Functional and phylogenetic diversity promotes litter decomposition across terrestrial ecosystems

Aim: Litter decomposition is a vital process of carbon and nutrient cycling in terrestrial ecosystems. Despite rapid declines in plant diversity worldwide, the plant diversity effects on litter decomposition, along with the factors driving their directions and magnitudes, remain uncertain.
Location: Globe.
Time period: 1985-2018.
Major taxa studied: Plants.
Methods: By synthesizing 492 paired observations of leaf litter mixtures and monocultures from 110 studies, we conducted a global meta-analysis of the effects of litter mixtures on litter decomposition rates, which were calculated as k coefficients from mt/m0 =e-kt, where mt/m0 was litter mass remaining proportion corresponding to time t.
Results: Litter mixtures on average increased litter decomposition rates by 5.6% (95% confident intervals, 3.0%-8.1%), and the effects of litter mixtures increased with litter species richness, the functional diversity of chemical traits (leaf C, N, P contents and C:N ratio) and phylogenetic diversi...