Journal article
The contribution of insects to global forest deadwood decomposition
Nature, Vol.597, pp.77-81
2021
Abstract
The amount of carbon stored in deadwood is equivalent to about 8 per cent of the global forest carbon stocks1. The decomposition of deadwood is largely governed by climate2,3,4,5 with decomposer groups—such as microorganisms and insects—contributing to variations in the decomposition rates2,6,7. At the global scale, the contribution of insects to the decomposition of deadwood and carbon release remains poorly understood7. Here we present a field experiment of wood decomposition across 55 forest sites and 6 continents. We find that the deadwood decomposition rates increase with temperature, and the strongest temperature effect is found at high precipitation levels. Precipitation affects the decomposition rates negatively at low temperatures and positively at high temperatures. As a net effect—including the direct consumption by insects and indirect effects through interactions with microorganisms—insects accelerate the decomposition in tropical forests (3.9% median mass loss per year). In temperate and boreal forests, we find weak positive and negative effects with a median mass loss of 0.9 per cent and −0.1 per cent per year, respectively. Furthermore, we apply the experimentally derived decomposition function to a global map of deadwood carbon synthesized from empirical and remote-sensing data, obtaining an estimate of 10.9 ± 3.2 petagram of carbon per year released from deadwood globally, with 93 per cent originating from tropical forests. Globally, the net effect of insects may account for 29 per cent of the carbon flux from deadwood, which suggests a functional importance of insects in the decomposition of deadwood and the carbon cycle.
Details
- Title
- The contribution of insects to global forest deadwood decomposition
- Authors
- Sebastian Seibold (Author) - Technical University MunichWerner Rammer (Author) - Technical University of MunichTorsten Hothorn (Author) - University of ZurichRupert Seidl (Author) - Technical University of MunichMichael D Ulyshen (Author) - US Forest ServiceJanina Lorz (Author) - University of WürzburgMarc W Cadotte (Author) - University of TorontoDavid B Lindenmayer (Author) - Australian National UniversityYagya P Adhikari (Author) - University of BayreuthRoxana Aragón (Author) - National University of TucumánSee full text of article for full list of authors (Author)Sharif A Mukul (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Tropical Forests & People Research Centre
- Publication details
- Nature, Vol.597, pp.77-81
- Publisher
- Nature Publishing Group
- DOI
- 10.1038/s41586-021-03740-8
- ISSN
- 1476-4687
- Organisation Unit
- School of Science, Technology and Engineering; Tropical Forests & People Research Centre; University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 99565708202621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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