RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Fungi exposed to chronic nitrogen enrichment are less able to decay leaf litter
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 067306
DO 10.1101/067306
A1 Linda T.A. van Diepen
A1 Serita D. Frey
A1 Elizabeth A. Landis
A1 Eric W. Morrison
A1 Anne Pringle
YR 2016
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2016/08/02/067306.abstract
AB Saprotrophic fungi are the primary decomposers of plant litter in temperate forests, and their activity is critical for carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycling. Simulated atmospheric N deposition is associated with reduced fungal biomass, shifts in fungal community structure, slowed litter decay, and soil C accumulation. Although rarely studied, N deposition may also result in novel selective pressures on fungi, affecting evolutionary trajectories. To directly test if long-term N enrichment reshapes fungal behaviors, we isolated decomposer fungi from a longterm (28 year) N addition experiment and used a common garden approach to compare growth rates and decay abilities of isolates from control and N amended plots. Both growth and decay were significantly altered by long-term exposure to N enrichment. Changes in growth rates were idiosyncratic, but litter decay by N isolates was generally lower compared to control isolates of the same species, a response not readily reversed when N isolates were grown in control (low N) environments. Changes in fungal behaviors accompany and perhaps drive previously observed N-induced shifts in fungal diversity, community composition, and litter decay dynamics.