Ecosystem functioning in cities: Combined effects of urbanisation and forest size on early-stage leaf litter decomposition of European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) |
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| Affiliation: | 1. University of Basque Country, Faculty of Science and Technology, Department of Plant Biology and Ecology, P. O. Box 644, E-48080 Bilbao, Spain;2. NEIKER-Tecnalia, Department of Conservation of Natural Resources, C/ Berreaga, 1 E-48160 Derio, Spain;3. Town Hall of Vitoria-Gasteiz City, Calle Pintor Teodoro Dublang, 25, 01008, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain;1. Lab. of Environmental and Urban Ecology, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium;2. iMinds, Vision Lab, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium;1. Institute of Entomology of Agricultural, University of Georgia, 240, Aghmashenebeli Alley, 0131, Tbilisi, Georgia;2. Institute of Zoology, Ilia State University, Cholokashvili Ave 3/5, 0165, Tbilisi, Georgia;1. State Key Laboratory of Environmental Geochemistry, Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 99, Lincheng West Road, Guiyang 550081, China;2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China;1. Department of Environmental, Biological, and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, Via Vivaldi 43, 81100, Caserta, Italy;2. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto di Biologia Agroambientale e Forestale, Via Salaria km 29.300, 00015, Monterotondo Scalo, Rome, Italy;3. Associazione per la Ricerca, la Divulgazione e l''Educazione Ambientale (ARDEA), Via Ventilabro, 80126, Naples, Italy |
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| Abstract: | Environmental changes associated with urbanisation can affect the functioning of ecosystem processes. In cities, forests are among the most frequent types of green areas and provide a wide range of ecosystem services including air cleaning, decomposition of leaf litter and recreation. The European beech (Fagus sylvatica) is a frequent and widespread deciduous tree in temperate forests in Central Europe. In this study, we examined the effects of urbanisation on decomposition processes of F. sylvatica leaves in different-sized forests in the urban region of Basel, Switzerland. We used standardised litterbags (mesh size: 2 mm) with F. sylvatica leaves to assess the impact of degree of urbanisation (indicated by the percentage cover of sealed area in the surroundings) and forest size on the early stage of leaf litter decomposition and seasonal microbial activity. We found combined effects of degree of urbanisation and forest size on the decomposition rate of leaf litter (klitter). Large forests showed the highest klitter in areas with sparse settlements and the lowest klitter in densely settled areas, whereas the opposite pattern was recorded for small and medium-sized forests. This indicates that abiotic and biotic forest characteristics of forests of similar size differently influenced klitter depending on the degree of urbanisation. Moisture content of litter was the best predictor of microbial activity, followed by forest size. We assume that factors acting at the landscape scale such as the degree of urbanisation might be too coarse to detect any differences in microbial activity. Our results revealed that even small urban forests contribute to this important ecosystem function. As decomposers are at the bottom of the food chain, management actions that support the biological activity in soil might be also beneficial for species at higher trophic ranks. |
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| Keywords: | Decomposition rate Forest area Leaf chemical characteristics Microbial activity Plant diversity Temperate deciduous forests |
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