Quantifying litter decomposition losses to dissolved organic carbon and respiration

As litter decomposes its carbon is lost from the litter layer, largely through microbial processing. However, much of the carbon lost from the surface litter layer during decomposition is not truly lost from the ecosystem but gets transferred to the soil through fragmentation and leaching of dissolved organic carbon (DOC). This DOC in the soil acts as a stock of soil organic matter (SOM) to be utilized by soil microbes, stabilized in the soil, or leached further through the soil profile. The total amount of C that ends up leaching from litter to the soil, as well as its chemical composition, has important implications on the residence time of decomposing litter C in the soil and is not currently well parameterized in models. In this study we aim to quantify the proportional relationship between CO2 efflux and DOC partitioning during decomposition of fresh leaf litter with distinct structural and chemical composition. The results from this one-year laboratory incubation show a clear relationship between the lignin to cellulose ratios of litter and DOC to CO2 partitioning during four distinct phases of litter decomposition. For example, bluestem grass litter with a low lignin to cellulose ratio loses almost 50% of its C as DOC whereas pine needles with a high lignin to cellulose ratio loses only 10% of its C as DOC, indicating a potential ligno-cellulose complexation effect on carbon use efficiency during litter decomposition. DOC production also decreases with time during decomposition, correlating with increasing lignin to cellulose ratios as decomposition progresses. Initial DOC leaching can be predicted based on the amount of labile fraction in each litter type. Field data using stable isotope labeled bluestem grass show that about 18% of the surface litter C lost in 18 months of decomposition is stored in the soil, and that over 50% of this is recovered in mineral-associated heavy SOM fractions, not as litter fragments, confirming the relative importance of the DOC flux of C from the litter layer to the soil for stable SOM formation. These results are being used to parameterize a new litter decomposition sub-model to more accurately represent the movement of decomposing surface litter C to CO2 and the mineral soil. This surface litter sub-model can be used to strengthen our understanding of the litter C and microbial processes that feed into larger ecosystem models such as Daycent.