Interactions between plants and fungi and their roles in decay rates and CO2 release in five tropical leaf species

A microcosm experiment was used to test for the effects of interactions between particular plant and fungal decomposer species on rates of leaf decomposition. Each microcosm contained one species of leaf that was sterilized with gamma irradiation and then inoculated with a single fungus. Five plant species and ten fungal species (two dominants from each of the litter types) were used in all possible combinations. Plant species were selected for pair-wise comparisons based on phylogenetic relationships and litter quality characteristics. Decomposition was measured by both mass loss and CO2 release. Differences in weight loss and CO2 evolution were highly significant for plants, fungal species, and their interactions. Mass loss was positively correlated with CO2 evolution. Contrary to our hypotheses, however, microfungal dominants did not decompose their source leaves faster than microfungal dominants from other leaf species, nor were responses to other types of specificity detected. Matching of fungi to leaf substrates by their source, by phylogenetic relationships, or by chemical, physical and structural characteristics was not associated with consistent increases in decomposition. Although previously documented differences in microfungal species composition and dominance among decomposing leaves of different trees were confirmed in this study, such differences apparently do not directly affect the rates of ecosystem processes. The presence in a few of the microcosms of a generalist basidiomycete that had ligninolytic enzymes, Melanotus eccentricus, significantly accelerated the rate of decomposition. Non-specific basidiomycetes may therefore have a stronger effect on early stages of leaf litter decomposition than host-selective microfungi. Support for this work was provided by grants BSR-8811902, DEB-9411973, DEB-9705814 , DEB-0080538, DEB-0218039 , DEB-0620910 , DEB-1239764, DEB-1546686, and DEB-1831952 from the National Science Foundation to the University of Puerto Rico as part of the Luquillo Long-Term Ecological Research Program. Additional support provided by the University of Puerto Rico and the International Institute of Tropical Forestry, USDA Forest Service.