We tested the “home-field advantage” hypothesis, i.e., that leaves decay faster under the parent tree species in European beech, Douglas fir, and Turkey oak stands in a mountain forest in Italy. The fate of leaves in buried litterbags was monitored for one year to document their carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) dynamics, chemical structure, and associated microbial community.

The three litter types lost C continuously at a similar rate, regardless of the species they were buried under. On the other hand, the N losses varied among litter types, and beech even gained a small but significant amount of N in the first 3–6 months. Differences between the litters were evident in the alkyl region of the nuclear magnetic resonance spectra and smaller in the aromatic and aryl acids regions. By the end of the experiment, all litters had lost substantial quantities of carbohydrates, lignin, proteins, and lipids, particularly oak litter. The richness and diversity of bacterial and fungal communities increased with time. Litter type had the greatest impact on microbial community composition in the first months of decomposition; afterwards, the stand type had a greater influence on the assemblage of decomposer microorganisms.

Overall, this study provides little evidence in support of the home-field advantage hypothesis, which could be valid only for oak. Instead, our findings indicate that the chemical composition of litter is the main factor affecting the early stages of litter decomposition. Tree species and soil properties within the stand play an important role in the advanced stages of decomposition since these factors control the assemblage and functions of the soil microbial community.

我们测试了“本田优势”假说，即，在欧洲山毛榉，花旗松和土耳其橡树在意大利的山林中的亲本树种下，叶子的腐烂更快。对埋葬的垃圾袋中叶子的命运进行了为期一年的监测，以记录它们的碳（C）和氮（N）动态，化学结构以及相关的微生物群落。

不管它们埋在哪种物种下，三种垃圾均以相似的速率连续损失C。另一方面，不同类型的凋落物的氮素损失也不同，在最初的3-6个月中，山毛榉甚至吸收了少量但大量的氮素。凋落物之间的差异在核磁共振波谱的烷基区域很明显，而在芳族和芳酸区域则较小。到实验结束时，所有垃圾都损失了大量的碳水化合物，木质素，蛋白质和脂质，尤其是橡树垃圾。细菌和真菌群落的丰富性和多样性随时间增加。在分解的最初几个月中，垃圾类型对微生物群落组成的影响最大。此后，林分类型对分解微生物的组装产生更大的影响。

总的来说，这项研究几乎没有证据支持主场优势假说，该假说仅对橡树有效。相反，我们的发现表明，垃圾的化学成分是影响垃圾分解早期的主要因素。林分内的树木种类和土壤特性在分解的晚期阶段起着重要作用，因为这些因素控制着土壤微生物群落的组成和功能。