Chinese Journal of Plant Ecology >
Global patterns and controls of variation in cellulose decomposition rates of plant litters
Received date: 2024-05-08
Accepted date: 2024-12-10
Online published: 2025-01-02
Supported by
National Key R&D Program of China(2023YFF1305500);National Natural Science Foundation of China(32022056);National Natural Science Foundation of China(32101509);National Natural Science Foundation of China(32171641)
Aims As one of the key components of litter, cellulose decomposition plays an important role in the carbon cycle of terrestrial ecosystems. The objective of this study was to investigate the global patterns of cellulose decomposition rates of plant litters and the associated influential factors.
Methods We compiled a dataset from existing studies that reported the litter cellulose decomposition constant (i.e., k value, a measure of the decomposition rate). Using the first-order exponential kinetic model, we calculated the k values for litter cellulose decomposition. Then, we explored the distribution patterns of k across climatic zones, ecosystem types and leaf morphological types, and determined the extent to which these patterns were influenced by climate, terrain, soil properties, and litter substrate quality.
Important findings The decomposition rates of litter cellulose shifted pronouncedly with climatic zones and leaf morphological types, with climatic zone being highest in tropical (0.086), intermediate in subtropical (0.069) and lowest in temperate (0.048) regions, and with leaf morphology being higher in broadleaf than coniferous litters. Cellulose decomposition rates decreased with increase in initial carbon nitrogen ratio and lignin cellulose ratio, while increased with increasing mean annual temperature. These results suggest that litter substrate quality and climate play significant role for influencing litter cellulose decomposition. This study enhances our understanding of the litter cellulose decomposition, and helps to optimize plant litter turnover and ecosystem carbon cycle models.
Key words： cellulose; litter decomposition; climate; litter substrate quality
ZHOU Si-Qi , AI Ling , NI Xiang-Yin , WU Fu-Zhong , WU Qiu-Xia , ZHU Jing-Jing , ZHANG Xin-Ying . Global patterns and controls of variation in cellulose decomposition rates of plant litters[J]. Chinese Journal of Plant Ecology, 2025 , 49(3) : 393 -403 . DOI: 10.17521/cjpe.2024.0144
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