Vegetation type and soil moisture drive variations in leaf litter decomposition following secondary forest succession

Abstract

Soil moisture was an important factor affecting litter decomposition. However, less attention has been given to the complete succession ecosystem after farmland abandonment. To better understand the effect of moisture on leaf litter decomposition after farmland abandonment, in this study, we used three water gradients (10%, 25% and 50%) of field moisture capacity for succession vegetation. Furthermore, we used the typical species leaf litter decomposition of four succession stages—grassland (GL), shrubland (SL), pioneer forest (PF), and climax forest (CF) from the Loess Plateau of China. The results showed that leaves decomposition rate exhibited an increasing pattern with increasing moisture contents. The decomposition trend was shown as GL > SL > PF > CF. During the decomposition process, the leaf carbon concentration (LC) and leaf nitrogen concentration (LN) changed, but non-significantly. The effects of LC, LN, and LC: LN on leaf decomposition varied with vegetation type. Soil properties such as NH4+, NO3−, dissolved organic nitrogen (DON), and leaf quality parameters such as leaf cellulose, lignin, lignin: LN, and lignin: LC played an important role in driving leaf litter decomposition. Overall, the results provide evidence that litter decomposition in secondary forest succession system was linked to leaf and soil nutrient dynamics, and was limited by soil moisture.