Different components of functional biodiversity, such as functional type richness and composition, have been reported to affect the decomposition of litter mixtures. In spite of the numerous reports of these effects, ...

Aims: We evaluated the combined effects of litter type, UV radiation, and soil water on litter decomposition processes in denuded areas of the arid Patagonian Monte. Methods: We conducted a manipulative experiment with ...

A field experiment was conducted in a temperate semi-arid grassland of central Argentina to determine mass loss and P and N concentrations of decaying leaf litter and roots of Poa ligularis (high-quality litter) and Stipa ...

Plant litter is the layer composed of dead plant material that covers soil surfaces in terrestrial ecosystems. It is an important pool of essential nutrients for soil and plants, serving also as a protective layer on the ...

Aims: Soil processes in arid ecosystems are strongly controlled by resource scarcity. Grazing intensification can induce changes in ecosystem processes through multiple pathways, adding new constraints to those of local ...

Forest loss can affect ecosystem processes such as litter decomposition. In semi-arid areas, where forest loss is increasing, soil fauna can play a particularly important role on litter decomposition. However, few studies ...

The decomposition of soil litter contributes to maintaining agricultural sustainability, since the nutrients released by microbial activity are determinants of the net productivity of the agroecosystem. The decomposition ...

Temperate forests play an important role in the global carbon (C) cycle. Extensive research on litter decomposition in temperate forests in the Northern Hemisphere have greatly contributed to our conceptual framework of ...