Abstract
Litter decomposition plays a key role in terrestrial ecosystem nutrient cycling; yet, to date, science is lacking a comprehensive understanding of the non-additive effect in mixing litter decomposition.
In order to help fill that gap, we compiled 63 individual studies for the purpose of performing a meta-analysis of the non-additive effect in terrestrial ecosystems.
Results indicate that a synergistic effect: 1) dominates in mixed litter decay with an average increase of +3% over single litter decay; 2) occurs during the early and medium decomposition stages; 3) increases with mean air temperature and decreases with latitude; and 4) is observed in separated mixing litter studies with low-quality species, while no significant change is observed with high-quality species.
Our meta-analysis provides a systematic evaluation of the non-additive effect in terrestrial ecosystems’ mixing litter decomposition, which is critical for understanding and improving carbon forecasts and nutrient dynamics.