DOI: 10.5061/dryad.8pk0p2nrs
title: What makes decomposition faster under conspecific trees? The factors controlling the magnitude of home-field advantage

description: The “home-field advantage (HFA)” for decomposition means that leaf litter
 decomposes faster on soils under the conspecific species (i.e., the home
 field) than on soils under different species (i.e., “away”). Many previous
 studies have demonstrated the HFA, but the underlying mechanisms remain
 unclear. We conducted a reciprocal litter-decomposition experiment using
 two species with different leaf traits: Abies mariesii, an
 evergreen conifer, and Fagus crenata, a deciduous broad-leaved tree. The
 dominance of these species shifts along an elevation gradient with a
 transition zone where both species coexist. In mixed forests of the
 transition zone along the elevation gradient, we explored how the
 magnitude of HFA between these two species was influenced by temperature,
 soil properties, or leaf litter traits which could directly affect the
 decomposition rate. The magnitude of HFA observed between the two species
 varied widely from -3.89% to 28.3%. Our modeling showed that the magnitude
 of HFA increased with decreasing soil pH and leaf litter N, i.e., in more
 acidic soil and for less decomposable litter. Soil pH affected leaf litter
 decomposition in the home plots of each species, whereas leaf litter N did
 not. The magnitude of the HFA increased as the difference in soil pH
 between the F. crenata and A. mariesii plots at the same elevation became
 greater, but decreased as the difference in soil C became greater. Thus,
 the response of leaf litter decomposition to environmental changes might
 vary not only through direct effects of vegetation traits but also through
 indirect effects of the HFA. This highlights the importance of considering
 HFA for accurately predicting the response of local carbon and nutrient
 cycles to climate change, particularly in communities where a replacement
 of dominant species by others is expected due to climate change.
description: # What makes decomposition faster under conspecific trees? The factors
 controlling the magnitude of home-field advantage ## Files The files were
 split into 7 zip files. To reproduce the analyses, please extract all
 files and make the directory structure shown below. When reproducing the
 analyses, delete rds files in the results directory otherwise the scripts
 skip the analyses and use the previous calculation. *
 **01_k_calculation.r**: calculation of k. * **02_fig_2_3.r**: analyses for
 the Fig. 2 and 3. * **03_fig_4.r**: analyses for the Fig. 4. *
 **04_fig_5.r**: analyses for the Fig. 5. * **05_fig_6.r**: analyses for
 the Fig. 6. * **Data**: contains original data. * **litter_bag.csv**:
 remaining mass in each litter bag. * **litter_traits.csv**: litter traits.
 * **plot_properties.csv**: plot properties. * **subplot_properties.csv**:
 subplot properties. * **figs**: directory where figure files will be
 exported by the scripts. * **results**: contains cached results of the
 analyses. * **fig5_averaged_d10_glm_aicc.rds**: part of models used for
 model averaging. * **fig5_dredge_glm_aicc__litter_ct.rds**: part of models
 used for model averaging. * **fig5_dredge_glm_aicc__litter_lignin.rds**:
 part of models used for model averaging. *
 **fig5_dredge_glm_aicc__litter_n.rds**: part of models used for model
 averaging. * **fig5_dredge_glm_aicc__mat.rds**: part of models used for
 model averaging. * **fig5_dredge_glm_aicc__soil_c.rds**: part of models
 used for model averaging. * **fig5_dredge_glm_aicc__soil_moisture.rds**:
 part of models used for model averaging. *
 **fig5_dredge_glm_aicc__soil_nh4.rds**: part of models used for model
 averaging. * **fig5_dredge_glm_aicc__soil_ph.rds**: part of models used
 for model averaging. * **fig5_unique_models_glm_aicc.rds**: all models
 used for the model averaging. * **fig5_pp_info_d10.rds**: the intermediate
 result of Fig. 5. * **fig6_pp_info_d10.rds**: the intermediate result of
 Fig. 6. ## Fields ### litter\_bag.csv * **sample_time**: sampling time
 after placement of the litter bags (year). * **plot_id**: plot ID. *
 **subplot_id**: subplot ID. * **dominant_species**: dominant species of
 the plots. * **litter_species**: species in the litter bag. *
 **remaining_mass**: remaining mass in the litter bag (g). ###
 litter\_traits.csv * **plot_id**: plot ID. * **subplot_id**: subplot ID. *
 **litter_species**: species in the litter bag. * **litter_ct**: condensed
 tannins content of fresh litter (% dry weight). * **litter_tp**: total
 phenolics content of fresh litter (% dry weight). * **litter_n**: nitrogen
 content of fresh litter (% dry weight). * **litter_c**: carbon content of
 fresh litter (% dry weight). * **litter_cn**: C/N ratio of fresh litter. *
 **litter_lignin**: lignin content of fresh litter (% dry weight). ###
 plot\_properties.csv * **plot_id**: plot ID. * **dominant_species**:
 dominant species of the plots. * **elevation**: elevation (m). * **mat**:
 mean annual temperature (°C) * **total_ba**: total basal area (m^2/ha) *
 **fba_tba**: *Fagus* basal area to total basal area ratio. ###
 subplot\_properties.csv * **plot_id**: plot ID. * **subplot_id**: subplot
 ID. * **dominant_species**: dominant species of the plots. *
 **total_fresh_litter**: total fresh litter (g/m^2). *
 **fagus_litter_ratio**: *Fagus* litter to total fresh litter ratio. *
 **soil_ph**: soil pH. * **soil_nh4**: soil NH4 (mg N/kg). *
 **soil_moisture"**: soil moisture (%). * **soil_n**: soil nitrogen
 (%). * **soil_c**: soil carbon (%). * **soil_cn**: C/N ratio.