ArticleeLife2020
Diversity-decomposition relationships in forests worldwide.
Article in eLife, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
19 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Meta-analysis reveals that vertebrates enhance plant litter decomposition at the global scale.Nature ecology & evolution · 2024Pooled it
- Inappropriate Mixed Addition of Plant Residues Weakens the Remediation Effect of Crude Oil-Contaminated Soil.Plants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Precipitation and Species Composition Mediate Litter Mixing Decomposition Effects in Arid Desert Regions.Plants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Changes in Litter Organic Acid Release Characteristics During Litter Decomposition in Plantations Comprising Different Tree Species.Plants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Nitrogen deposition significantly alters the nonadditive effects of mixed litter decomposition on soil bio and chemical properties.Frontiers in plant science · 2026Article
- Root mixing effects on belowground decomposition depend on mycorrhizal type.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Improving forest ecosystem functions by optimizing tree species spatial arrangement.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Home-field advantage effect weakened over time but was strengthened by labile carbon input in later litter decomposition stage.Frontiers in plant science · 2025Article
- Assembly Characteristics and Influencing Factors of the Soil Microbial Community in the Typical Forest of Funiu Mountain.Microorganisms · 2024Article
- Impacts of litter microbial community on litter decomposition in the absence of soil microorganisms.Applied and environmental microbiology · 2024Article
- Biodiversity mitigates drought effects in the decomposer system across biomes.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2024Article
- The synergistic effects of a leaf mixture on decomposition change with a period of terrestrial exposure prior to immersion in a stream.Ecology and evolution · 2024Article
- Effects of short- and long-term plant functional group loss on alpine meadow community structure and soil nutrients.Ecology and evolution · 2024Article
- Soil salinity is the main factor influencing the soil bacterial community assembly process under long-term drip irrigation in Xinjiang, China.Frontiers in microbiology · 2023Article
- Linkages between traits and decomposition of weed communities along a soil management and pedoclimate gradient in Mediterranean vineyards.Annals of botany · 2022Article
- Mixed-litter effects of fresh leaf semi-decomposed litter and fine root on soil enzyme activity and microbial community in an evergreen broadleaf karst forest in southwest China.Frontiers in plant science · 2022Article
- Impacts of detritivore diversity loss on instream decomposition are greatest in the tropics.Nature communications · 2021Article
- The diversity of decay.eLife · 2020Article
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10 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Plant species diversity affects carbon and nutrient cycling during litter decomposition, yet the generality of the direction of this effect and its magnitude remains uncertain. With a meta-analysis including 65 field studies across the Earth's major forest ecosystems, we show here that decomposition was faster when litter was composed of more than one species. These positive biodiversity effects were mostly driven by temperate forests but were more variable in other forests. Litter mixture effects emerged most strongly in early decomposition stages and were related to divergence in litter quality. Litter diversity also accelerated nitrogen, but not phosphorus release, potentially indicating a decoupling of nitrogen and phosphorus cycling and perhaps a shift in ecosystem nutrient limitation with changing biodiversity. Our findings demonstrate the importance of litter diversity effects for carbon and nutrient dynamics during decomposition, and show how these effects vary with litter traits, decomposer complexity and forest characteristics.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.