Leaf-associated macroinvertebrate assemblage and leaf litter breakdown in headwater streams depend on local riparian vegetation

Headwater streams harbor diverse macroinvertebrate communities and are hotspots for leaf litter breakdown. The process of leaf litter breakdown mediated by macroinvertebrates forms an important link between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Yet, how the vegetation type in the local riparian zone influences leaf-associated macroinvertebrate assemblages and leaf litter breakdown rates is still not resolved. We investigated how leaf-associated macroinvertebrate assemblages and leaf litter fragmentation rates differ between forested and non-forested sites using experimental leaf litter bags in sixteen sites paired across eight headwater streams in Switzerland. Our results show that sensitive taxa of the invertebrate orders Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and Trichoptera (EPT) and the functional group of shredders were strongly associated with forested sites with overall higher values of abundance, diversity, and biomass of EPTs in forested compared to non-forested sites. However, the importance..., , , # Leaf-associated-macroinvertebrate-assemblage-and-leaf-litter-breakdown

Leaf-associated macroinvertebrate assemblage and leaf litter breakdown in headwater streams depend on local riparian vegetation

Rebecca Oester, Paula C. dos Reis Oliveira, Marcelo S. Moretti, Florian Altermatt, Andreas Bruder

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This READ ME file contains information on the r-scripts and variables in the datasets used for the analyses.
NAs in these two data files indicate that data was not applicable (e.g., if we measured the weight of alder, the columns for ash have NA or if we only found three individuals the length measurments for individuals 4-10 in Length4-10 have NA).

Data files:

1. datTOT

Main dataset with information on the macroinvertebrate community in each leaf litter bag with the following variables:
Sample_ID: unique identifier for each leaf litter bag (composed of the Region (TG or TI), Stream ID (1-4), Landscape (F = Forested; A= Non-Fores...