Leaf litter chemical traits were measured for Cycas micronesica plants in Guam following leaf herbivory by the scale Aulacaspis yasumatsui, the butterfly Chilades pandava caterpillar, or the leaf miner Erechthias sp. to determine the influence of the non-native pests on litter quality. Scale herbivory increased litter phenols above those of undamaged leaves but did not influence lignin or cellu...

Global change-induced alterations in litter quality and soil moisture regime will likely impact grassland C and N dynamics, but how these changes interact with edaphic properties across the landscape is unclear. We measured the effects of litter quality, soil type, soil moisture level, and soil drying-rewetting frequency (D-RW) on microbial C and N mineralization of litter and soil organic matt...

In temperate portions of North America, some bats that remain active during winter undergo short periods of hibernation below leaf litter on the forest floor during episodes of below-freezing weather. These winter roosts may provide above-freezing conditions, but the thermal conditions under leaf litter are unclear. Further, little is known of the relationship between temperatures under litter ...

Inputs of aboveground plant litter influence the abundance and activities of belowground decomposer biota. Litter-mixing studies have examined whether the diversity and heterogeneity of litter inputs affect decomposer communities in ways that can be predicted frommonocultures. They have mainly attempted to detect non-additive effects of litter mixing, although individual species effects (additi...

Introduction Conclusions References Tables Figures Back Close Full Screen / Esc Biogeosciences Discussions This discussion paper is/has been under review for the journal Biogeosciences (BG). Please refer to the corresponding final paper in BG if available. Abstract Introduction Conclusions References Tables Figures Back Close Full Screen / Esc Abstract Effects of temperature history on litter d...

Tropical forests play a substantial role in the global carbon (C) cycle and are projected to experience significant changes in climate, highlighting the importance of understanding the factors that control organic matter decomposition in this biome. In the tropics, high temperature and rainfall lead to some of the highest rates of litter decomposition on earth, and given the near-optimal abioti...

The effect of litter on seedling establishment can influence species richness in plant communities. The effect of litter depends on amount, and also on litter type, but relatively little is known about the species-specific effects of litter. We conducted a factorial greenhouse experiment to examine the effect of litter type, using two woody species that commonly co-occur in boreonemoral forest-...

Succession of newly created landscapes induces profound changes in plant litter supplied to streams. Grasses dominate inputs into open-land streams, whereas tree litter is predominant in forested streams. We set out to elucidate whether the activity and structure of microbial communities on decomposing leaves are determined by litter quality (i.e., grass or tree leaves colonized) or whether cha...

The beneficial effects of blue environments have been well documented; however, we do not know how marine litter might modify these effects. Three studies adopted a picture-rating task to examine the influence of litter on preference, perceived restorative quality, and psychological impacts. Photographs varied the presence of marine litter (Study 1) and the type of litter (Studies 2 and 3). The...