Decomposition has historically been considered a function of climate and substrate but new research highlights the significant role of specific micro-organisms and their interactions. In particular, wood decay is better predicted by variation in fungal communities than in climate. Multiple links exist: interspecific competition slows decomposition in more diverse fungal communities, whereas trait variation between different communities also affects process rates. Here, we paired field and laboratory experiments using a dispersal gradient at a forest-shrubland ecotone to examine how fungi affect wood decomposition across scales. We observed that while fungal communities closer to forests were capable of faster decomposition, wood containing diverse fungal communities decomposed more slowly, independent of location. Dispersal-driven stochasticity in small-scale community assembly was nested within large-scale turnover in the regional species pool, decoupling the two patterns. We thus find multiple distinct links between microbes and ecosystem function that manifest across different spatial scales.

中文翻译：

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真菌和分解之间存在多种不同的、依赖于规模的联系

分解历来被认为是气候和基质的函数，但新的研究强调了特定微生物及其相互作用的重要作用。特别是，真菌群落的变化比气候更能预测木材腐烂。存在多种联系：种间竞争减缓了更多样化真菌群落的分解，而不同群落之间的性状变异也会影响过程速率。在这里，我们在森林 - 灌木林交错带使用分散梯度对现场和实验室实验进行配对，以研究真菌如何影响木材分解的跨尺度。我们观察到，虽然靠近森林的真菌群落能够更快地分解，但含有不同真菌群落的木材分解得更慢，与位置无关。小规模群落组装中分散驱动的随机性嵌套在区域物种库中的大规模周转中，使两种模式脱钩。因此，我们发现微生物和生态系统功能之间存在多种不同的联系，这些联系表现在不同的空间尺度上。