Does the addition of litter from N-fixing Acacia mearnsii accelerate leaf decomposition of Eucalyptus globulus?

Abstract

Nutrient cycling in mixed-species plant communities may be enhanced in comparison to what might be expected from the component species. In this study, we investigated (1) whether the admixing of nitrogen-rich litter from Acacia mearnsii can accelerate the decomposition of Eucalyptus globulus leaf litter and (2) whether eucalypt litter originating from mixed stands with acacias decomposes faster than litter from pure eucalypt stands. To address the first question, pure and mixed litter was incubated in the laboratory for 110 days at 25°C in the following proportions: 100%E, 75%E:25%A, 50%E:50%A, 25%E:75%A and 100%A, where %E and %A refers to the proportion of eucalypt and acacia in the microcosms, respectively. Since mass loss and N loss of litter in the 50:50 mixture was higher than for pure eucalypt but not higher than for acacia, it appears that acacia litter accelerated decomposition of eucalypt litter but not vice versa. Decomposition rates increased with N concentration in the combined litters up to 1.1% N, above that point it remained constant. To address the second question, eucalypt litter from pure and mixed stands was incubated in microcosms. The loss of mass, N and P after 110 days was not different for eucalypt litter originating from mixed (75E:25A, 50E:50A, 25E:75A) and pure (100E) plantations. Together, these studies suggest that admixture of A. mearnsii to E. globulus has the potential to accelerate decomposition and N cycling, and that the species interactions are most pronounced in the 50:50 mixture. Mixing of the two species in plantations has so far had no influence on the decomposability of eucalypt litter.