Parasites boost productivity: effects of mistletoe on litterfall dynamics in a temperate Australian forest |
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Authors: | Wendy A March David M Watson |
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Institution: | (1) Institute for Land, Water and Society, Charles Sturt University, PO Box 789, Albury, NSW, 2640, Australia;(2) 3 Oakley Street, Semaphore Park, Adelaide, SA, 5019, Australia |
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Abstract: | The importance of litter in regulating ecosystem processes has long been recognised, with a growing appreciation of the differential
contribution of various functional plant groups. Despite the ubiquity of mistletoes in terrestrial ecosystems and their prominence
in ecological studies, they are one group that have been overlooked in litter research. This study evaluated the litter contribution
from a hemiparasitic mistletoe, Amyema miquelii (Lehm. ex Miq.) Tiegh., in an open eucalypt forest (Eucalyptus blakelyi, E. dwyeri and E. dealbata), at three scales; the forest stand, single trees and individual mistletoes. Litter from mistletoes significantly increased
overall litterfall by up to 189%, the amount of mistletoe litter being proportional to the mistletoe biomass in the canopy.
The high litter input was due to a much higher rate of mistletoe leaf turnover than that of host trees; the host litterfall
and rate of leaf turnover was not significantly affected by mistletoe presence. The additional litter from mistletoes also
affected the spatial and temporal distribution of litterfall due to the patchy distribution of mistletoes and their prolonged
period of high litterfall. Associated with these changes in litterfall was an increase in ground litter mass and plant productivity,
which reflects similar findings with root-parasitic plants. These findings represent novel mechanisms underlying the role
of mistletoes as keystone resources and provide further evidence of the importance of parasites in affecting trophic dynamics. |
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Keywords: | Leaf litter Leaf lifespan Productivity Eucalyptus forests Hemiparasite |
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