Effect of climatic factors on leaf litter decomposition dynamics of a subtropical scrub forest under field and microcosm conditions

Figures & data

Figure 1. Variation in ambient temperature and precipitation during field experiment.

Figure 2. Spatial distribution of sample plots and field incubation sites in the HM forest.

Figure 3. Effect of elevation on litter decomposition dynamics in the field; (a) mass loss and residual weight, (b) half life and decay rate and (c) remaining C, N and C:N.

Table 1. Correlation analysis of site elevation with litter decomposition dynamics.

Parameters	Elevation (m)	Mass loss (%)	Residual weight (%)	k (yr^−1)	T50% (yr)	C (%)	N (%)
Elevation (m)	1
Mass loss (%)	−0.368	1
Residual wt. (%)	0.368	−1.000**	1
k (yr^−1)	−0.495*	0.334	−0.334	1
T50% (yr)	0.481*	−0.391	0.391	−0.903**	1
C (%)	0.382	−0.706**	0.706**	−0.014	0.141	1
N (%)	0.366	−0.777**	0.777**	0.047	0.025	0.775**	1
C:N	0.271	−0.485*	0.485*	−0.030	0.177	0.907**	0.441*

**p < .01, *p < .05.

Figure 4. Effect of incubation time on litter decomposition dynamics in the field; (a) mass loss and residual weight, (b) half life and decay rate and (c) remaining C, N and C:N. Bars and lines with different letters indicate significant difference at p < .05 based on Tukey HSD test.

Table 2. Univariate analysis of variance with effect of temperature (n = 3), soil moisture (n = 2) and time (n = 3) on litter decomposition dynamics in microcosms.

Source of variance	Mass loss (%)	Residual weight (%)	k (yr^−1)	T50% (yr)	Litter C (%)	Litter N (%)	Litter C:N	Soil respiration (mgCO2/day)
Te	6.006**	6.006**	7.324**	6.261**	148.20***	60.79***	1155***	1310***
Ti	23.353***	23.353***	4.266*	1.632	75.336***	28.84***	133.6***	61.878***
M	1.611	1.611	1.469	1.322	3.026	49.35	15.56	2.000
Te × Ti	0.143	0.143	0.230	0.237	1.787	70.05	10.93	9.638***
Te × M	0.034	0.034	0.030	0.003	0.247	12.51	16.01	14.092***
M × Ti	0.127	0.127	0.004	0.221	1.574	18.68	67.29	13.755***
Te × M × Ti	0.106	0.106	0.126	0.047	0.866	16.59	20.47	2.015***

Te = Temperature, Ti = Time, M = Soil Moisture ***p < .001, **p < .01, *p < .05

Figure 5. Effect of incubation temperature (a–c), time (d–f) and soil moisture (g–i) on litter decomposition dynamics during microcosm experiment. Bars and lines with different letters indicate significant difference at p < .05 based on Tukey HSD test.

Figure 6. Main effect of incubation temperature, time and soil moisture on soil respiration. Bars with different letters differ significantly at p < .05 based on Tukey HSD.

Table 3. Multiple comparison of effect of treatments on soil respiration (mgCO₂/day) in the microcosms.

	30 days		60 days		90 days
Temperature (°C)	M15%	M20%	M15%	M20%	M15%	M20%
	5.9 ± 0.1^c	6.8 ± 0.3^b	7.1 ± 0.4^c	8.3 ± 0.2^c	8.9 ± 0.4^c	8.9 ± 0.3^c
To + 2.3°C	13.1 ± 0.2^b	13.4 ± 0.3^a	13.3 ± 0.1^b	14.4 ± 0.2^b	14.6 ± 0.3^b	14.9 ± 0.4^a
To + 4.5°C	13.9 ± 0.4^a	13.5 ± 0.2^a	14.9 ± 0.4^a	15.3 ± 0.3^a	15.6 ± 0.4^a	13.4 ± 0.4^b
F	289.531	224.143	265.041	223.347	199.163	145.898
P	.000	.000	.000	.000	.000	.000

Means with different letters in a column differ significantly at p < .05.

Data availability statement

The data supporting the findings of this study are available Mendeley Data, V1, DOI: 10.17632/tkddkcv6sf.1 (https://data.mendeley.com/datasets/tkddkcv6sf/1).