CaFoDec
CaFoDec - Effects of canopy opennes and forest management intensity on decomposition rate and decomposer communities of different types of necromass
Financing: DFG
Running Period: 2023-2026
Project Staff: Marit Hertlein, Sebastian Seibold, Matthias Loretto
Decomposition of dead organic matter, necromass, is a key ecosystem process in all ecosystems as it affects local soil fertility and global carbon cycling. There are different types of necromass (e.g. dead wood, leaf litter or carrion) and they have different decomposer communities. The quantification of the contribution of those communities to the decomposition is largely unknown. Considering ongoing global biodiversity loss and particularly declines in insect populations and diversity, a better understanding of the role of different decomposer taxa, particularly insects, is needed.
We study how two major drivers of forest ecosystem change, i.e. forest management intensity and canopy openness, are affecting decomposition rates and communities of different types of necromass directly and indirectly via effects on microbe, invertebrate and vertebrate decomposer communities.
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