Temporal changes in mixing effects on litter decay and nitrogen release in a boreal riparian forest in northeastern China

Abstract

In riparian forests, litter decay provides essential energy and nutrients for both terrestrial and fluvial ecosystems. Litter mixing effects (LMEs) are crucial in regulating litter decay and nutrient dynamics, yet how LMEs change over time is unclear in riparian forests. In this study, leaf litter of three common species (Alnus sibirica Fisch. ex Turcz, Betula platyphylla Sukaczev, and Betula fruticosa Pall.) were mixed in an equal mass ratio and LMEs were measured for mass and nitrogen (N) remaining in whole litter mixtures over a 3-year period in a boreal riparian forest, northeastern China. LMEs were also assessed for component litter mass and N remaining by separating litter mixtures by species. During the decay of litter mixtures, antagonistic effects on mass and N remaining were dominant after one and two years of decay, whereas only additive effects were observed after three years. LMEs correlated negatively with functional diversity after the first and two years of decay but disappeared after three years. When sorting litter mixtures by species, non-additive LMEs on mass and N remaining decreased over incubation time. Moreover, non-additive LMEs were more frequent for litter of both B. platyphylla and B. fruticosa with lower N concentration than for A. sibirica litter with higher N concentration. These results indicate that incubation time is a key determinant of litter mixing effects during decay and highlight that late-stage litter mixture decay may be predicted from single litter decay dynamics in boreal riparian forests.