Data from: Different dynamics and controls of enzyme activities of leaf and root litter during decomposition

Litter enzyme dynamics are strongly shaped by litter, soil,
and microbial attributes during decomposition, however, enzyme
dynamics of leaf and root litter remains unresolved due to contrasting
differences in rates and controls on leaf and root litter decomposition.
Herein, we conducted a 784-day field experiment to evaluate the relative
importance of litter, alkaline soil, and microbial attributes to enzyme
activities and their C:N:P stoichiometry of leaf and root litter
during decomposition under subtropical land use change of China. We found
that only the C- and N-acquiring enzyme activities of shrub leaves were
greater than those of wood and crop, and there was no significant
difference in P-acquiring enzyme activity among the three species of
leaves. Both the C- and P-acquiring enzyme activities of crop roots were
significantly lower than those of afforested lands (i.e., woodland and
shrubland). The N-acquiring activities of wood roots were significantly
lower than those of shrub and crop. At the temporal dynamics, the C-, N-,
and P-acquiring enzyme activities of the leaves decreased with mass loss,
which was affected by the shift in litter nutrients (e.g., N and P) and
soil moisture during decomposition. In contrast, the three enzyme
activities of roots increased with mass loss, largely due to the increase
in microbial biomass of bacteria regulated by litter stoichiometry. The
enzymatic C:nutrient (N and P) ratios declined with mass loss, but the
enzymatic P:N ratios remained relatively constant with mass loss during
the leaf litter decomposition. Whereas, both of the enzymatic C:nutrient
ratios and enzymatic P:N ratios decreased with mass during the root litter
decomposition. Our results showed that the enzymatic C:N:P stoichiometry
of decaying leaves and roots was predominantly predicted by microbial
biomass and bacterial biomass, respectively. Overall, we outlined the
pattern of contrasting contributions of litter, soil, and microbial
attributes to enzyme dynamics during decomposition, which provided a
framework for better understanding litter C, N, and P dynamics in relation
to microbial resource allocation strategy during decomposition.