Global synthesis of the temperature sensitivity of leaf litter breakdown in streams and rivers

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dc.contributor.authorShah, Jennifer J. Follstaden
dc.contributor.authorKominoski, John S.en
dc.contributor.authorArdon, Marceloen
dc.contributor.authorDodds, Walter K.en
dc.contributor.authorGessner, Mark O.en
dc.contributor.authorGriffiths, Natalie A.en
dc.contributor.authorHawkins, Charles P.en
dc.contributor.authorJohnson, Sherri L.en
dc.contributor.authorLecerf, Antoineen
dc.contributor.authorLeroy, Carri J.en
dc.contributor.authorManning, David W. P.en
dc.contributor.authorRosemond, Amy D.en
dc.contributor.authorSinsabaugh, Robert L.en
dc.contributor.authorSwan, Christopher M.en
dc.contributor.authorWebster, Jackson R.en
dc.contributor.authorZeglin, Lydia H.en
dc.contributor.departmentBiological Sciencesen
dc.date.accessioned2020-03-20T16:42:39Zen
dc.date.available2020-03-20T16:42:39Zen
dc.date.issued2017-08en
dc.description.abstractStreams and rivers are important conduits of terrestrially derived carbon (C) to atmospheric and marine reservoirs. Leaf litter breakdown rates are expected to increase as water temperatures rise in response to climate change. The magnitude of increase in breakdown rates is uncertain, given differences in litter quality and microbial and detritivore community responses to temperature, factors that can influence the apparent temperature sensitivity of breakdown and the relative proportion of C lost to the atmosphere vs. stored or transported downstream. Here, we synthesized 1025 records of litter breakdown in streams and rivers to quantify its temperature sensitivity, as measured by the activation energy (E-a, in eV). Temperature sensitivity of litter breakdown varied among twelve plant genera for which E-a could be calculated. Higher values of E-a were correlated with lower-quality litter, but these correlations were influenced by a single, N-fixing genus (Alnus). E-a values converged when genera were classified into three breakdown rate categories, potentially due to continual water availability in streams and rivers modulating the influence of leaf chemistry on breakdown. Across all data representing 85 plant genera, the E-a was 0.34 +/- 0.04 eV, or approximately half the value (0.65 eV) predicted by metabolic theory. Our results indicate that average breakdown rates may increase by 5-21% with a 1-4 C rise in water temperature, rather than a 10-45% increase expected, according to metabolic theory. Differential warming of tropical and temperate biomes could result in a similar proportional increase in breakdown rates, despite variation in E-a values for these regions (0.75 +/- 0.13 eV and 0.27 +/- 0.05 eV, respectively). The relative proportions of gaseous C loss and organic matter transport downstream should not change with rising temperature given that E-a values for breakdown mediated by microbes alone and microbes plus detritivores were similar at the global scale.en
dc.description.adminPublic domain – authored by a U.S. government employeeen
dc.description.notesWe thank many authors who graciously provided requested information that was not included in published literature and three anonymous reviewers who provided suggestions that improved the clarity of the manuscript. The US Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) Network provided financial support for this project, through an award (DEB#0936498) from the National Science Foundation (NSF). JSK was supported by NSF EF#1064998. MA was supported by NSF DBI#1216512. NAG was supported by the Department of Energy's Office of Science, Biological and Environmental Research. Oak Ridge National Laboratory is managed by UT-Battelle, LLC, for the US DOE under contract DE-AC05-00OR22725.en
dc.description.sponsorshipUS Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) Network through award DEB from National Science Foundation (NSF)National Science Foundation (NSF) [0936498]; NSF EFNational Science Foundation (NSF) [1064998]; NSF DBINational Science Foundation (NSF) [1216512]; Department of Energy's Office of Science, Biological and Environmental Research; US DOEUnited States Department of Energy (DOE) [DE-AC05-00OR22725]en
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.13609en
dc.identifier.eissn1365-2486en
dc.identifier.issn1354-1013en
dc.identifier.issue8en
dc.identifier.pmid28039909en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/97387en
dc.identifier.volume23en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.rightsCreative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedicationen
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/en
dc.subjectactivation energyen
dc.subjectbreakdownen
dc.subjectcarbon cyclingen
dc.subjectclimate changeen
dc.subjectdetritivoreen
dc.subjectleaf chemistryen
dc.subjectmetabolic theoryen
dc.subjectmicrobeen
dc.subjectorganic matteren
dc.subjecttemperature sensitivityen
dc.titleGlobal synthesis of the temperature sensitivity of leaf litter breakdown in streams and riversen
dc.title.serialGlobal Change Biologyen
dc.typeArticle - Refereeden
dc.type.dcmitypeTexten
dc.type.dcmitypeStillImageen

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Scholarly Works, Biological Sciences
Destination Area: Global Systems Science (GSS)