‘Home’ and ‘away’ litter decomposition depends on the size fractions of the soil biotic community

TY - JOUR

T1 - ‘Home’ and ‘away’ litter decomposition depends on the size fractions of the soil biotic community

AU - Li, Yingbin

AU - Veen, G.F. (Ciska)

AU - Hol, W.H. Gera

AU - Vandenbrande, Simon

AU - Hannula, S. Emilia

AU - ten Hooven, Freddy C.

AU - Li, Qi

AU - Liang, Wenju

AU - Bezemer, T. Martijn

N1 - 6943, TE; Data Archiving: not sure yet

PY - 2020

Y1 - 2020

N2 - The ‘home-field advantage’ (HFA) hypothesis predicts that litter decomposition is accelerated in its home environment (i.e. in conspecific soil). Soil organisms play a key role in driving such HFA effects. Soil biota have a large range of body sizes, referred to as size fractions, which may influence their roles in the decomposition process and in the generation of HFA effects. However, how HFA effects depend on the different size fractions of the soil biotic community is unknown. We conducted a microcosm decomposition experiment to examine how size fractions of the soil biotic community affected litter decomposition and HFA effects. In a semi-natural grassland in the Netherlands, we collected leaf litter and soil from two abundant forbs: Tanacetum vulgare and Jacobaea vulgaris. Watery extracts of the soils were sieved through differently-meshed sieves (ranging from 850 μm to 6 μm) to obtain soil communities of different size fractions. Microcosms were inoculated with these different size fractions of the soil biotic community and we examined their effects on microbial composition, litter mass loss and HFA effects. Three months after inoculation, the diversity of the fungal community in the inoculated pots decreased with decreasing size fractions of the soil biotic community. Similarly, litter mass loss also decreased with decreasing soil biotic community size. In contrast, the HFA effect increased with decreasing size fractions of the soil biotic community, but these differences disappeared after six months of decomposition. Our results indicate that soil microorganisms, mainly the smallest size fractions, are specialized to decompose specific resources and thus promote HFA effects, but that their effect is only apparent during specific stages of litter decomposition.

AB - The ‘home-field advantage’ (HFA) hypothesis predicts that litter decomposition is accelerated in its home environment (i.e. in conspecific soil). Soil organisms play a key role in driving such HFA effects. Soil biota have a large range of body sizes, referred to as size fractions, which may influence their roles in the decomposition process and in the generation of HFA effects. However, how HFA effects depend on the different size fractions of the soil biotic community is unknown. We conducted a microcosm decomposition experiment to examine how size fractions of the soil biotic community affected litter decomposition and HFA effects. In a semi-natural grassland in the Netherlands, we collected leaf litter and soil from two abundant forbs: Tanacetum vulgare and Jacobaea vulgaris. Watery extracts of the soils were sieved through differently-meshed sieves (ranging from 850 μm to 6 μm) to obtain soil communities of different size fractions. Microcosms were inoculated with these different size fractions of the soil biotic community and we examined their effects on microbial composition, litter mass loss and HFA effects. Three months after inoculation, the diversity of the fungal community in the inoculated pots decreased with decreasing size fractions of the soil biotic community. Similarly, litter mass loss also decreased with decreasing soil biotic community size. In contrast, the HFA effect increased with decreasing size fractions of the soil biotic community, but these differences disappeared after six months of decomposition. Our results indicate that soil microorganisms, mainly the smallest size fractions, are specialized to decompose specific resources and thus promote HFA effects, but that their effect is only apparent during specific stages of litter decomposition.

KW - international

KW - Home-field advantage

KW - Fractionation

KW - Soil microbial community

KW - Specialization

KW - Plant-soil interactions

KW - Decomposition

KW - Plan_S-Compliant_NO

U2 - 10.1016/j.soilbio.2020.107783

DO - 10.1016/j.soilbio.2020.107783

M3 - Article

SN - 0038-0717

VL - 144

JO - Soil Biology & Biochemistry

JF - Soil Biology & Biochemistry

M1 - 107783

ER -