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Litter mixing effects on decomposition in a peatland partially drained 30 years ago

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Abstract

Litter decomposition is a key process controlling carbon (C) sequestration in Sphagnum dominated peatlands. Peatland drainage lowers the water table, increases vascular plant richness, and alters species evenness. We hypothesized that abiotic and biotic changes following peatland drainage would greatly accelerate litter decomposition. This hypothesis was tested by a litter decomposition experiment in an undrained and a drained area of a peatland which was partially drained 30 years ago. Litter bags filled with shoots of the peat moss Sphagnum magellanicum and leaves of the dwarf shrub Potentilla fruticosa as single species and species mixtures with three evenness treatments were placed at the surface of the peatland. After 6 months (from August onwards) of decomposition, the single species litter of Potentilla fruticosa, with low initial C/N ratio, decomposed much faster than S. magellanicum litter, with high initial C/N ratio in both undrained and drained areas. Overall, mixed litter produced antagonistic effects (observed values less than expected) on decomposition and C/N ratio. Litter mixtures dominated by S. magellanicum showed lower mass loss than other mixtures. Contrary to our expectation, the undrained area showed higher decomposition than the drained area. Our study suggests that drainage-induced alteration in plant diversity slows down litter decomposition in a short term. However, in drained peatlands, lower C/N ratio of mixed litter may enhance decomposition and reduce C sequestration over time.

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Acknowledgements

This study was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41871046 and 41471043), Jilin Provincial Science and Technology Development Project (No. 20180101002JC and 20190101025JH), and Jilin Provincial Field Observation Station of Changbai Mountain Wetland Ecology (Grant No. 20190901001JC). We thank Zicheng Yu for his help in the field work, Sebastian Sundberg for his help in language edition and three anonymous reviewers for their important comments and suggestions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Geographical Processes and Ecological Security in Changbai Mountains, Ministry of Education, School of Geographical Sciences, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, Jilin, 130024, China

    Talal Asif & Zhao-Jun Bu

  2. State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Vegetation Restoration, Institute for Peat and Mire Research, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, Jilin, 130024, China

    Talal Asif, Zhao-Jun Bu & Jin-Ze Ma

  3. Changbai Mountain Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecological Process and Environmental Change in Jilin Province, Changchun, Jilin, 130024, China

    Talal Asif, Zhao-Jun Bu & Jin-Ze Ma

  4. Peatland Ecology Research Group, Centre for Northern Studies and Plant Sciences Department, Université Laval, 2480 Boulevard Hochelaga, Québec, G1V 0A6, Canada

    Talal Asif & Line Rochefort

  5. Institute of Grassland Science, Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, Jilin, 130024, China

    Iqra Naeem

  6. Department of Biology, Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, ON, P7B 5E1, Canada

    Azim Mallik

  7. Research Center for Environmental Engineering and Technology, School of Geography and Environmental Engineering, Gannan Normal University, Ganzhou, 341000, China

    Jin-Ze Ma

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  1. Talal Asif
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  2. Iqra Naeem
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  3. Zhao-Jun Bu
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  4. Azim Mallik
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  5. Jin-Ze Ma
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  6. Line Rochefort
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Contributions

ZJB-conceived and designed the experiment. TA and IN participated in field work and analyzed the data. TA, AM, ZJB, and LR wrote and revised the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Zhao-Jun Bu.

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Asif, T., Naeem, I., Bu, ZJ. et al. Litter mixing effects on decomposition in a peatland partially drained 30 years ago. Wetlands Ecol Manage 29, 883–895 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11273-021-09818-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11273-021-09818-4

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