The invasion by emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis) of extensive black ash wetlands in the upper Great Lakes region of North America is expected to alter plant community structure and composition and, therefore, abiotic factors like temperature and hydrology. We conducted two experiments to examine how changes in leaf litter could alter ecosystem function via 1) changes in litter breakdown and 2) aquatic invertebrate feeding. For the first experiment, we placed litter bags containing black ash (Fraxinus nigra), swamp white oak (Quercus bicolor), and lake sedge (Carex lacustris), in either control or clear-cut black ash plots. We found that black ash litter broke down 2-3 times faster than other species and broke down faster in control plots than in clear-cuts. There was no effect of clear cutting on swamp white oak or lake sedge breakdown rates. For the second experiment, we fed shredding caddisfly larvae (Limnephilus indivisus) one of six species: black ash, swamp white oak, lake sedge, balsam poplar (Populus balsamifera), American elm (Ulmus americana), or speckled alder (Alnus incana) for 14 days. Caddisflies had the highest survival and greater resource use when given black ash or speckled alder, which are abundant in black ash wetlands. These results suggest that loss of black ash will alter ecosystem processes via changes in the physical environment, changes in leaf litter properties, and changes in shredder processing rates of leaf litter.

祖母绿灰bore（Agrilus planipennis）入侵北美大湖区上部的广泛的黑灰湿地，预计将改变植物群落的结构和组成，从而改变温度和水文学等非生物因素。我们进行了两个实验，以研究叶子凋落物的变化如何通过1）凋落物分解的变化和2）水生无脊椎动物摄食而改变生态系统功能。在第一个实验中，我们放置了装有黑灰（Fraxinus nigra），沼泽白橡树（Quercus bicolor）和湖（Carex lacustris）的垃圾袋。），无论是对照还是清晰的黑灰图。我们发现，黑灰垃圾的分解速度比其他物种快2-3倍，并且在对照地块中的分解速度要比纯种方式快。伐白对沼泽白橡树或湖的崩溃率没有影响。对于第二个实验中，我们给撕碎石蛾幼虫（Limnephilus indivisus）6种之一：灰黑色，沼泽白橡木，湖莎草，香脂杨（欧洲大叶杨），美国榆树（美国榆），或斑点桤木（赤杨）的14天。如果给与黑灰湿地丰富的黑灰或有斑点的der木，则无ad蝇的存活率最高，资源使用也更多。这些结果表明，黑灰的损失将通过物理环境的变化，叶子凋落物特性的变化以及叶子凋落物的切碎机处理速率的变化来改变生态系统过程。