Tree functional diversity affects litter decomposition and arthropod community composition in a tropical forest

Disturbance can alter tree species and functional diversity in tropical forests, which in turn could affect carbon and nutrient cycling via the decomposition of plant litter. However, the influence of tropical tree diversity on forest floor organisms and the processes they mediate are far from clear. We investigated the influence of different litter mixtures on arthropod communities and decomposition processes in a 60-year-old lowland tropical forest in Panama, Central America. We used litter mixtures representing pioneer and old growth tree species in experimental mesocosms to assess the links between litter types, decomposition rates, and litter arthropod communities. Overall, pioneer species litter decomposed most rapidly and old growth species litter decomposed the slowest but there were clear non-additive effects of litter mixtures containing both functional groups. We observed distinct arthropod communities in different litter mixtures at 6 mo, with greater arthropod diversity and...

干扰可改变热带森林的树木物种多样性与功能多样性，进而通过植物枯落物的分解过程影响碳循环与养分循环。然而，热带树木多样性对森林地表生物及其所介导的生态过程的影响仍远未得到清晰阐释。本研究以中美洲巴拿马一处60年生低地热带森林为研究样地，探究不同枯落物混合组合对节肢动物群落及分解过程的影响。我们采用代表先锋树种与老龄林树种的枯落物混合组合，借助实验中型生态系统装置，评估枯落物类型、分解速率与枯落物节肢动物群落之间的关联。整体结果显示，先锋树种枯落物的分解速率最快，老龄林树种枯落物分解速率最慢，但同时包含这两类功能群的枯落物混合组合呈现出显著的非加性效应。我们在培养6个月后观察到，不同枯落物混合组合下的节肢动物群落存在显著分化，其节肢动物多样性更高且……