TP1-4: Litter decomposition and soil mesofauna

Litter decomposition and soil micro- and mesofauna diversity

Summary

Temperate agroforestry systems are considered sustainable alternatives to conventional agricultural systems. The production of tree litter and its decomposition are important functions for nutrient cycling in agroforestry systems. Litter decomposition is largely impacted by the activity of soil biota, including micro- and mesofauna. Therefore, TP 1-4 aims to study the effects of agroforestry systems on the diversity and community composition of soil micro- and mesofauna.

TP 1-4 analyzes the litter decomposition and nutrient release dynamics of poplar leaf litter on the soil surface using in-situ litterbag incubation experiments at two paired cropland agroforestry and open cropland systems. In the agroforestry systems, litterbags are placed in four locations: within the tree rows and at 1, 7, and 24 m distance from the trees inside the crop alleys. Litterbags are also placed in an adjacent open cropland system, which serves as a reference land-use system.

The composition and diversity of micro- and mesofauna communities from soil samples and from pitfall traps provided by TP 1-5 will be analyzed using high-throughput sequencing at the same sampling locations as the litterbag experiment. Together with previous findings on microbial communities and their abundance as well as community composition across sampling locations and study sites, we expect to draw biological inferences on the major drivers of decomposition and nutrient release dynamics in agroforestry systems