DOI: 10.5061/dryad.zw3r228c7
title: Data for: Decomposability of leaf and wood litter are not correlated across species: Effects of litter traits on decomposition in field and laboratory conditions

description: Changes in tree species composition have important effects on the overall
 rate of litter decomposition at a community level because litter
 decomposability varies among species and between leaf and wood litter. To
 understand how changes in tree species composition affect litter dynamics
 and carbon sequestration at the ecosystem level, it is important to
 clarify interspecific variations in leaf and wood litter decomposability
 and the traits driving the variation. Using field data, field experiments,
 and laboratory experiments, we explored rates of leaf and wood litter
 decomposition and their relationships to traits of ten deciduous hardwood
 species in a temperate forest in Japan. Rates of leaf and wood litter
 decomposition at the community level were also estimated by considering
 species-specific litter inputs and decomposition rates. Rates of leaf and
 wood litter decomposition were not correlated under either field or
 controlled laboratory conditions. This is probably because the traits that
 affect decomposition rate differ between leaf and wood litter.
 Interspecific variation in litter decomposability of leaves and wood was
 generally consistent between field conditions and laboratory experiments
 using a single fungus, suggesting that the decomposing fungi set the
 species-specific decomposition rates. Moreover, the leaf and wood traits
 that affected decomposition by their specific fungi were different. The
 aboveground input of wood litter was less than half that of leaf litter,
 but its half-life was &gt;3 times longer, suggesting that wood and
 leaves make similar contributions to litter accumulation. Focusing on
 either leaf or wood litter alone may produce misleading estimates of how
 species composition changes affect litter dynamics at the community level.
 Our results provide insight into predicting the response of carbon
 dynamics to future climate change.
description: # Data for: Decomposability of leaf and wood litter are not correlated
 across species: Effects of litter traits on decomposition in field and
 laboratory conditions ## Authors Takuya Kobayashi, Michio Oguro, Hisatomo
 Taki, Hiroko Kurokawa ## File description ### `dataset.zip` *
 **raw\_data/** * **sample.data.csv**: * Raw data of samples used for the
 analyses. * **lab.decomp.test.csv**: * Raw data for the laboratory
 decomposition experiment. * **processed\_data/** * **species.data.csv**: *
 Species-level statistics calculated from the raw data. * **readme.md**: *
 This file. ## Data ### Data-specific information for:
 'sample.data.csv' 1. Number of columns: 13 2. Number of cases:
 287 3. Description of columns: * **id**: * Sample ID. * **species**: *
 Species name. * **material**: * Types of material.
 'fresh\_leaf\_litter': freshly fallen leaf,
 'field\_decomposed\_leaf': leaf litter retrieved after the
 litterbag experiments, 'fresh\_wood': wood core samples
 collected from living trees, 'field\_decomposed\_wood': wood
 litter. * **decomp.time.yr**: * Time period of decomposition (year). *
 **initial.g**: * Initial dry weight of leaf litter for the litterbag
 experiment (g). * **final.g**: * Final dry weight of retrieved leaf litter
 for the litterbag experiment (g). * **lma**: * Leaf mass per area of leaf
 litter (g/m^2). * **density**: * Density of wood cores or wood litter
 (g/cm^3). * **nitrogen**: * Nitrogen content (percent). * **carbon**: *
 Carbon content (percent). * **total.phenolics**: * Total phenolics content
 (percent). * **condensed.tannin**: * Condensed tannin content (percent). *
 **lignin**: * Lignin content (percent). ### Data-specific information for:
 'lab.decomp.test.csv' 1. Number of columns: 5 2. Number of
 cases: 200 3. Description of columns: * **species** * Speceis name. *
 **material** * Type of material. 'leaf': freshly fallen leaf,
 and 'wood': wood core samples collected from living trees. *
 **initial.mg** * Initial dry weight of each sample (mg). * **final.mg** *
 Final dry weight of each decomposed sample (mg). * **fungus** * Fungal
 species used in the experiment. ### Data-specific information for:
 'species.data.csv' 1. Number of columns: 19 2. Number of cases:
 10 3. Description of columns: * **species** * Species name. * **k.leaf** *
 Decomposition constant k for leaf litter decomposition in the litterbag
 experiment. * **k.wood** * Decomposition constant k for wood decomposition
 in field. * **lma** * Average leaf mass per area of initial leaf litter
 for each species (g/m^2). * **nitrogen.leaf** * Average nitrogen content
 of initial leaf litter for each species (percent). * **carbon.leaf** *
 Average carbon content of initial leaf litter for each species (percent).
 * **total.phnolics.leaf** * Average total phenolic content of initial leaf
 litter for each species (percent). * **condensed.tannin.leaf** * Average
 condensed tannin content of initial leaf litter for each species
 (percent). * **lignin.leaf** * Average lignin content of initial leaf
 litter for each species (percent). * **density** * Average density of wood
 cores for each species (g/cm^3). * **nitrogen.wood** * Average nitrogen
 content of wood cores for each species (percent). * **carbon.wood** *
 Average carbon content of wood cores for each species (percent). *
 **total.phnolics.wood** * Average total phenolic content of wood cores for
 each species (percent). * **condensed.tannin.wood** * Average condensed
 tannin content of wood cores for each species (percent). * **lignin.wood**
 * Average lignin content of wood cores for each species (percent). *
 **ml.leaf.trametes** * Average mass loss rate of leaf litter in the
 laboratory decomposition experiment with Trametes versicolor (percent). *
 **ml.wood.trametes** * Average mass loss rate of wood cores in the
 laboratory decomposition experiment with Trametes versicolor (percent). *
 **ml.leaf.xylaria** * Average mass loss rate of leaf litter in the
 laboratory decomposition experiment with Xylaraia sp (percent). *
 **ml.wood.xylaria** * Average mass loss rate of wood cores in the
 laboratory decomposition experiment with Xylaria sp (percent).