Abstract Based on evidence from various ecosystems, it is hypothesized that interaction between leaf-litter and soil decomposer communities results in higher decomposition when leaf litter is decomposed in its home than away soil, a phenomenon called home field advantage (HFA). However, the generality of this hypothesis remains unclear due to the emergence of contrasting results across various biomes. Here, we tested if HFA also occurs in lawn grass (Cynodon dactylon; GL) and date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) leaf litter (DL) decomposition in arid sandy soil using reciprocal litter transplant mesocosms experiment. Litter decomposition was monitored by measuring CO2 emission (alkali trap), dissolved organic C (DOC), and mineral N (Nmin) over 180 days. Regression analysis was used to estimate HFA, litter quality (QI), and soil decomposer communities' ability (FA) indices. The highest HFA (69%) was observed for non-cumulative CO2 emission on day 14 that was decreased to 4% on day 180. Similarly, Nmin from leaf litter was 4 and 6% higher at home than away soil on days 90 and 180, respectively. These HFA effects were mainly attributed to higher CO2 emission and soil Nmin from grass litter at home than away-soil. In addition, microbial biomass C from GL and N immobilization from DL was lower at home than away-soil. However, we did not observe HFA for DOC on day 90 or 180. The QI indicates that CO2 emission or Nmin was lower from DL than GL irrespective of home or away soil. The QI and FA did not change over time for the aforesaid parameters despite HFA effects decreased with time for non-cumulative CO2 emission. This indicates that leaf litter and soil specific interactions did not remain constant for litter C and N cycling, and hence this interaction could be nutrient-specific during leaf litter decomposition in soil.

中文翻译：

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家田优势描述了狗牙根和凤凰树落叶在干旱沙质土壤中的碳和氮动态

摘要 基于来自各种生态系统的证据，假设凋落物和土壤分解者群落之间的相互作用在其家中比在外地分解时导致更高的分解，这种现象称为家田优势（HFA）。然而，由于各种生物群落中出现了对比结果，这一假设的普遍性仍不清楚。在这里，我们测试了 HFA 是否也发生在草坪草 (Cynodon dactylon; GL) 和枣椰树 (Phoenix dactylifera) 落叶 (DL) 在干旱沙质土壤中使用互惠凋落物移植中观实验。通过在 180 天内测量 CO2 排放（碱阱）、溶解有机碳 (DOC) 和矿物 N (Nmin) 来监测凋落物分解。回归分析用于估计 HFA、垫料质量 (QI)、和土壤分解者群落能力（FA）指数。在第 14 天观察到非累积 CO2 排放的最高 HFA (69%)，在第 180 天下降到 4%。同样，在第 90 天和第 180 天，在家中落叶的 Nmin 比外地土壤高 4% 和 6% ， 分别。这些 HFA 效应主要归因于家中草屑的 CO2 排放量和土壤 Nmin 高于外地土壤。此外，来自 GL 的微生物生物量 C 和来自 DL 的 N 固定在家里低于外土。然而，我们没有在第 90 天或第 180 天观察到 DOC 的 HFA。QI 表明，DL 的 CO2 排放量或 Nmin 低于 GL，而不管家庭或外地土壤如何。尽管对于非累积 CO2 排放，HFA 的影响随着时间的推移而降低，但上述参数的 QI 和 FA 并未随时间变化。