DOI: 10.5061/dryad.qrfj6q5pw
title: Stem decomposition of temperate tree species is determined by stem traits and fungal community composition during early stem decay

description: Dead trees are vital structural elements in forests playing key roles in
 the carbon and nutrient cycle. Stem traits and fungal community
 composition are both important drivers of stem decay, and thereby affect
 ecosystem functioning, but their relative importance for stem
 decomposition over time remains unclear. To address this issue, we used a
 common garden decomposition experiment in a Dutch larch forest hosting
 fresh logs from 13 common temperate tree species. In total 25 fresh wood
 and bark traits were measured as indicators of wood accessibility for
 decomposers, nutritional quality, and chemical or physical defense
 mechanisms. After one and four years of decay, we assessed the richness
 and composition of wood-inhabiting fungi using amplicon sequencing and
 determined the proportional wood density loss. Average proportional wood
 density loss for the first year was 18.5%, with further decomposition
 occurring at a rate of 4.3% yr-1 for the subsequent
 three years across tree species. Proportional wood
 density loss varied widely across tree species in the first year
 (8.7-24.8% yr-1) and subsequent years (0-11.3% yr-1). The variation was
 directly driven by initial wood traits during the first decay year, then
 later directly driven by bark traits and fungal community
 composition. Moreover, bark traits affected the
 composition of wood-inhabiting fungi and thereby indirectly
 affected decomposition rates. Specifically, traits
 promoting resource acquisition of the living tree, such as wide conduits
 that increase accessibility and high nutrient concentration, increased
 initial wood decomposition rates. Fungal community composition, but not
 fungal richness explained differences in wood decomposition after four
 years of exposure in the field, where fungal communities
 dominated by brown-rot and white-rot Basidiomycetes were linked to higher
 wood decomposition rate. Synthesis. Understanding what drives
 deadwood decomposition through time is important to understand the
 dynamics of carbon stocks. Here, using a tailor-made experimental design
 in a temperate forest setting, we have shown that stem trait variation is
 key to understanding the roles of these drivers; Initially, wood traits
 explained decomposition rates while subsequently, bark
 traits and fungal decomposer composition drove
 decomposition rates. These findings inform forest management with a view
 to selecting tree species to promote carbon storage.
description: We took advantage of the LOGLIFE project (Cornelissen et al.
 2012), in which freshly cut stems of 13 temperate tree species were left
 to decompose in a common garden experiment. Ten tree species were
 incubated in February 2012, and three tree species were added in February
 2015. Firstly, five individual trees were cut for each tree species and
 distributed to five blocks (i.e. forest plots) to decay. From trunk parts
 without major side branches five logs were cut per individual tree and
 treated as replicates, each with 1 m length and a diameter of 25 ± 3
 cm, thus assuring a similar exposed stem cross-sectional area and
 substrate volume accessible to decomposers. These logs obtained from the
 same tree shared similar <strong>physical-chemical
 traits</strong>. One of the five logs was randomly harvested after
 one and four years of decay, respectively, and used for <strong>wood
 density measurement and molecular sampling</strong>. Corresponding
 data are archived here.
description: # Stem decomposition of temperate tree species is determined by stem
 traits and fungal community composition during early stem decay
 [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.qrfj6q5pw](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.qrfj6q5pw) ## Description of the data and file structure The dataset consists of three files, including: 1. "Data.xlsx", consists of five sheets a) Sheet1 is the basic information of the data b) Sheet “Data1” is used to plot Fig. 1 (Proportional wood density loss varies across 13 tree species at two decay periods, the first year T0-T1 (WDL01) and three follow-up years T1-T4.) c) Sheet “Data2&3” are used to plot Fig. 2 (Principal component analyses showing the associations among multiple wood and bark traits of 13 tree species and showing how wood-inhabiting fungi vary among 13 tree species at two decaying periods: T1 and T4.) d) Sheet “Data4” is used to plot Fig. 3 (Relationships between proportional density loss of 13 tree species and wood and bark trait values, after one year (T1) and between decay year one and four (T1-T4).) e) Sheet “Data5” is used to plot Fig. 4 （Structural equation models for the effects of initial stem traits (wood and bark) and fungal decomposers on wood density loss of 13 species.） 2. "List_of_tree_species.txt" defines species abbreviations 3. "List_of_variables.txt" defines variable abbreviations ## Sharing/Access information Sequence data associated with this dataset is deposited in the National Center for Biotechnology Information’s Short Read Archive under BioProject PRJNA768246, [https://dataview.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/object/PRJNA768246](https://dataview.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/object/PRJNA768246).