Mark Davidson Jewell1, Bill Shipley2, Alain Paquette3, Christian Messier4, Peter B Reich5. 1. Département de Biologie, Université de Sherbrooke, 2500 boul. de l'Université, Sherbrooke, Quebec J1K 2R1, Canada. 2. Département de Biologie, Université de Sherbrooke, 2500 boul. de l'Université, Sherbrooke, Quebec J1K 2R1, Canada, Bill.Shipley@Usherbrooke.ca. 3. Center for Forest Research, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), PO Box 8888, Centre-ville station, Montreal, Quebec H3C 3P8, Canada. 4. Center for Forest Research, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), PO Box 8888, Centre-ville station, Montreal, Quebec H3C 3P8, Canada, Instituit des sciences de la Foret Feuillue Tempérée (ISFORT), Université du Québec en Outaouais (UQO), 58 rue Principale, Ripon, Quebec J0V 1V0, Canada. 5. Department of Forest Resources, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, St Paul, MN 55108, USA and Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, University of Western Sydney, Richmond 2753, Australia.
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Litter often decomposes faster in its environment of origin (at 'home') than in a foreign environment ('away'), which has become known as the home-field advantage (HFA). However, many studies have highlighted the conditional nature of the HFA, suggesting that current understanding of this phenomenon is not yet sufficient to generalize across systems. METHODS: The HFA hypothesis was tested for mono-specific and mixed-species litter using a tree-based experiment that manipulated the functional identity and diversity of the host tree community. Litter types of varying quality were transplanted between several host tree communities and decomposition rates were measured using litterbags. Since the decomposer community should respond to traits of the litter input and not their taxonomic identity, a traits-based index of litter-tree similarity was developed. KEY RESULTS: Mono-specific litter exhibited HFA, but when the same litter was decomposed in mixture, this trend was not observed. Mixed-species litter decomposed on average no faster or slower than monoculture litter and exhibited both positive and negative species interactions. These non-additive interactions of decomposition rates in mixture were influenced by the degree of similarity between litter and tree traits. Both synergistic and antagonistic interactions decreased in magnitude with increasing litter-tree similarity such that mixture rates were predictable from monocultures. CONCLUSIONS: The HFA occurred more strongly for mono-specific litter than for the litter types mixed together because interactions between species may have masked this effect. However, when expressed as a function of trait similarity between litters and tree communities, the HFA was not detected.
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Litter often decomposes faster in its environment of origin (at 'home') than in a foreign environment ('away'), which has become known as the home-field advantage (HFA). However, many studies have highlighted the conditional nature of the HFA, suggesting that current understanding of this phenomenon is not yet sufficient to generalize across systems. METHODS: The HFA hypothesis was tested for mono-specific and mixed-species litter using a tree-based experiment that manipulated the functional identity and diversity of the host tree community. Litter types of varying quality were transplanted between several host tree communities and decomposition rates were measured using litterbags. Since the decomposer community should respond to traits of the litter input and not their taxonomic identity, a traits-based index of litter-tree similarity was developed. KEY RESULTS: Mono-specific litter exhibited HFA, but when the same litter was decomposed in mixture, this trend was not observed. Mixed-species litter decomposed on average no faster or slower than monoculture litter and exhibited both positive and negative species interactions. These non-additive interactions of decomposition rates in mixture were influenced by the degree of similarity between litter and tree traits. Both synergistic and antagonistic interactions decreased in magnitude with increasing litter-tree similarity such that mixture rates were predictable from monocultures. CONCLUSIONS: The HFA occurred more strongly for mono-specific litter than for the litter types mixed together because interactions between species may have masked this effect. However, when expressed as a function of trait similarity between litters and tree communities, the HFA was not detected.
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