Multiple abiotic and biotic drivers of long-term wood decomposition within and among species in semiarid inland dunes: a dual role for stem diameter

This is wood decomposition data conducted in an semiarid inland dune including mass loss, initial wood traits and k values of combinations between five diameter classes and four shrub species under different treatments including UV and litter position. We found that after 34 months of in situ incubation, the mass loss of buried woody litters was three times faster than those of suspended and surface woody litters (53.5 ± 2.7 %, 17.0 ± 1.0 % and 14.4± 1.2 %, respectively). In surface and suspended positions, litter decomposition rates were almost equally low and most mass loss was during the first two years, when bark was still attached and UV radiation had no significant effect on woody litter mass loss.

 

Â