Key message

Local climate exerted a stronger effect on leaf litter decomposition of deciduous Quercus acutissima Carruth. and evergreen Quercus glauca Thunb. than initial leaf litter quality: the decomposition was much faster for leaves of the two species in warm-temperate forest than in the cool-temperate one.

Context

Litter decomposition mainly depends on initial litter quality (e.g., physical features and nutrient content). However, the effects of litter quality on decomposition remain inconclusive in different climatic zones due to complex interaction with climatic factors.

Aims

This study investigated the effect of litter quality and climatic factors on litter decomposition of deciduous Quercus acutissima Carruth. and evergreen Quercus glauca Thunb. in warm-temperate forests in Jeju Island (Cheongsu; Seonheul) and cool-temperate forest at Chungnam National University Experimental Forest (CNU).

Methods

Through an inter-site experiment and litterbag technique, variations in remaining mass and decomposition coefficients (k) were measured from the two Quercus species in Korea.

Results

The initial mass loss was rapid during the wettest months in summer season. Annual k varied significantly by site: Seonheul (0.77 year⁻¹ ± 0.03) > Cheongsu (0.62 year⁻¹ ± 0.02) > CNU (0.42 year⁻¹ ± 0.01). Leaf litter decomposition was similar for the two species in the warm-temperate sites and 36% higher in the deciduous species in the cool-temperate site. Based on the principal component analysis, overall k values were strongly correlated (rho = 0.55–0.60) with climatic factors, and no significant correlation was detected in leaf litter quality.

Conclusion

In conclusion, our results highlighted that the climatic condition in the study sites predominantly controlled the litter decomposition of the deciduous and evergreen oak species, with nevertheless an interspecific difference in the coolest site.

中文翻译：

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落叶栎的叶片凋落物分解。和常绿的栎栎。在韩国三个对比鲜明的温带林分进行的站点间实验中

关键信息

当地气候对落叶 栎栎 叶片凋落物分解的影响更大。和常绿的 栎栎 。比最初的凋落物质量要好：温带森林中这两种物种的叶子分解要快于温带森林中的一种。

语境

垃圾分解主要取决于初始垃圾质量（例如，物理特征和养分含量）。然而，由于与气候因素的复杂相互作用，不同气候区域的凋落物质量对分解的影响仍然没有定论。

目的

本研究调查了凋落物质量和气候因素对落叶栎栎凋落物分解的影响。和常绿的栎栎。在济州岛（Cheongsu; Seonheul）的温带森林和忠南国立大学实验森林（CNU）的温带森林中。

方法

通过现场试验和垃圾袋技术，从韩国的两个栎属物种中测量了残留质量和分解系数（k）的变化。

结果

在夏季最潮湿的月份中，最初的质量损失很快。年k因地点而异：Seonheul（0.77年^-1 ±0.03）> Cheongsu（0.62年^-1 ±0.02）> CNU（0.42年^-1 ±0.01）。在温带地区，这两个物种的凋落物分解相似，而在温带地区，落叶树种的凋落物分解率高出36％。基于主成分分析，总k值与气候因素密切相关（rho = 0.55–0.60），并且未检测到凋落物质量的显着相关性。

结论

总之，我们的结果强调指出，研究地点的气候条件主要控制着落叶和常绿橡树树种的凋落物分解，但是在最凉爽的地方存在种间差异。