Leaf structure and defence control litter decomposition rate across species and life forms in regional floras on two continents

作者：Johannes H. C. Cornelissen, Natalia Pérez Harguindeguy, Sandra M. Díaz, J. Philip Grime, BARBARA MARZANO, Marcelo Cabido, Fernanda Vendramini, Bruno Enrico Leone Cerabolini · 发表于：New Phytologist · 年份：1999 · DOI：10.1046/j.1469-8137.1999.00430.x · 被引用次数：495 · 研究领域：Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies、Mollusks and Parasites Studies、Animal Ecology and Behavior Studies

There is some evidence that traits of fresh leaves that provide structural or chemical protection (‘defence’) remain operational in the leaf litter and control interspecific variation in decomposition rate in or on the soil. We tested experimentally whether the negative relationship between foliar defence and litter decomposition rate is fundamental, i.e. whether it is seen consistently across higher plant species and life forms, and whether it is repeated in the floras of geographically and climatically distinct areas separated by an ocean. We employed the published results of two outdoor litter bag experiments, in which we simultaneously compared the relative mass losses (‘decomposibility’) of leaf litters of a wide range of plant species. One experiment was in Córdoba, Argentina, and included 48 Argentine species typical of the dry, subtropical landscapes along a steep altitudinal gradient. The other was in Sheffield, UK, and hosted 72 British species typical of the temperate–Atlantic landscape there. We linked the two experiments through a similar experiment in Sheffield that hosted litters of subsets of both the Argentine and British species. We also tested fresh leaves of all species from the same areas for tensile strength (‘toughness’) and relative palatability to generalist herbivorous snails in multi‐species ‘cafeteria’ experiments. Both in Argentina and in Great Britain there were highly significant correlations between leaf palatability (r=0.61; 0.73) or leaf tens...