Diverse Effects of Climate, Land Use, and Insects on Dung and Carrion Decomposition

verfasst von

Jana Englmeier, Oliver Mitesser, M. Eric Benbow, Torsten Hothorn, Christian von Hoermann, Caryl Benjamin, Ute Fricke, Cristina Ganuza, Maria Haensel, Sarah Redlich, Rebekka Riebl, Sandra Rojas Botero, Thomas Rummler, Ingolf Steffan-Dewenter, Elisa Stengel, Cynthia Tobisch, Johannes Uhler, Lars Uphus, Jie Zhang, Jörg Müller

Abstract

Land-use intensification and climate change threaten ecosystem functions. A fundamental, yet often overlooked, function is decomposition of necromass. The direct and indirect anthropogenic effects on decomposition, however, are poorly understood. We measured decomposition of two contrasting types of necromass, rat carrion and bison dung, on 179 study sites in Central Europe across an elevational climate gradient of 168–1122 m a.s.l. and within both local and regional land uses. Local land-use types included forest, grassland, arable fields, and settlements and were embedded in three regional land-use types (near-natural, agricultural, and urban). The effects of insects on decomposition were quantified by experimental exclusion, while controlling for removal by vertebrates. We used generalized additive mixed models to evaluate dung weight loss and carrion decay rate along elevation and across regional and local land-use types. We observed a unimodal relationship of dung decomposition with elevation, where greatest weight loss occurred between 600 and 700 m, but no effects of local temperature, land use, or insects. In contrast to dung, carrion decomposition was continuously faster with both increasing elevation and local temperature. Carrion reached the final decomposition stage six days earlier when insect access was allowed, and this did not depend on land-use effect. Our experiment identified different major drivers of decomposition on each necromass form. The results show that dung and carrion decomposition are rather robust to local and regional land use, but future climate change and decline of insects could alter decomposition processes and the self-regulation of ecosystems.

Externe Organisation(en)

Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg

Typ

Artikel

Journal

ECOSYSTEMS

Band

26

Seiten

397-411

Anzahl der Seiten

15

ISSN

1432-9840

Publikationsdatum

03.2023

Publikationsstatus

Veröffentlicht

Peer-reviewed

Ja

ASJC Scopus Sachgebiete

Ökologie, Evolution, Verhaltenswissenschaften und Systematik, Ökologie, Umweltchemie

Ziele für nachhaltige Entwicklung

SDG 15 – Lebensraum Land, SDG 13 – Klimaschutzmaßnahmen

Elektronische Version(en)

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-022-00764-7 (Zugang: Offen)