Abstract
Aims
The conifer litter is fairly recalcitrant and nutrient poor, and broadleaved litter promotes coniferous litter decomposition by increasing degradable nutrients and promoting microbial metabolism. Mixing Pinus massoniana litter and three broadleaved litters may increase the diversity and abundance of fungal decomposers compared to those in P. massoniana litter and vary depending on the number and proportion of broadleaved species included.
Methods
We analysed the composition and diversity of fungal communities during mixed litter decomposition in South China with thirty-five treatments (Pinus massoniana, Toona sinensis, Cinnamomum camphora and Sassafras tzumu litter) using Illumina high-throughput sequencing.
Important Findings
The mixed litters increased fungal diversity and richness compared with those in the single-species litter, except in the following treatments: P. massoniana litter accounting for 70-80% in the P. massoniana + T. sinensis, P. massoniana + S. tzumu +T. sinensis and P. massoniana + S. tzumu+ C. camphor combinations, and P. massoniana + S. tzumu+ C. camphor +T. sinensis combination with small proportion of T. sinensis litter. The diversity and richness of the 7:1:2 combination of P. massoniana + C. camphor +T. sinensis were significantly higher than those in the other treatments. Ascomycota and Basidiomycota were the dominant phyla, and Aspergillus was the most abundant genus. The decomposition of litters from one needleleaf and one broadleaved species (6:4) and one needleleaf species and two broadleaved species (broadleaved litter accounting for 30-40%) exhibited synergistic interactions throughout the decomposition process, and the relative abundance of fungi that decompose refractory substances increased. The P. massoniana + C. camphor +T. sinensis combination and a 30–40% broadleaf litter proportion increased fungal diversity and accelerated the decomposition of recalcitrant coniferous litter. Therefore, C. camphor and T. sinensis are a potential candidate species for mixed planting with P. massoniana.
Keywords: fungal community; mixed leaf litter; non-additive effect; Pinus massoniana; high-throughput sequencing
