Carbono
Ecosystems
Semiarid Zones
Grasses
Above Ground Biomass
Below Ground Biomass
Carbon Cycle
Región Patagónica
Nivel de accesibilidad
acceso abierto
Condiciones de uso
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
Repositorio
INTA Digital (INTA)
Institución
Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria
OAI Identificador
oai:localhost:20.500.12123/28122
Acceder
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oai_identifier_str oai:localhost:20.500.12123/28122
network_acronym_str INTADig
repository_id_str l
network_name_str INTA Digital (INTA)
spelling Worlds apart: Location above- or below-ground determines plant litter decomposition in a semi-arid Patagonian steppeBerenstecher, PaulaAraujo, Patricia InesAustin, Amy T.EcosistemaZona SemiáridaGramíneasBiomasa sobre el SueloBiomasa por Debajo del SueloCiclo del CarbonoEcosystemsSemiarid ZonesGrassesAbove Ground BiomassBelow Ground BiomassCarbon CycleRegión PatagónicaWhile considerable attention has been devoted to how precipitation modulates net primary productivity in arid and semi-arid ecosystems, the emergence of multi-faceted controls on carbon (C) turnover suggests that there is much to be understood with respect to the mechanistic controls on plant litter decomposition. In the Patagonian steppe, we conducted a long-term factorial experiment, evaluating the importance of position, litter quality, tissue origin and soil resources on rates of C turnover under natural field conditions. Leaf and root litter of dominant grass species were placed in litterbags in different positions, on the soil surface and buried at 5-cm depth, with soil treatments of labile C, nitrogen (N) and their combination (C + N) over a 3-year period. As predicted, leaf litter decomposed significantly (nearly sixfold) faster above-ground than did root litter below-ground (p < 0.001). Surprisingly, root litter decomposed significantly faster than leaf litter above-ground (p < 0.001), and above-ground decomposition was not strongly affected by soil resource additions. Below-ground decomposition was largely determined by the interaction of litter quality and soil resource availability. Determining a C balance by integrating biomass allocation and primary productivity from this field site, combined with the data from this study, suggests large differences between the contribution of the above- and below-ground biomass to soil organic matter (SOM) pools and a long residence time of undecomposed root litter. Synthesis. Litter position clearly emerged as the predominant variable determining C turnover in this semi-arid steppe ecosystem, with litter quality and soil resources having significant, but more modest, effects. The near complete independence of above-ground litter decomposition from soil resources and rapid decomposition of surface litter, coupled with the counterintuitive relationships with litter quality, suggests that, in the long term, C loss from photodegradation may result in a minimal contribution of above-ground litter to SOM formation. These results have mechanistic implications for the distinct functionality of litter decomposition above- and below-ground in semi-arid ecosystems, and how these differential controls may alter the C balance due to future changes in climate and land use.EEA PergaminoFil: Berenstecher, Paula. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura; ArgentinaFil: Berenstecher, Paula. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura; ArgentinaFil: Araujo, Patricia Inés. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura; ArgentinaFil: Araujo, Patricia Inés. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura; ArgentinaFil: Araujo, Patricia Inés. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Pergamino; ArgentinaFil: Austin, Amy T. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura; ArgentinaFil: Austin, Amy T. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura; ArgentinaWiley2026-10-14T16:42:19Z2026-10-14T16:42:19Z2021-08info:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionhttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501info:ar-repo/semantics/articuloapplication/pdfhttp://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/28122https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2745.136880022-04771365-2745https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.13688Journal of Ecology 109 (8) : 2885-2896. (August 2021)reponame:INTA Digital (INTA)instname:Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuariaenginfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccesshttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)2026-11-05T11:51:40Zoai:localhost:20.500.12123/28122instacron:INTAInstitucionalhttp://repositorio.inta.gob.ar/Organismo científico-tecnológicoNo correspondehttp://repositorio.inta.gob.ar/oai/requesttripaldi.nicolas@inta.gob.arArgentinaNo correspondeNo correspondeNo correspondeopendoar:l2026-11-05 11:51:40.985INTA Digital (INTA) - Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuariafalse
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Worlds apart: Location above- or below-ground determines plant litter decomposition in a semi-arid Patagonian steppe
title Worlds apart: Location above- or below-ground determines plant litter decomposition in a semi-arid Patagonian steppe
spellingShingle Worlds apart: Location above- or below-ground determines plant litter decomposition in a semi-arid Patagonian steppe
Berenstecher, Paula
Ecosistema
Zona Semiárida
Gramíneas
Biomasa sobre el Suelo
Biomasa por Debajo del Suelo
Ciclo del Carbono
Ecosystems
Semiarid Zones
Grasses
Above Ground Biomass
Below Ground Biomass
Carbon Cycle
Región Patagónica
title_short Worlds apart: Location above- or below-ground determines plant litter decomposition in a semi-arid Patagonian steppe
title_full Worlds apart: Location above- or below-ground determines plant litter decomposition in a semi-arid Patagonian steppe
title_fullStr Worlds apart: Location above- or below-ground determines plant litter decomposition in a semi-arid Patagonian steppe
title_full_unstemmed Worlds apart: Location above- or below-ground determines plant litter decomposition in a semi-arid Patagonian steppe
title_sort Worlds apart: Location above- or below-ground determines plant litter decomposition in a semi-arid Patagonian steppe
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Berenstecher, Paula
Araujo, Patricia Ines
Austin, Amy T.
author Berenstecher, Paula
author_facet Berenstecher, Paula
Araujo, Patricia Ines
Austin, Amy T.
author_role author
author2 Araujo, Patricia Ines
Austin, Amy T.
author2_role author
author
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Ecosistema
Zona Semiárida
Gramíneas
Biomasa sobre el Suelo
Biomasa por Debajo del Suelo
Ciclo del Carbono
Ecosystems
Semiarid Zones
Grasses
Above Ground Biomass
Below Ground Biomass
Carbon Cycle
Región Patagónica
topic Ecosistema
Zona Semiárida
Gramíneas
Biomasa sobre el Suelo
Biomasa por Debajo del Suelo
Ciclo del Carbono
Ecosystems
Semiarid Zones
Grasses
Above Ground Biomass
Below Ground Biomass
Carbon Cycle
Región Patagónica
dc.description.none.fl_txt_mv While considerable attention has been devoted to how precipitation modulates net primary productivity in arid and semi-arid ecosystems, the emergence of multi-faceted controls on carbon (C) turnover suggests that there is much to be understood with respect to the mechanistic controls on plant litter decomposition. In the Patagonian steppe, we conducted a long-term factorial experiment, evaluating the importance of position, litter quality, tissue origin and soil resources on rates of C turnover under natural field conditions. Leaf and root litter of dominant grass species were placed in litterbags in different positions, on the soil surface and buried at 5-cm depth, with soil treatments of labile C, nitrogen (N) and their combination (C + N) over a 3-year period. As predicted, leaf litter decomposed significantly (nearly sixfold) faster above-ground than did root litter below-ground (p < 0.001). Surprisingly, root litter decomposed significantly faster than leaf litter above-ground (p < 0.001), and above-ground decomposition was not strongly affected by soil resource additions. Below-ground decomposition was largely determined by the interaction of litter quality and soil resource availability. Determining a C balance by integrating biomass allocation and primary productivity from this field site, combined with the data from this study, suggests large differences between the contribution of the above- and below-ground biomass to soil organic matter (SOM) pools and a long residence time of undecomposed root litter. Synthesis. Litter position clearly emerged as the predominant variable determining C turnover in this semi-arid steppe ecosystem, with litter quality and soil resources having significant, but more modest, effects. The near complete independence of above-ground litter decomposition from soil resources and rapid decomposition of surface litter, coupled with the counterintuitive relationships with litter quality, suggests that, in the long term, C loss from photodegradation may result in a minimal contribution of above-ground litter to SOM formation. These results have mechanistic implications for the distinct functionality of litter decomposition above- and below-ground in semi-arid ecosystems, and how these differential controls may alter the C balance due to future changes in climate and land use.
EEA Pergamino
Fil: Berenstecher, Paula. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura; Argentina
Fil: Berenstecher, Paula. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura; Argentina
Fil: Araujo, Patricia Inés. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura; Argentina
Fil: Araujo, Patricia Inés. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura; Argentina
Fil: Araujo, Patricia Inés. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Pergamino; Argentina
Fil: Austin, Amy T. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura; Argentina
Fil: Austin, Amy T. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura; Argentina
description While considerable attention has been devoted to how precipitation modulates net primary productivity in arid and semi-arid ecosystems, the emergence of multi-faceted controls on carbon (C) turnover suggests that there is much to be understood with respect to the mechanistic controls on plant litter decomposition. In the Patagonian steppe, we conducted a long-term factorial experiment, evaluating the importance of position, litter quality, tissue origin and soil resources on rates of C turnover under natural field conditions. Leaf and root litter of dominant grass species were placed in litterbags in different positions, on the soil surface and buried at 5-cm depth, with soil treatments of labile C, nitrogen (N) and their combination (C + N) over a 3-year period. As predicted, leaf litter decomposed significantly (nearly sixfold) faster above-ground than did root litter below-ground (p < 0.001). Surprisingly, root litter decomposed significantly faster than leaf litter above-ground (p < 0.001), and above-ground decomposition was not strongly affected by soil resource additions. Below-ground decomposition was largely determined by the interaction of litter quality and soil resource availability. Determining a C balance by integrating biomass allocation and primary productivity from this field site, combined with the data from this study, suggests large differences between the contribution of the above- and below-ground biomass to soil organic matter (SOM) pools and a long residence time of undecomposed root litter. Synthesis. Litter position clearly emerged as the predominant variable determining C turnover in this semi-arid steppe ecosystem, with litter quality and soil resources having significant, but more modest, effects. The near complete independence of above-ground litter decomposition from soil resources and rapid decomposition of surface litter, coupled with the counterintuitive relationships with litter quality, suggests that, in the long term, C loss from photodegradation may result in a minimal contribution of above-ground litter to SOM formation. These results have mechanistic implications for the distinct functionality of litter decomposition above- and below-ground in semi-arid ecosystems, and how these differential controls may alter the C balance due to future changes in climate and land use.
publishDate 2021
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2021-08
2026-10-14T16:42:19Z
2026-10-14T16:42:19Z
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501
info:ar-repo/semantics/articulo
format article
status_str publishedVersion
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/28122
https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2745.13688
0022-0477
1365-2745
https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.13688
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/28122
https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2745.13688
https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.13688
identifier_str_mv 0022-0477
1365-2745
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv eng
language eng
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
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Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv Wiley
publisher.none.fl_str_mv Wiley
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv Journal of Ecology 109 (8) : 2885-2896. (August 2021)
reponame:INTA Digital (INTA)
instname:Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria
reponame_str INTA Digital (INTA)
collection INTA Digital (INTA)
instname_str Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria
repository.name.fl_str_mv INTA Digital (INTA) - Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria
repository.mail.fl_str_mv tripaldi.nicolas@inta.gob.ar
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