The Ecology of Plant Litter Decomposition in Stream Ecosystems

✍ Scribed by Christopher M. Swan (editor), Luz Boyero (editor), Cristina Canhoto (editor)

• Publisher: Springer
• Year: 2021
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 518
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

With almost 90% of terrestrial plant material entering the detrital pool, the processing of this significant carbon source is a critical ecosystem function to understand. Riverine ecosystems are estimated to receive, process and transport nearly 1.9 Pg of terrestrial carbon per year globally, highlighting the focus many freshwater ecologists have on the factors that explain decomposition rates of senesced plant material. Since Webster and Benfield offered the first comprehensive review of these factors in 1986, there has been an explosion of research addressing key questions about the ecological interactions at play. Ecologists have developed field and laboratory techniques, as well as created global scale collaborations to disentangle the many drivers involved in the decomposition process. This book encapsulates these 30+ years of research, describing the state of knowledge on the ecology of plant litter decomposition in stream ecosystems in 22 chapters written by internationally renowned experts on the subject.

✦ Table of Contents

Foreword
Contents
Part I General Overview on Plant Litter Decomposition in Streams
1 The Ecology of Plant Litter Decomposition in Stream Ecosystems: An Overview
References
2 Multi-Scale Biophysical Factors Driving Litter Dynamics in Streams
2.1 Streams as Hotspots of Organic Matter Processing
2.2 Dynamics of Litter Inputs and Storage in Streams
2.3 Mechanisms of Litter Fluxes in Streams: Local and Regional Scales
2.3.1 Litter Inputs
2.3.2 Litter Storage
2.3.3 Litter Decomposition
2.4 Future Research Needs
References
3 Stoichiometry of Plant Litter Decomposition in Stream Ecosystems
3.1 Ecological Stoichiometry: Conceptual Bases in Detritus-Based Ecosystems
3.2 From the Riparian Zone to Freshwaters: The Stoichiometry of Leaf Litter
3.3 Stoichiometry of Litter Microbial Decomposition in Freshwaters
3.4 Stoichiometry of Metazoan Detritivores
3.5 Stoichiometry for Linking Organisms Requirements to Freshwater Ecosystems Functioning
3.6 Conclusions and Main Perspectives of Research
3.6.1 Complementary Nutritional Constraints for Litter Decomposition
3.6.2 Stoichiometric Interactions with Other Organisms
3.6.3 Stoichiometry of Litter Decomposition in a Changing World
3.6.4 More Conceptualization to Disentangle Stoichiometric Controls and Other Mechanisms at Play
References
4 Global Patterns of Plant Litter Decomposition in Streams
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Assessing Global Patterns to Inform About Global Change
4.3 Approaches to Determining Global Patterns
4.4 Distinguishing Decomposition Pathways
4.5 Global Patterns and Drivers of Microbial Decomposition
4.6 Global Patterns and Drivers of Detritivore-Mediated Decomposition
4.7 Conclusion and Perspectives
References
5 Plant Litter Decomposition in Intermittent Rivers and Ephemeral Streams
5.1 What Are Intermittent Rivers and Ephemeral Streams?
5.1.1 Habitat Mosaic and Hydrological Phases
5.1.2 Abundance and Distribution
5.1.3 Drivers of Flow Intermittence and Trends
5.2 Rates, Agents and Processes of Leaf Litter Decomposition in IRES Habitats
5.2.1 Leaf Litter Decomposition in Flowing Water Conditions
5.2.2 Leaf Litter Decomposition in the Terrestrial-Aquatic Habitat Mosaic During Drying
5.3 Dynamics of Leaf Litter Decomposition in IRES
5.3.1 IRES Act Locally as Punctuated Biogeochemical Reactors
5.3.2 Leaf Litter Decomposition Across River Networks: IRES as Dynamic Metaecosystems
5.4 Roadmap for Research and Applications
References
6 Plant Litter Decomposition in Terrestrial Ecosystems Compared to Streams
6.1 Introduction
6.2 Main Biotic and Abiotic Drivers of Litter Decomposition in Terrestrial Ecosystems Compared to Streams
6.2.1 The Role of Litter Quality and Climatic Conditions
6.2.2 The Role of Decomposer Organisms
6.2.3 Temporal Dynamics of Biotic and Abiotic Drivers of Litter Decomposition
6.3 Diversity and Litter Decomposition in Terrestrial Ecosystems Compared to Streams
6.3.1 Leaf Litter Diversity
6.3.2 Multi-trophic Diversity
6.4 Global Change and Litter Decomposition in Terrestrial Ecosystems Compared to Streams
6.4.1 Climate Warming
6.4.2 Nitrogen Enrichment
6.4.3 Biotic Invasions
6.5 Suggested Approaches for Future Studies
6.5.1 Future Studies Looking at Biotic and Abiotic Drivers
6.5.2 Future Studies Looking at Diversity Effects
6.5.3 Future Studies Looking at Global Change Effects
6.6 Summary
References
Part II Biodiversity and Plant Litter Decomposition
7 Biodiversity and Plant Litter Decomposition in Streams
7.1 Introduction
7.2 What Limits Rates of Decomposition?
7.3 Litter Diversity Effects on Decomposition
7.4 Consumer Effects on Mixed Litter Decomposition
7.5 Nutrient Transfer, Immobilization and Litter Species Mixtures
7.6 Structural Heterogeneity in Litter Mixtures
7.7 Litter Mixing Effects on Shredders
7.8 Decomposer Diversity Effects on Decomposition
7.8.1 Shredder Diversity
7.8.2 Microbial Diversity
7.9 Vertical Diversity
References
8 The Role of Key Plant Species on Litter Decomposition in Streams: Alder as Experimental Model
8.1 The Key Species Concept
8.2 Alder Litter in Field Experiments
8.2.1 Alder and Stream Litter Processing Capacity
8.2.2 Dissolved Nutrients and Alder Decomposition
8.2.3 Alder: The Top of the Class
8.2.4 Alder Is Always Welcome
8.3 Alder Litter in Laboratory Experiments
8.3.1 Alder Is a Good Resource for Consumers
8.3.2 Alder Is a Key Driver of Litter Diversity Effects on Decomposition
8.3.3 Alder Can Inform About Early Effects of Environmental Change
8.4 Comparisons Between Alder and Poor-Quality Litter
8.5 Conclusions
References
9 Linking Microbial Decomposer Diversity to Plant Litter Decomposition and Associated Processes in Streams
9.1 An Introduction to Microbial Decomposers in Freshwaters
9.2 Profiling Microbial Decomposers to Unravel Microbial Diversity and Functions in Freshwaters
9.2.1 Identification of Aquatic Hyphomycetes
9.2.2 Genetic diversity
9.2.3 Phylogeny and Diversity
9.2.4 Leaf Litter Associated Microbial Communities
9.2.5 Microbial Biomass Accrual and Reproduction
9.2.6 Catabolic Reactions and Enzymatic Activity
9.2.7 Discriminating Individual Species Performances Within Communities
9.3 Microbial Metabolism and Stoichiometry
9.3.1 Carbon Quality and Priming Effect on Litter Decomposition
9.3.2 Microbial Leaf Litter Decomposition Budgets
9.3.3 Microbial Stoichiometry and Carbon-Use Efficiency
9.4 Substrate Diversity and Quality for Microbial Decomposers
9.5 Microbial Diversity and Litter Decomposition Under Global Change
9.6 Functional Consequences of Microbial Biodiversity Loss
9.7 Outlook
References
10 The Role of Macroinvertebrates on Plant Litter Decomposition in Streams
10.1 Introduction
10.2 Macroinvertebrate Shredder Functional Traits
10.3 Inter- and Intraspecific Interactions
10.4 Impacts of Global Change on Litter Decomposition via Effect on Invertebrate Shredders
10.4.1 Warming
10.4.2 Climate-Induced Changes in Vegetation
10.4.3 Direct and Indirect Effects of Changed Precipitation
10.4.4 Fire and Strong Winds
10.4.5 Human Activities
10.5 Conclusion
References
11 The Role of Protozoans and Microscopically Small Metazoans in Aquatic Plant Litter Decomposition
11.1 Decomposing Leaves as ‘Micro-Worlds’
11.2 Protozoans and Micro-metazoans Are Omnipresent in Aquatic Systems and Part of the Food Web
11.3 Is Identification Key?
11.4 Do Protozoans and Micro-metazoans Play a Role in Leaf Litter Decomposition? What Is the Evidence?
11.5 Theoretical Approach to Assess Possible Indirect Effects of Protozoans and Micro-metazoans
11.6 Synthesis and Where Do We Go from Here
References
Part III Global Change and Plant Litter Decomposition
12 Individual and Interacting Effects of Elevated CO2, Warming, and Hydrologic Intensification on Leaf Litter Decomposition in Streams
12.1 Predicted Individual Effects of Elevated Atmospheric CO2 Concentration, Warming, and Hydrologic Intensification on Leaf Litter Decomposition
12.2 Effect Size of Elevated Atmospheric CO2 Concentration and Warming on Litter Decomposition
12.2.1 Elevated Atmospheric CO2 Concentration
12.2.2 Elevated Temperature
12.3 Quantifying the Temperature Dependence of Litter Decomposition
12.3.1 Theory
12.3.2 Results from Past Studies
12.3.3 Modulation of Temperature Sensitivity by Biotic and Abiotic Factors
12.4 Interactions Between Elevated CO2, Elevated Temperature, and Altered Hydrologic Flow on Litter Decomposition Mediated by Microbes and Detritivores
12.5 Significance of Leaf Litter Decomposition Responses to Climate Change
12.5.1 Global C Budget
12.5.2 Food Webs
12.6 Conclusions
References
13 Causes and Consequences of Changes in Riparian Vegetation for Plant Litter Decomposition Throughout River Networks
13.1 Riparia & River Networks
13.2 Global Changes in Riparian Vegetation: Streams, Rivers, & Coastal Wetlands
13.2.1 Climate Change: Temperature, Precipitation, Hydrology, and CO2 Concentrations
13.2.2 Native and Non-native Plant Species Changes
13.2.3 Agriculture and Forest Harvesting
13.2.4 Urbanization
13.3 Impacts of Altered Litter Decomposition Throughout River Networks
13.3.1 Land-Use Change Impacts
13.3.2 Climate Change and Eutrophication Impacts
13.3.3 Impacts of Altered Hydrologic Connectivity
13.3.4 Impacts on Ecosystem Services
References
14 Effects of Exotic Tree Plantations on Plant Litter Decomposition in Streams
14.1 Introduction
14.2 Case Studies
14.2.1 Eucalyptus Plantations (Fig. 14.3)
14.2.2 Conifer Plantations (Fig. 14.5)
14.3 Other Planted Species and Management of Plantations
14.4 Concluding Remarks
References
15 Salt Modulates Plant Litter Decomposition in Stream Ecosystems
15.1 Stream Salinization
15.2 Stream Ecosystems Are Intimately Linked to Their Surroundings
15.3 Effects of Stream Salinization on Litter Decomposition
15.3.1 Microbial-Mediated Decomposition
15.3.2 Invertebrate-Mediated Decomposition
15.4 Factors Modulating Salinization Effects on Litter Decomposition
15.5 Decomposition in Saline Streams
15.6 Future Directions and Perspectives
References
16 Pathways, Mechanisms, and Consequences of Nutrient-Stimulated Plant Litter Decomposition in Streams
16.1 Pathways of Nutrient Enrichment Effects in Streams
16.1.1 Nutrient Effects Are Less Understood in Heterotrophic vs. Autotrophic Systems
16.2 Mechanisms of Nutrient Effects on Leaf Litter Decomposition
16.2.1 Microbially Mediated Litter Processing
16.2.2 Detritivore-Mediated Litter Processing
16.2.3 Comparing the Magnitude of Microbial Decomposer vs. Detritivore Effects on Decomposition
16.2.4 Litter C Quality and C:Nutrient Stoichiometry
16.2.5 Mechanistic Effects of N vs. P
16.3 Consequences of Nutrient Effects on Litter Decomposition for Aquatic Ecosystems
16.3.1 Other Global Change Drivers Interact with Nutrients: Nutrient × Temperature Effects on Leaf Litter Decomposition
16.3.2 Nutrient Enrichment Results in Shorter C Residence Time in Streams
16.4 Management Implications of Nutrient Enrichment Effects on Leaf Litter Decomposition
16.4.1 Litterbag-Scale Measurements Are Predictive of Whole Stream Reach Processes
16.4.2 Using Decomposition Rates to Assess Nutrient Effects on Stream Ecosystems
16.5 Conclusions
References
17 How Toxicants Influence Organic Matter Decomposition in Streams
17.1 Introduction
17.2 Conceptual Model
17.3 Effect Pathways Induced by Toxicants with Different Target Organisms
17.3.1 Fungicides
17.3.2 Antibiotics
17.3.3 Insecticides
17.3.4 Metals
17.4 Evidence for Cascade Effects from Field and Mesocosm Studies
17.5 Conclusions and Perspectives
References
18 Effects of Engineered Nanoparticles on Plant Litter Decomposition in Streams
18.1 Engineered Nanoparticles: Benefits, Uncertainties and Inherent Risks
18.2 ENP Effects on Microbial Decomposers and Leaf Litter Decomposition
18.2.1 Acute Versus Chronic Exposure to ENPs and Ensuing Effects on Microbial Decomposers
18.2.2 Toxicity Mechanisms of ENPs in Microbial Decomposers
18.2.3 What Factors Influence Toxic Effects of ENPs?
18.3 Trophic Transfer of ENPs and Effects on Detrital Food-Web
18.3.1 Case Study: Relative Importance of Waterborne Exposure to and Dietary Uptake of NanoAg for the Leaf-Shredding Amphipod Gammarus pulex
18.4 Conclusions and Outlook
References
Part IV Methodological Aspects and Applications of Measuring Plant Litter Decomposition
19 The Construction of Plant Litter Decomposition Curves
19.1 Introduction
19.2 Overview of Kinetic Models for Plant Litter Decomposition
19.3 A General Kinetic-Based Model of Litter Decomposition with Explicit Time-Varying Decay Rate
19.4 Process-Based Model of Plant Litter Decomposition
19.5 A “Toy” Model of Plant Litter Decomposition
19.6 What Everyone Should Know About Statistical Estimation of Litter Decay Rate
19.7 Towards a Pragmatic Approach to Quantitative Analysis of Empirical Decomposition Curves
19.8 Final Remarks
References
20 Design and Analysis of Laboratory Experiments on Aquatic Plant Litter Decomposition
20.1 Introduction
20.2 Planning Leaf Decomposition Experiments in the Laboratory—Where to Start?
20.3 Biotic and Abiotic Factors to Consider in Leaf Decomposition Experiments
20.3.1 Species Identity Drives Leaf Decomposition
20.3.2 Body Size, Biomass and Metabolic Rate Drive Ecosystem Processes: Calculating Metabolic Capacity
20.3.3 Temperature Affects Leaf Decomposition
20.3.4 Biodiversity and Species Interactions Drive Leaf Decomposition
20.3.5 Other Abiotic Factors and Stressors
20.3.6 It Gets Complicated: A More Realistic Picture of What Drives Leaf Decomposition
20.4 Statistical Approaches: Maximising Statistical Power While Reducing Logistics
20.4.1 Analysis of Variance
20.4.2 Running Designs That Are Not Fully Factorial—Statistical Power and Logistics
20.4.3 ‘Visualising ANOVA’—Hasse Diagrams
20.4.4 Fitting Statistical Models in ANOVA that Can Disentangle Additive Versus Facilitation or Antagonistic Effects
20.4.5 Replication, Blocks, Randomisation and Pseudoreplication
20.5 Examples of Laboratory Experiments on Aquatic Leaf Litter Decomposition
20.5.1 Flores et al. (2016)—Effects of Biodiversity, Species Identity and Habitat Complexity on Leaf Decomposition
20.5.2 Reiss et al. (2010)—Effects of Biodiversity on Leaf Decomposition
20.5.3 Perkins et al. (2015)—Species Contribute to More Than One Ecosystem Process (Multifunctionality)
20.6 Conclusions
References
21 Plant Litter Decomposition as a Tool for Stream Ecosystem Assessment
21.1 Background
21.1.1 The Promise of Litter Decomposition: Ecosystem Process Rates as a Tool for Stream Bioassessment and Management
21.1.2 From Analyses of Structure to Functional Metrics
21.2 Choosing the Appropriate Method
21.2.1 Litterbag: A Toolkit in Different Mesh Sizes
21.2.2 Leaf Litter Quality: From Recalcitrant to Labile and Nutrient Rich Leaves
21.2.3 Timing: Season and Duration
21.2.4 Habitat: From Lotic to Lentic Systems
21.2.5 Selecting the Appropriate Reference Conditions
21.2.6 Ratios Between Coarse- and Fine-Mesh Bags
21.3 Meta-Analysis Exemplifying Methodological Considerations In The Context Of Nutrient Enrichment: Reference Sites, Litter Quality and the Ratio Between Coarse and Fine-Mesh Bag Litter Decomposition Rates
21.3.1 Rationale
21.3.2 Methods
21.3.3 Results and Discussion
21.4 Final Considerations
References
22 Leaf Litter Decomposition as a Contributor to Ecosystem Service Provision
22.1 What Are Ecosystem Services, and How Can Decomposition of Litter in Freshwater Contribute to Service Provision?
22.2 Evidence for the Relative Importance of Decomposition for Ecosystem Service Provision: Mineralisation, Production, and Storage
22.3 Variation in the Provisioning of Services Across Geographies and Seasons
22.4 Influence of Protection and Land Use on the Contribution of Leaf Litter Decomposition to Provisioning Rates
22.5 Trade-off and Synergies of Ecosystem Service Provision Associated to Decomposition
22.6 Conclusion
References
Correction to: Salt Modulates Plant Litter Decomposition in Stream Ecosystems
Correction to: Chapter 15 in: C. M. Swan et al. (eds.), The Ecology of Plant Litter Decomposition in Stream Ecosystems, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72854-015