Euro-LandComp: interactions between land use, leaf litter quality and consumers on large-scale patterns of leaf litter decomposition in stream ecosystems in SW Europe. — ASN Events
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  2. Eutrophication, Harmful Algae, Landuse and Non-Point Source Impacts 2.0
  3. Euro-LandComp: interactions between land use, leaf litter quality and consumers on large-scale patterns of leaf litter decomposition in stream ecosystems in SW Europe.

Euro-LandComp: interactions between land use, leaf litter quality and consumers on large-scale patterns of leaf litter decomposition in stream ecosystems in SW Europe. (#269)

Diana Rojo 1 , Javier Pérez 1 2 , Alberto Alonso 1 , Juan Mateo Rivera-Pérez 3 , Verónica Ferreira 4 , Naiara López-Rojo 5 6 , Jesus Casas 2 , Urtzi Arteagabeitia 1 , Aydeé Cornejo 7 , Christopher Swan 8 , Luz Boyero 1 9
  1. University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Leioa, BIZKAIA, Spain
  2. Biology and Geology, University of Almeria, Almeria, Spain
  3. Programa de Pós-graduação em Ecologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém, Pará, Brazil
  4. MARE – Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, ARNET – Aquatic Research Network, Department of Life Science, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
  5. University of Grenoble Alpes,, University of Savoie Mont Blan, NRS, LECA, Laboratoire d'Ecologie Alpin, Grenoble, France
  6. Lyon-Grenoble Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Center, National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment (INRAE), RIVERLY, Villeurbanne, France
  7. Gorgas Memorial Institute for Health Studies, Panama city, Panama
  8. Department of Geography & Environmental Systems, University of Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland, United States
  9. IKERBASQUE, Basque Foundation for Science, Bilbao, Bizkaia, Spain

Habitat degradation is a primary driver of biodiversity loss, with effects on ecosystem functioning. In stream ecosystems, leaf litter decomposition plays a fundamental role in energy and nutrient cycling, being influenced by leaf litter quality, microbial and macroinvertebrate consumers, and environmental conditions. Land use changes (such as deforestation and the expansion of agricultural, urban, or plantation landscapes), alter stream habitats and can significantly modify decomposition rates and dynamics. However, large-scale assessments of these impacts remain limited. By comparing decomposition rates across several regions of SW Europe encompassing a strong climatic gradient, we assessed the influence of land use type (forest, urban, agriculture and plantation), climate and leaf litter quality on microbial and macroinvertebrate-mediated leaf litter decomposition. We used several leaf litter types, including local species and standardized species for comparison across sites. The study used a subset of sites from the LandComp study, one of the very few global-scale initiatives that provide critical insights into the patterns and drivers of stream ecosystem functioning.

  1. Boyero et al. 2021. Latitude dictates plant diversity effects on instream decomposition. Science Advances 7(13):eabe7860
  2. Tiegs, S.D et al. 2019. Global patterns and drivers of ecosystem functioning in rivers and riparian zones. Science Advances. (51) eaav0486
  3. Seena et al. 2019. Biodiversity of leaf litter fungi in streams along a latitudinal gradient. Science of the Total Environment 661:306-315
  4. Boyero, L. et al. 2017. Riparian plant litter quality increases with latitude. Scientific Reports 7, Article number: 10562. doi:10.1038/s41598-017-10640-3.
  5. Boyero, L. et al. 2011. Global patterns of stream detritivore species richness: implications for biodiversity loss in changing climates. Global Ecology & Biogeography 21(2):134–141.