DOI: 10.5061/dryad.bzkh189g2
title: Suspended sections within downed dead wood are drier, have altered decomposer communities, and slower decomposition

description: The decomposition of dead wood plays a key role in forest carbon
 emissions. Most pieces of downed dead wood are partially suspended above
 the forest floor, but how this suspension affects decomposition rates is
 typically ignored and remains largely unexplored. Here we combine field
 observations and experimental manipulations to explore how partial
 suspension of downed wood (i.e., wood debris in contact with the ground)
 influences decomposer communities and patterns of decomposition in a
 lowland tropical forest. Experimental manipulations of wood sticks showed
 that small-scale suspension above the forest floor (ca. 5 cm) slowed
 decomposition and altered microbial community assembly, regardless of
 whether the suspended section was connected to a piece of downed wood.
 Across a 41-year chronosequence of dead trees, the average percent of wood
 volume suspended above the forest floor decreased during the initial 10
 years post-death, but this trend reversed after 10 years, with the oldest
 logs being the forest floor had less moisture, fewer macrofungi, and more
 photosynthetic growth (e.g., moss, algae, etc.) than downed sections of
 the same bole. Surprisingly, wood density, termite presence, and
 mass-specific respiration did not differ with ground contact. Combined,
 these data suggest that suspension within downed wood reduces moisture
 content, influences decomposer community assembly, and contributes to the
 strong variability in decomposition rates. The strong effect of partial
 suspension within downed wood pieces heightens concerns about the accuracy
 and applicability of experiments and surveys focused on down dead wood,
 which are the foundation of our understanding of wood decomposition and
 associated carbon losses most suspended. Among downed woody pieces sampled
 in situ, sections suspended above the forest floor had less moisture,
 fewer macrofungi, and more photosynthetic growth (e.g., moss, algae, etc.)
 than downed sections of the same bole. Surprisingly, wood density, termite
 presence, and mass-specific respiration did not differ with ground
 contact. Combined, these data suggest that suspension within downed wood
 reduces moisture content, influences decomposer community assembly, and
 contributes to the strong variability in decomposition rates.
description: # Suspended sections within downed dead wood are drier, have altered
 decomposer communities, and slower decomposition ReadMe file for data
 submitted as part of Barrera et al. 2023 publication entitled
 'Suspended sections within downed dead wood are drier, have altered
 decomposer communities, and slower decomposition' in Ecosystems
 Journal ## Description of the data and file structure | File Name |
 Description | |
 ------------------------------------------------------------------- |
 ---------------------------------------------- | |
 1\_Fungal\_OTUtable.biom | Fungal OTU data table | |
 1\_otu\_table\_mc2\_w\_tax\_no\_pynast\_failures.biom | Fungal OTU table
 cleaned | | diversity\_analysis\_20230405.R | R code for analyzing
 microbial diversity | | respiration\_model\_results.csv | Table of
 respiration model results | | tri2tu\_all\_remaining.csv | Woody data on
 remaining trees | | tri2tu\_by\_years\_since\_death.csv | Woody data on
 years since death | | 1\_diversity\_analysis\_20230405.R | R code for
 analyzing microbial diversity | | 1\_mass\_loss.csv | Decomposition/mass
 loss data | | 1\_mass\_loss\_20230825.R | R code for analyzing mass loss |
 | 1\_microbes\_input\_20230401.R | R code for analyzing microbial
 communities | |
 1\_2\_respiration\_analysis\_trimmedata\_plumbers\_20230825.R | R code for
 respiration analyses | | 1\_connected\_elevated\_experiment.pwk | Primer
 data file for community analyses | |
 1\_3\_wood\_density\_moisture\_analyses\_20230602\_EMG\_AMBB.R | R code
 for analyzing wood density and moisture | |
 1\_elevation\_exp\_avg\_20230926\_sec.csv | Elevational data for average
 decomposition | | 1\_metadata\_20230926\_sec.csv | Metadata file | |
 1\_50ha\_ws\_previsual\_2022-5-18\_bigger\_equal\_10dbh\_20230824.R | R
 code for analyzing trees larger than 10dbh | | ws\_50ha\_nona\_elev1.csv |
 Cleaned elevational data for 50 ha plot | |
 ws\_50ha\_nona\_tri2tu\_decomp\_1to5.csv | 50-hectare plot data for
 decomposition | | README.rtf | Readme file containing variable definitions
 | | DATA\_Dictionary\_Barrera\_etal\_2023\_ReadMe.xlsx | Dictionary
 describing the file components | ### Change Log: Nov 2024: updated some
 files to remove NAs and match the clean files we used in the manuscript ##
 Sharing/Access information NA ## Code/Software Included and described
 above