Reading tea leaves worldwide: Decoupled drivers of initial litter decomposition mass-loss rate and stabilization

Judith M. Sarneel; Mariet M. Hefting; Taru Sandén; Johan van den Hoogen; Devin Routh; Bhupendra S. Adhikari; Juha M. Alatalo; Alla Aleksanyan; Inge H.J. Althuizen; Mohammed H.S.A. Alsafran; Jeff W. Atkins; Laurent Augusto; Mika Aurela; Aleksej V. Azarov; Isabel C. Barrio; Claus Beier; María D. Bejarano; Sue E. Benham; Björn Berg; Nadezhda V. Bezler; Katrín Björnsdóttir; Martin A. Bolinder; Michele Carbognani; Roberto Cazzolla Gatti; Stefano Chelli; Maxim V. Chistotin; Casper T. Christiansen; Pascal Courtois; Thomas W. Crowther; Michele S. Dechoum; Ika Djukic; Sarah Duddigan; Louise M. Egerton-Warburton; Nicolas Fanin; Maria Fantappiè; Silvano Fares; Geraldo W. Fernandes; Nina V. Filippova; Andreas Fliessbach; David Fuentes; Roberto Godoy; Thomas Grünwald; Gema Guzmán; Joseph E. Hawes; Yue He; Jean Marc Hero; Laura L. Hess; Katja Hogendoorn; Toke T. Høye; Wilma W.P. Jans; Ingibjörg S. Jónsdóttir; Sabina Keller; Sebastian Kepfer-Rojas; Natalya N. Kuz'menko; Klaus S. Larsen; Hjalmar Laudon; Jonas J. Lembrechts; Junhui Li; Jean Marc Limousin; Sergey M. Lukin; Renato Marques; César Marín; Marshall D. McDaniel; Qi Meek; Genrietta E. Merzlaya; Anders Michelsen; Leonardo Montagnani; Peter Mueller; Rajasekaran Murugan; Isla H. Myers-Smith; Stefanie Nolte; Raúl Ochoa-Hueso; Bernard N. Okafor; Vladimir V. Okorkov; Vladimir G. Onipchenko; María C. Orozco; Tina Parkhurst; Carlos A. Peres; Matteo Petit Bon; Alessandro Petraglia; Martin Pingel; Corinna Rebmann; Brett R. Scheffers; Inger Schmidt; Mary C. Scholes; Efrat Sheffer; Lyudmila K. Shevtsova; Stuart W. Smith; Adriano Sofo; Pablo R. Stevenson; Barbora Strouhalová; Anders Sundsdal; Rafael B. Sühs; Gebretsadik Tamene; Haydn J.D. Thomas; Duygu Tolunay; Marcello Tomaselli; Simon Tresch; Dominique L. Tucker; Michael D. Ulyshen; Alejandro Valdecantos; Vigdis Vandvik; Elena I. Vanguelova; Kris Verheyen; Xuhui Wang; Laura Yahdjian; Xaris S. Yumashev; Joost A. Keuskamp

doi:10.1111/ele.14415

Reading tea leaves worldwide: Decoupled drivers of initial litter decomposition mass-loss rate and stabilization

Judith M. Sarneel
, Mariet M. Hefting
, Taru Sandén
, Johan van den Hoogen
, Devin Routh
, Bhupendra S. Adhikari
, Juha M. Alatalo
, Alla Aleksanyan
, Inge H.J. Althuizen
, Mohammed H.S.A. Alsafran
, Jeff W. Atkins
, Laurent Augusto
, Mika Aurela
, Aleksej V. Azarov
, Isabel C. Barrio
, Claus Beier
, María D. Bejarano
, Sue E. Benham
, Björn Berg
, Nadezhda V. Bezler

Katrín Björnsdóttir, Martin A. Bolinder, Michele Carbognani, Roberto Cazzolla Gatti, Stefano Chelli, Maxim V. Chistotin, Casper T. Christiansen, Pascal Courtois, Thomas W. Crowther, Michele S. Dechoum, Ika Djukic, Sarah Duddigan, Louise M. Egerton-Warburton, Nicolas Fanin, Maria Fantappiè, Silvano Fares, Geraldo W. Fernandes, Nina V. Filippova, Andreas Fliessbach, David Fuentes, Roberto Godoy, Thomas Grünwald, Gema Guzmán, Joseph E. Hawes, Yue He, Jean Marc Hero, Laura L. Hess, Katja Hogendoorn, Toke T. Høye, Wilma W.P. Jans, Ingibjörg S. Jónsdóttir, Sabina Keller, Sebastian Kepfer-Rojas, Natalya N. Kuz'menko, Klaus S. Larsen, Hjalmar Laudon, Jonas J. Lembrechts, Junhui Li, Jean Marc Limousin, Sergey M. Lukin, Renato Marques, César Marín, Marshall D. McDaniel, Qi Meek, Genrietta E. Merzlaya, Anders Michelsen, Leonardo Montagnani, Peter Mueller, Rajasekaran Murugan, Isla H. Myers-Smith, Stefanie Nolte, Raúl Ochoa-Hueso, Bernard N. Okafor, Vladimir V. Okorkov, Vladimir G. Onipchenko, María C. Orozco, Tina Parkhurst, Carlos A. Peres, Matteo Petit Bon, Alessandro Petraglia, Martin Pingel, Corinna Rebmann, Brett R. Scheffers, Inger Schmidt, Mary C. Scholes, Efrat Sheffer, Lyudmila K. Shevtsova, Stuart W. Smith, Adriano Sofo, Pablo R. Stevenson, Barbora Strouhalová, Anders Sundsdal, Rafael B. Sühs, Gebretsadik Tamene, Haydn J.D. Thomas, Duygu Tolunay, Marcello Tomaselli, Simon Tresch, Dominique L. Tucker, Michael D. Ulyshen, Alejandro Valdecantos, Vigdis Vandvik, Elena I. Vanguelova, Kris Verheyen, Xuhui Wang, Laura Yahdjian, Xaris S. Yumashev, Joost A. Keuskamp

Umeå University
Utrecht University
Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety GmbH
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich
University of Zurich
Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
Qatar University
National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia
University of Bergen
Norwegian Research Centre
United States Department of Agriculture
INRAE
Finnish Meteorological Institute
Belgorod Federal Agrarain Scientific Center
Agricultural University of Iceland
University of Copenhagen
Technical University of Madrid
Forestry Commission England
University of Helsinki
All-Russian Institute of Sugar and Sygar Beet Named after D. Mazlumov
University of Gothenburg
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
University of Parma
Tomsk State University
University of Bologna
University of Camerino
All-Russian Research Institute of Agrochemistry Named after D. Pryanishnikov
Université de Lorraine
Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina
Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research
University of Reading
Chicago Botanic Garden
Council for Agricultural Research and Economics
National Research Council of Italy
Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais
Knowledge Center for Biodiversity
Yugra State University
Research Institute of Organic Agriculture
Universidad Austral de Chile
Technische Universität Dresden
Instituto de Investigacion y Formacion Agraria y Pesquera
Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)
Anglia Ruskin University
University of California at Santa Barbara
University of Cumbria
Peking University
International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, Laxenburg
University of Kent
University of the Sunshine Coast
University of Adelaide
Aarhus University
Wageningen University & Research
University of Iceland
Federal Scientific Center for Fiber Crops
University of Antwerp
Northern Arizona University
University of California at Irvine
Université de Montpellier
Upper Volga Federal Agrarain Scientific Center
Universidade Federal do Paraná
Universidad Santo Tomás, Santiago
Iowa State University
University of Alberta
Forest Services
Free University of Bozen-Bolzano
Smithsonian Institution
University of Hamburg
University of Kassel
Valli Sustainability Research and Education
University of British Columbia
University of Edinburgh
University of East Anglia
Centre for the Environment Fisheries and Aquaculture Science
University of Cádiz
National Horticultural Research Institute
Lomonosov Moscow State University
Universidad de los Andes Colombia
Murdoch University
University Centre in Svalbard
University of Tromsø – The Arctic University of Norway
Utah State University
Hochschule Geisenheim University
Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research
University of Florida
University of the Witwatersrand
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Norwegian University of Science and Technology
The James Hutton Institute
University of Basilicata
Charles University
University of South-Eastern Norway
Gondar University
Institute for Applied Plant Biology
Case Western Reserve University
Wake Forest University
University of Alicante
Ghent University
Universidad de Buenos Aires
Chelyabinsk Agricultural Institute
Biont Research

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

The breakdown of plant material fuels soil functioning and biodiversity. Currently, process understanding of global decomposition patterns and the drivers of such patterns are hampered by the lack of coherent large-scale datasets. We buried 36,000 individual litterbags (tea bags) worldwide and found an overall negative correlation between initial mass-loss rates and stabilization factors of plant-derived carbon, using the Tea Bag Index (TBI). The stabilization factor quantifies the degree to which easy-to-degrade components accumulate during early-stage decomposition (e.g. by environmental limitations). However, agriculture and an interaction between moisture and temperature led to a decoupling between initial mass-loss rates and stabilization, notably in colder locations. Using TBI improved mass-loss estimates of natural litter compared to models that ignored stabilization. Ignoring the transformation of dead plant material to more recalcitrant substances during early-stage decomposition, and the environmental control of this transformation, could overestimate carbon losses during early decomposition in carbon cycle models.

Original language	English
Article number	e14415
Journal	Ecology Letters
Volume	27
Issue number	5
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.14415
Publication status	Published - May 2024
Externally published	Yes

Keywords

citizen science
environmental drivers
global change
litter decomposition
mass loss
soil organic matter formation
stabilization
tea bag index

Access to Document

10.1111/ele.14415

Cite this

Sarneel, J. M., Hefting, M. M., Sandén, T., van den Hoogen, J., Routh, D., Adhikari, B. S., Alatalo, J. M., Aleksanyan, A., Althuizen, I. H. J., Alsafran, M. H. S. A., Atkins, J. W., Augusto, L., Aurela, M., Azarov, A. V., Barrio, I. C., Beier, C., Bejarano, M. D., Benham, S. E., Berg, B., ... Keuskamp, J. A. (2024). Reading tea leaves worldwide: Decoupled drivers of initial litter decomposition mass-loss rate and stabilization. Ecology Letters, 27(5), Article e14415. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.14415

@article{1be2fed0e0804406814544ddb7302b40,

title = "Reading tea leaves worldwide: Decoupled drivers of initial litter decomposition mass-loss rate and stabilization",

abstract = "The breakdown of plant material fuels soil functioning and biodiversity. Currently, process understanding of global decomposition patterns and the drivers of such patterns are hampered by the lack of coherent large-scale datasets. We buried 36,000 individual litterbags (tea bags) worldwide and found an overall negative correlation between initial mass-loss rates and stabilization factors of plant-derived carbon, using the Tea Bag Index (TBI). The stabilization factor quantifies the degree to which easy-to-degrade components accumulate during early-stage decomposition (e.g. by environmental limitations). However, agriculture and an interaction between moisture and temperature led to a decoupling between initial mass-loss rates and stabilization, notably in colder locations. Using TBI improved mass-loss estimates of natural litter compared to models that ignored stabilization. Ignoring the transformation of dead plant material to more recalcitrant substances during early-stage decomposition, and the environmental control of this transformation, could overestimate carbon losses during early decomposition in carbon cycle models.",

keywords = "citizen science, environmental drivers, global change, litter decomposition, mass loss, soil organic matter formation, stabilization, tea bag index",

author = "Sarneel, \{Judith M.\} and Hefting, \{Mariet M.\} and Taru Sand{\'e}n and \{van den Hoogen\}, Johan and Devin Routh and Adhikari, \{Bhupendra S.\} and Alatalo, \{Juha M.\} and Alla Aleksanyan and Althuizen, \{Inge H.J.\} and Alsafran, \{Mohammed H.S.A.\} and Atkins, \{Jeff W.\} and Laurent Augusto and Mika Aurela and Azarov, \{Aleksej V.\} and Barrio, \{Isabel C.\} and Claus Beier and Bejarano, \{Mar{\'i}a D.\} and Benham, \{Sue E.\} and Bj{\"o}rn Berg and Bezler, \{Nadezhda V.\} and Katr{\'i}n Bj{\"o}rnsd{\'o}ttir and Bolinder, \{Martin A.\} and Michele Carbognani and Roberto Cazzolla Gatti and Stefano Chelli and Chistotin, \{Maxim V.\} and Christiansen, \{Casper T.\} and Pascal Courtois and Crowther, \{Thomas W.\} and Dechoum, \{Michele S.\} and Ika Djukic and Sarah Duddigan and Egerton-Warburton, \{Louise M.\} and Nicolas Fanin and Maria Fantappi{\`e} and Silvano Fares and Fernandes, \{Geraldo W.\} and Filippova, \{Nina V.\} and Andreas Fliessbach and David Fuentes and Roberto Godoy and Thomas Gr{\"u}nwald and Gema Guzm{\'a}n and Hawes, \{Joseph E.\} and Yue He and Hero, \{Jean Marc\} and Hess, \{Laura L.\} and Katja Hogendoorn and H{\o}ye, \{Toke T.\} and Jans, \{Wilma W.P.\} and J{\'o}nsd{\'o}ttir, \{Ingibj{\"o}rg S.\} and Sabina Keller and Sebastian Kepfer-Rojas and Kuz'menko, \{Natalya N.\} and Larsen, \{Klaus S.\} and Hjalmar Laudon and Lembrechts, \{Jonas J.\} and Junhui Li and Limousin, \{Jean Marc\} and Lukin, \{Sergey M.\} and Renato Marques and C{\'e}sar Mar{\'i}n and McDaniel, \{Marshall D.\} and Qi Meek and Merzlaya, \{Genrietta E.\} and Anders Michelsen and Leonardo Montagnani and Peter Mueller and Rajasekaran Murugan and Myers-Smith, \{Isla H.\} and Stefanie Nolte and Ra{\'u}l Ochoa-Hueso and Okafor, \{Bernard N.\} and Okorkov, \{Vladimir V.\} and Onipchenko, \{Vladimir G.\} and Orozco, \{Mar{\'i}a C.\} and Tina Parkhurst and Peres, \{Carlos A.\} and Matteo Petit Bon and Alessandro Petraglia and Martin Pingel and Corinna Rebmann and Scheffers, \{Brett R.\} and Inger Schmidt and Scholes, \{Mary C.\} and Efrat Sheffer and Shevtsova, \{Lyudmila K.\} and Smith, \{Stuart W.\} and Adriano Sofo and Stevenson, \{Pablo R.\} and Barbora Strouhalov{\'a} and Anders Sundsdal and S{\"u}hs, \{Rafael B.\} and Gebretsadik Tamene and Thomas, \{Haydn J.D.\} and Duygu Tolunay and Marcello Tomaselli and Simon Tresch and Tucker, \{Dominique L.\} and Ulyshen, \{Michael D.\} and Alejandro Valdecantos and Vigdis Vandvik and Vanguelova, \{Elena I.\} and Kris Verheyen and Xuhui Wang and Laura Yahdjian and Yumashev, \{Xaris S.\} and Keuskamp, \{Joost A.\}",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2024 The Authors. Ecology Letters published by John Wiley \& Sons Ltd.",

year = "2024",

month = may,

doi = "10.1111/ele.14415",

language = "English",

volume = "27",

journal = "Ecology Letters",

issn = "1461-023X",

publisher = "Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd",

number = "5",

}

Sarneel, JM, Hefting, MM, Sandén, T, van den Hoogen, J, Routh, D, Adhikari, BS, Alatalo, JM, Aleksanyan, A, Althuizen, IHJ, Alsafran, MHSA, Atkins, JW, Augusto, L, Aurela, M, Azarov, AV, Barrio, IC, Beier, C, Bejarano, MD, Benham, SE, Berg, B, Bezler, NV, Björnsdóttir, K, Bolinder, MA, Carbognani, M, Cazzolla Gatti, R, Chelli, S, Chistotin, MV, Christiansen, CT, Courtois, P, Crowther, TW, Dechoum, MS, Djukic, I, Duddigan, S, Egerton-Warburton, LM, Fanin, N, Fantappiè, M, Fares, S, Fernandes, GW, Filippova, NV, Fliessbach, A, Fuentes, D, Godoy, R, Grünwald, T, Guzmán, G, Hawes, JE, He, Y, Hero, JM, Hess, LL, Hogendoorn, K, Høye, TT, Jans, WWP, Jónsdóttir, IS, Keller, S, Kepfer-Rojas, S, Kuz'menko, NN, Larsen, KS, Laudon, H, Lembrechts, JJ, Li, J, Limousin, JM, Lukin, SM, Marques, R, Marín, C, McDaniel, MD, Meek, Q, Merzlaya, GE, Michelsen, A, Montagnani, L, Mueller, P, Murugan, R, Myers-Smith, IH, Nolte, S, Ochoa-Hueso, R, Okafor, BN, Okorkov, VV, Onipchenko, VG, Orozco, MC, Parkhurst, T, Peres, CA, Petit Bon, M, Petraglia, A, Pingel, M, Rebmann, C, Scheffers, BR, Schmidt, I, Scholes, MC, Sheffer, E, Shevtsova, LK, Smith, SW, Sofo, A, Stevenson, PR, Strouhalová, B, Sundsdal, A, Sühs, RB, Tamene, G, Thomas, HJD, Tolunay, D, Tomaselli, M, Tresch, S, Tucker, DL, Ulyshen, MD, Valdecantos, A, Vandvik, V, Vanguelova, EI, Verheyen, K, Wang, X, Yahdjian, L, Yumashev, XS & Keuskamp, JA 2024, 'Reading tea leaves worldwide: Decoupled drivers of initial litter decomposition mass-loss rate and stabilization', Ecology Letters, vol. 27, no. 5, e14415. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.14415

TY - JOUR

T1 - Reading tea leaves worldwide

T2 - Decoupled drivers of initial litter decomposition mass-loss rate and stabilization

AU - Sarneel, Judith M.

AU - Hefting, Mariet M.

AU - Sandén, Taru

AU - van den Hoogen, Johan

AU - Routh, Devin

AU - Adhikari, Bhupendra S.

AU - Alatalo, Juha M.

AU - Aleksanyan, Alla

AU - Althuizen, Inge H.J.

AU - Alsafran, Mohammed H.S.A.

AU - Atkins, Jeff W.

AU - Augusto, Laurent

AU - Aurela, Mika

AU - Azarov, Aleksej V.

AU - Barrio, Isabel C.

AU - Beier, Claus

AU - Bejarano, María D.

AU - Benham, Sue E.

AU - Berg, Björn

AU - Bezler, Nadezhda V.

AU - Björnsdóttir, Katrín

AU - Bolinder, Martin A.

AU - Carbognani, Michele

AU - Cazzolla Gatti, Roberto

AU - Chelli, Stefano

AU - Chistotin, Maxim V.

AU - Christiansen, Casper T.

AU - Courtois, Pascal

AU - Crowther, Thomas W.

AU - Dechoum, Michele S.

AU - Djukic, Ika

AU - Duddigan, Sarah

AU - Egerton-Warburton, Louise M.

AU - Fanin, Nicolas

AU - Fantappiè, Maria

AU - Fares, Silvano

AU - Fernandes, Geraldo W.

AU - Filippova, Nina V.

AU - Fliessbach, Andreas

AU - Fuentes, David

AU - Godoy, Roberto

AU - Grünwald, Thomas

AU - Guzmán, Gema

AU - Hawes, Joseph E.

AU - He, Yue

AU - Hero, Jean Marc

AU - Hess, Laura L.

AU - Hogendoorn, Katja

AU - Høye, Toke T.

AU - Jans, Wilma W.P.

AU - Jónsdóttir, Ingibjörg S.

AU - Keller, Sabina

AU - Kepfer-Rojas, Sebastian

AU - Kuz'menko, Natalya N.

AU - Larsen, Klaus S.

AU - Laudon, Hjalmar

AU - Lembrechts, Jonas J.

AU - Li, Junhui

AU - Limousin, Jean Marc

AU - Lukin, Sergey M.

AU - Marques, Renato

AU - Marín, César

AU - McDaniel, Marshall D.

AU - Meek, Qi

AU - Merzlaya, Genrietta E.

AU - Michelsen, Anders

AU - Montagnani, Leonardo

AU - Mueller, Peter

AU - Murugan, Rajasekaran

AU - Myers-Smith, Isla H.

AU - Nolte, Stefanie

AU - Ochoa-Hueso, Raúl

AU - Okafor, Bernard N.

AU - Okorkov, Vladimir V.

AU - Onipchenko, Vladimir G.

AU - Orozco, María C.

AU - Parkhurst, Tina

AU - Peres, Carlos A.

AU - Petit Bon, Matteo

AU - Petraglia, Alessandro

AU - Pingel, Martin

AU - Rebmann, Corinna

AU - Scheffers, Brett R.

AU - Schmidt, Inger

AU - Scholes, Mary C.

AU - Sheffer, Efrat

AU - Shevtsova, Lyudmila K.

AU - Smith, Stuart W.

AU - Sofo, Adriano

AU - Stevenson, Pablo R.

AU - Strouhalová, Barbora

AU - Sundsdal, Anders

AU - Sühs, Rafael B.

AU - Tamene, Gebretsadik

AU - Thomas, Haydn J.D.

AU - Tolunay, Duygu

AU - Tomaselli, Marcello

AU - Tresch, Simon

AU - Tucker, Dominique L.

AU - Ulyshen, Michael D.

AU - Valdecantos, Alejandro

AU - Vandvik, Vigdis

AU - Vanguelova, Elena I.

AU - Verheyen, Kris

AU - Wang, Xuhui

AU - Yahdjian, Laura

AU - Yumashev, Xaris S.

AU - Keuskamp, Joost A.

PY - 2024/5

Y1 - 2024/5

N2 - The breakdown of plant material fuels soil functioning and biodiversity. Currently, process understanding of global decomposition patterns and the drivers of such patterns are hampered by the lack of coherent large-scale datasets. We buried 36,000 individual litterbags (tea bags) worldwide and found an overall negative correlation between initial mass-loss rates and stabilization factors of plant-derived carbon, using the Tea Bag Index (TBI). The stabilization factor quantifies the degree to which easy-to-degrade components accumulate during early-stage decomposition (e.g. by environmental limitations). However, agriculture and an interaction between moisture and temperature led to a decoupling between initial mass-loss rates and stabilization, notably in colder locations. Using TBI improved mass-loss estimates of natural litter compared to models that ignored stabilization. Ignoring the transformation of dead plant material to more recalcitrant substances during early-stage decomposition, and the environmental control of this transformation, could overestimate carbon losses during early decomposition in carbon cycle models.

AB - The breakdown of plant material fuels soil functioning and biodiversity. Currently, process understanding of global decomposition patterns and the drivers of such patterns are hampered by the lack of coherent large-scale datasets. We buried 36,000 individual litterbags (tea bags) worldwide and found an overall negative correlation between initial mass-loss rates and stabilization factors of plant-derived carbon, using the Tea Bag Index (TBI). The stabilization factor quantifies the degree to which easy-to-degrade components accumulate during early-stage decomposition (e.g. by environmental limitations). However, agriculture and an interaction between moisture and temperature led to a decoupling between initial mass-loss rates and stabilization, notably in colder locations. Using TBI improved mass-loss estimates of natural litter compared to models that ignored stabilization. Ignoring the transformation of dead plant material to more recalcitrant substances during early-stage decomposition, and the environmental control of this transformation, could overestimate carbon losses during early decomposition in carbon cycle models.

KW - citizen science

KW - environmental drivers

KW - global change

KW - litter decomposition

KW - mass loss

KW - soil organic matter formation

KW - stabilization

KW - tea bag index

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85192596231

U2 - 10.1111/ele.14415

DO - 10.1111/ele.14415

M3 - Article

C2 - 38712683

AN - SCOPUS:85192596231

SN - 1461-023X

VL - 27

JO - Ecology Letters

JF - Ecology Letters

IS - 5

M1 - e14415

ER -

Reading tea leaves worldwide: Decoupled drivers of initial litter decomposition mass-loss rate and stabilization

Abstract

Keywords

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Cite this