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Author notes

1. E. Carol Adair

   Present address: Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, 05405, USA

Authors and Affiliations

1. Department of Geography, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106-4060, USA

   Jennifer Y. King

2. Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science, USDA Forest Service, Saint Paul, MN, 55108, USA

   Leslie A. Brandt

3. National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS), University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, 93101, USA

   E. Carol Adair

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jennifer Y. King.

Author contributions

All authors contributed equally to the manuscript and revisions.

Appendix: Meta-analysis methods, data and references

We conducted an extensive keyword and citation search using the ISI Web of Science for the words “photodegradation,” “UV,” “UV-B,” “photolysis,” and “solar radiation” in combination with “litter,” “decomposition,” and “organic matter.” Within each reference, we collected information on the field site (latitude and mean annual precipitation, MAP), litter (species, initial lignin content, initial C/N, area/mass), treatment (supplementary lamp, filter, or shade cloth), experiment duration and the final mass loss (ML) in each treatment as a percentage of initial litter mass.

Many of the references we found contained research investigating photodegradation of different litter types, in different locations or by excluding or increasing different amounts/types of radiation, etc. Each of these was incorporated into the database as a single experiment. Thus, the database contained 16 references and 50 experiments (Table 3). For each experiment (N = 50) we calculated a metric that examined the effect of increasing litter UV exposure based on the log response ratio (LRR of enhancing solar radiation or LRR_enh): LRR_enh = ln(ML_enh/ML_red), where ML_enh is ML in the treatment with more solar radiation exposure and ML_red is ML in the treatment with less UV exposure. ML_enh values >0 indicate that ML increases with increasing solar radiation exposure; values <0 indicate that ML decreases with increasing solar radiation exposure.

We examined LRR_enh averaged across all experiments (N = 50) and by solar radiation treatment combinations. Across the 50 experiments, we examined three types of treatment combinations: (1) enhanced versus ambient; (2) enhanced versus reduced; and (3) ambient versus reduced. Enhanced solar radiation treatments were accomplished via supplementary UV lamps, while reduced treatments used filters or shade cloths to block UVR and/or total solar radiation. We examined average LRR_enh for each manipulation method (filter, supplementary lamp, or shade). For each mean LRR_enh, we calculated a 95 % confidence interval (CI; Student’s t distribution). Means were considered to be significantly different from zero if the 95 % CIs did not include zero. We also examined linear relationships between experiment LRR_enh and latitude, MAP, initial litter lignin content, initial litter C/N and leaf litter area/mass.

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• Austin AT, Ballaré CL (2010) Dual role of lignin in plant litter decomposition in terrestrial ecosystems. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 107 (10):4618–4622

• Austin AT, Vivanco L (2006) Plant litter decomposition in a semi-arid ecosystem controlled by photodegradation. Nature 442 (7102):555–558

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• Brandt LA, King JY, Milchunas DG (2007) Effects of ultraviolet radiation on litter decomposition depend on precipitation and litter chemistry in a shortgrass steppe ecosystem. Glob Change Biol 13 (10):2193–2205

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• Gallo ME, Porras-Alfaro A, Odenbach KJ, Sinsabaugh RL (2009) Photoacceleration of plant litter decomposition in an arid environment. Soil Biol Biochem 41 (7):1433–1441

• Gehrke C, Johanson U, Callaghan TV, Chadwick D, Robinson CH (1995) The impact of enhanced ultraviolet-B radiation on litter quality and decomposition processes in Vaccinium leaves from the sub-Arctic. Oikos 72 (2):213–222

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• Moody SA, Paul ND, Bjorn LO, Callaghan TV, Lee JA, Manetas Y, Rozema J, Gwynn-Jones D, Johanson U, Kyparissis A, Oudejans AMC (2001) The direct effects of UV-B radiation on Betula pubescens litter decomposing at four European field sites. Plant Ecol 154 (1–2):27–36

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• Verhoef HA, Verspagen JMH, Zoomer HR (2000) Direct and indirect effects of ultraviolet-B radiation on soil biota, decomposition and nutrient fluxes in dune grassland soil systems. Biol Fert Soils 31 (5):366–371

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Cite this article

King, J.Y., Brandt, L.A. & Adair, E.C. Shedding light on plant litter decomposition: advances, implications and new directions in understanding the role of photodegradation. Biogeochemistry 111, 57–81 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-012-9737-9

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• Received: 15 December 2011

• Accepted: 12 April 2012

• Published: 10 June 2012

• Issue Date: November 2012

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-012-9737-9

Keywords