DOI: 10.5061/dryad.sxksn039c
title: Litter decomposition rate constants across the global temperature gradient

description: The responses of organic matter decomposition to temperature rise is
 increasingly important topic. Most of the previous studies measured
 temperature dependence of soil respiration under laboratory incubation,
 while we analyzed the temperature dependence of organic matter
 decomposition under field conditions.  To identify the factors
 regulating litter decomposition rate constants and their temperature
 sensitivity, we compiled the data of site information [Country, District,
 Vegetation or land use, Plant type, Mean annual air temperature (ºC), Mean
 annual precipitation (mm y-1), Soil type (Soil Taxonomy), Soil pH, and
 Decomposition rate constant (Table S1), Organic horizon C stock (Mg C
 ha-1), Litterfall C input (Mg C ha-1 y-1), Litter turnover (y) (Table S2).
 These parameters allow us to compare decomposition rate constants and
 provide temperature dependence indicators of organic matter decomposition
 (activation energy and Q10) across the global temperature gradient.
description: We compiled the data of <em>in-situ</em>
 decomposition rates of cellulose filter paper, leaf litter (i.e., leaves
 of coniferous and broadleaved trees; leaf/straw of maize, rice, and
 wheat/barley), root litter, lichen litter, moss litter, and SOM and site
 information (climatic properties, plant type, soil type) from 68 studies
 (Tables S1 and S2, respectively). We extracted substrate decomposition
 data from <em>in situ</em> field incubation studies using
 litterbags buried (incorporated) in soil from the literature by searching
 for “litter bag” or “cellulose” or “organic matter”, “decomposition”,
 “turnover”, “mass loss”, and “soil” in Google Scholar. When rate constants
 of substrate decomposition in a single exponential decay function were not
 available in the published studies, original data, which were either
 actual substrate mass (g) or the remaining fraction of the initial
 substrate mass at each incubation time (y), were digitized from figures or
 extracted from tables. To ensure the comparability of published studies,
 we excluded the published studies of litter decomposition experiments
 conducted in the laboratory or litter on the surface. The method of the
 field incubation of substrates were concisely summarized in the following
 sections. <em>Measuring cellulose and litter
 decomposition</em> The methods to quantify the
 decomposition rates of organic matter in the data sources differed
 slightly between substrates. Cellulose filter papers (99% cellulose; e.g.,
 55 mm diameter) and root litter bags (root diameter &lt; 2 mm) were
 packed in a nylon mesh bag (mesh pore size ≤ 100 μm) and buried in the
 surface mineral soil (A horizon, 5 cm depth), while leaf litter bags (leaf
 fragments [ca. 10 × 10 mm size] were buried at the boundary between the
 organic horizon and the mineral soil. The litter-bag method (Hayakawa et
 al., 2014) was used to quantify the decomposition rates of cellulose, leaf
 litter, root litter, lichen litter, and moss litter. 
 The remaining weight of the substrate (70°C, 24 h) was calculated
 on an ash-free basis by subtracting the weight of the soil adhering to the
 substrate, which was estimated by dry combustion (600°C, 4 h). The
 proportion of the remaining substrate was calculated by dividing the
 remaining weight by the initial substrate weight. We fitted the data to a
 single exponential decay function (Eq. 1) below to obtain the
 decomposition rate constant (<em>k</em>).
 <em>R</em><sub>r</sub>/<em>
 R<sub>i</sub></em> =
 <em>e</em><sup>–<em>kt</em></sup>
  (Eq. 1) where <em>R</em><sub>r
 </sub>is the remaining proportion of the substrate (%),
 <em>R</em><sub>i</sub> is the initial proportion
 of the substrate (i.e., 100%), <em>k</em> is the decomposition
 rate constant (y<sup>–1</sup>), and <em>t</em> is
 time (y). In case of forest ecosystems, we also
 provided an alternative estimation on the litter-C turnover rate
 (y<sup>–1</sup>) as a comparison to the decomposition rate
 constants obtained from the litter bag method. By assuming that the
 organic layer C stock reaches a steady-state in forests, the litter-C
 turnover rate (y<sup>–1</sup>) in the organic layer was
 calculated by dividing litterfall C input (Mg C
 ha<sup>–1</sup> y<sup>–1</sup>) by the organic
 layer C stock (Mg C ha<sup>–1</sup>) (Olson, 1963).
 <em>Measuring SOM decomposition</em>
 Decomposition rates of SOM can be estimated using isotopes
 (<sup>13</sup>C isotopic signatures and bomb
 <sup>14</sup>C). The turnover of SOM in warm temperate to
 tropical regions can be traced in vegetation change between C3 and C4
 plants, using the difference in their litter <sup>13</sup>C
 isotopic signatures (−24 to −34‰ for C3 plants and −6 to −19‰ for C4
 plants) and soil C stocks (Fujii et al., 2020). The changes in C3-derived
 and C4-derived SOC stocks were plotted respectively against time after
 vegetation change (y). The data were fitted to a single exponential decay
 function (Eq. 1) to estimate the decomposition rate constant
 <em>k</em> (y<sup>-1</sup>). The mean residence
 times were estimated from 1/<em>k</em>, assuming a
 steady-state. In polar or boreal ecosystems, where
 studies on vegetation shifts between C3 and C4 plants were not available,
 SOM turnover was estimated using bomb <sup>14</sup>C
 (Trumbore, 2000). Radiocarbon<sup> </sup>produced by
 atmospheric nuclear weapons testing between 1955 and 1964 was assimilated
 by plants and transferred to the soil. The <sup>14</sup>C
 measurements of the archive and present soil samples or measuring/modeling
 the soil CO<sub>2</sub> flux provide the mean residence times
 of organic matter (Trumbore, 2000).
description: # Litter decomposition rate constants across the global temperature
 gradient This README file was generated on 2024-01-31 by Kazumichi Fujii.
 GENERAL INFORMATION Decomposition rate constants of organic substrates in
 soil across the global temperature gradient # Principal Investigator
 Contact Information Name: Kazumichi Fujii Institution: Forestry and Forest
 Products Research Institute Address: Tsukuba 305-8687, Japan. Email:
 # Abstract To identify the factors
 regulating litter decomposition rate constants and their temperature
 sensitivity, we compiled the data of site information [Country, District,
 Vegetation or land use, Plant type, Mean annual air temperature (ºC), Mean
 annual precipitation (mm y-1), Soil type (Soil Taxonomy), Soil pH, Organic
 horizon C stock (Mg C ha-1), Litterfall C input (Mg C ha-1 y-1), Litter
 turnover (y). ## Description of the data and file structure DATA-SPECIFIC
 INFORMATION FOR: Soil_water_project_tables.xlsx 1. Number of variables: 11
 (Table 1), 11 (Table 2) 2. Number of cases/rows: 194 (Table 1), 73 (Table
 2) 3. Variable List: Table S1: *Country *District
 *Vegetation_landuse_EcosystemType *Plant type *MAT [Mean annual air
 temperature (ºC)] *MAP [Mean annual precipitation (mm y-1)] *Soil_Tax
 [Soil Taxonomy] *Soil_pH *Substrate *Decomposition rate constant *Ref.
 Table S2: *Country *District *Vegetation_landuse_EcosystemType *Plant type
 *MAT [Mean annual air temperature (ºC)] *MAP [Mean annual precipitation
 (mm y-1)] *Soil_Tax [Soil Taxonomy] *Soil_pH *Additional_calculation
 [Litterfall_C_MgChayr, OrganicCstock_MgCha, litter_Turnover_yr]
 *Data_value *Ref. 1. Missing data codes: NA (data not available) 2.
 Specialized formats or other abbreviations used: MAT represents Mean
 annual air temperature (ºC). MAP represents Mean annual precipitation (mm
 y-1). Soil_Tax represents soil types classified based on Soil Taxonomy
 (Soil survey staff, 2022). ## Sharing/Access information
 Licenses/restrictions placed on the data: CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0)
 Public Domain Links to other publicly accessible locations of the data:
 None Data was derived from the following sources: 1. Fujii et al. (2021a)
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