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 [[e-mail]](mailto:[e-mail]) 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...源头溪流孕育着多样的大型无脊椎动物群落，同时也是叶片凋落物分解的热点区域。由大型无脊椎动物介导的叶片凋落物分解过程，是连接陆地与水生生态系统的关键纽带。然而，本地河岸带的植被类型如何影响附着于叶片的大型无脊椎动物群落结构以及叶片凋落物分解速率，这一问题尚未得到明确解答。本研究依托瑞士8条源头溪流设置的16对样地（分为有林与无林两组），利用实验性凋落物袋，探究了附着于叶片的大型无脊椎动物群落结构与叶片凋落物破碎速率在两类样地间的差异。研究结果显示，蜉蝣目（Ephemeroptera）、襀翅目（Plecoptera）与毛翅目（Trichoptera，简称EPT）的敏感类群，以及碎裂者功能群，与有林样地显著相关；相较于无林样地，有林样地中EPT类群的丰度、多样性与生物量整体更高。然而，其重要性…… # 附着于叶片的大型无脊椎动物群落与叶片凋落物分解 Rebecca Oester、Paula C. dos Reis Oliveira、Marcelo S. Moretti、Florian Altermatt、Andreas Bruder [[e-mail]](mailto:[e-mail]) 本自述文件包含本次分析所用数据集的R脚本与变量相关信息。 这两个数据文件中的NA值代表数据不可用（例如，当我们测定桤木的重量时，灰树对应的列会显示NA；又或者仅采集到3个个体时，Length4-10列中第4至10号个体的体长测量值会为NA）。 数据文件： 1. datTOT 主数据集，包含每个凋落物袋中的大型无脊椎动物群落信息，变量如下： Sample_ID：每个凋落物袋的唯一标识符，由区域（TG或TI）、溪流编号（1-4）、景观类型（F = 有林；A= 无林……）组成。