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Relationship between litter, microbial communities and detritivores in the decomposition process

opening the black box of decomposition relationships between microbial communities and detritivores

Relationship between litter, microbial communities and detritivores in the decomposition process

opening the black box of decomposition relationships between microbial communities and detritivores

Samenvatting

Decomposition is an ecosystem process, mainly important in the carbon and nitrogen cycles. When looking at what drives decomposition, there are three major drivers. These are plant litter quality, microbes and soil animals (detritivores). A large problem in understanding the decomposition process is that the remaining drivers all affect each other. When describing a single driver, the state of the other drivers should always be considered. When the interactions between the drivers is understood, it can be used to manage an ecosystem appropriately. The most important relationship between litter and microbes is the ability of the microbes to alter the chemical composition of litter (even condition litter for detritivores). The litter also has effect on the microbial community, for a microbial community is adapted to the litter that they have been given historically. The most important relationship between litter and detritivores, is the shredding of litter by detritivores. This increases the surface area and decomposition rate. However, it is still up for debate if detritivores feed on the litter or the microbes on the litter. This may also differ between species of detritivore. It is known that detritivores still prefer higher litter quality overall. The most important relationship between detritivores and microbes, is the influence of bioturbation and faeces on the microbial community. It increases microbial activity (especially in systems with low quality litter). Microbes may be of nutritional importance to detritivores, but this is not confirmed. They also influence the gut microbes of detritivores, which define the organism functioning in the ecosystem. In forestry, the depletion of forest soils is a major issue. With the use of the described relations between the decomposition drivers, forestry could be made more sustainable. The introduction of alder trees into commercial coniferous forests leads to many positive effects on the decomposition drivers. The overall litter quality becomes higher and therefor increases decomposition speed. This causes the turnover of nutrients into the soil to be faster. The difference in litter causes an increase in microclimate diversity, leading to a higher diversity of soil fauna. This increases the stability and resilience of a forest. While alder trees also have a second benefit in their Nitrogen fixating abilities, compensating for the N lost in harvesting.

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OrganisatieAeres Hogeschool
AfdelingToegepaste Biologie
PartnerAeres Hogeschool Almere
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Jaar2020
TypeBachelor
TaalEngels

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