Articles | Volume 20, issue 10
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1925-2023
© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1925-2023
© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
24 May 2023
Research article |
| 24 May 2023
| 24 May 2023
Warming accelerates belowground litter turnover in salt marshes – insights from a Tea Bag Index study
Key Laboratory of Land Resources Evaluation and Monitoring in
Southwest, Ministry of Education, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu
610068, China
Institute of Plant Science and Microbiology, Universität Hamburg,
22609 Hamburg, Germany
Stefanie Nolte
School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich
NR47TJ, UK
Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, Pakefield
Rd, Lowestoft, NR330HT, UK
Kai Jensen
Institute of Plant Science and Microbiology, Universität Hamburg,
22609 Hamburg, Germany
Roy Rich
Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Edgewater, MD 21037, USA
Julian Mittmann-Goetsch
Institute of Plant Science and Microbiology, Universität Hamburg,
22609 Hamburg, Germany
Peter Mueller
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Edgewater, MD 21037, USA
Institute of Landscape Ecology, University of Münster, 48149
Münster, Germany
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Short summary
In order to gain the first mechanistic insight into warming effects and litter breakdown dynamics across whole-soil profiles, we used a unique field warming experiment and standardized plant litter to investigate the degree to which rising soil temperatures can accelerate belowground litter breakdown in coastal wetland ecosystems. We found warming strongly increases the initial rate of labile litter decomposition but has less consistent effects on the stabilization of this material.
In order to gain the first mechanistic insight into warming effects and litter breakdown...
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