Diverse Effects of Climate, Land Use, and Insects on Dung and Carrion Decomposition

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer review

Authors

  • Jana Englmeier
  • Oliver Mitesser
  • M. Eric Benbow
  • Torsten Hothorn
  • Christian von Hoermann
  • Caryl Benjamin
  • Ute Fricke
  • Cristina Ganuza
  • Maria Haensel
  • Sarah Redlich
  • Rebekka Riebl
  • Sandra Rojas Botero
  • Thomas Rummler
  • Ingolf Steffan-Dewenter
  • Elisa Stengel
  • Cynthia Tobisch
  • Johannes Uhler
  • Lars Uphus
  • Jie Zhang
  • Jörg Müller

External Research Organisations

  • Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg
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Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)397-411
Number of pages15
JournalECOSYSTEMS
Volume26
Issue number2
Early online date26 Apr 2022
Publication statusPublished - Mar 2023
Externally publishedYes

Abstract

Land-use intensification and climate change threaten ecosystem functions. A fundamental, yet often overlooked, function is decomposition of necromass. The direct and indirect anthropogenic effects on decomposition, however, are poorly understood. We measured decomposition of two contrasting types of necromass, rat carrion and bison dung, on 179 study sites in Central Europe across an elevational climate gradient of 168–1122 m a.s.l. and within both local and regional land uses. Local land-use types included forest, grassland, arable fields, and settlements and were embedded in three regional land-use types (near-natural, agricultural, and urban). The effects of insects on decomposition were quantified by experimental exclusion, while controlling for removal by vertebrates. We used generalized additive mixed models to evaluate dung weight loss and carrion decay rate along elevation and across regional and local land-use types. We observed a unimodal relationship of dung decomposition with elevation, where greatest weight loss occurred between 600 and 700 m, but no effects of local temperature, land use, or insects. In contrast to dung, carrion decomposition was continuously faster with both increasing elevation and local temperature. Carrion reached the final decomposition stage six days earlier when insect access was allowed, and this did not depend on land-use effect. Our experiment identified different major drivers of decomposition on each necromass form. The results show that dung and carrion decomposition are rather robust to local and regional land use, but future climate change and decline of insects could alter decomposition processes and the self-regulation of ecosystems.

Keywords

    decay, ecosystem function, global change, land-use intensification, necrobiome, urbanization

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Sustainable Development Goals

Cite this

Diverse Effects of Climate, Land Use, and Insects on Dung and Carrion Decomposition. / Englmeier, Jana; Mitesser, Oliver; Benbow, M. Eric et al.
In: ECOSYSTEMS, Vol. 26, No. 2, 03.2023, p. 397-411.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer review

Englmeier, J, Mitesser, O, Benbow, ME, Hothorn, T, Hoermann, CV, Benjamin, C, Fricke, U, Ganuza, C, Haensel, M, Redlich, S, Riebl, R, Botero, SR, Rummler, T, Steffan-Dewenter, I, Stengel, E, Tobisch, C, Uhler, J, Uphus, L, Zhang, J & Müller, J 2023, 'Diverse Effects of Climate, Land Use, and Insects on Dung and Carrion Decomposition', ECOSYSTEMS, vol. 26, no. 2, pp. 397-411. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-022-00764-7
Englmeier, J., Mitesser, O., Benbow, M. E., Hothorn, T., Hoermann, C. V., Benjamin, C., Fricke, U., Ganuza, C., Haensel, M., Redlich, S., Riebl, R., Botero, S. R., Rummler, T., Steffan-Dewenter, I., Stengel, E., Tobisch, C., Uhler, J., Uphus, L., Zhang, J., & Müller, J. (2023). Diverse Effects of Climate, Land Use, and Insects on Dung and Carrion Decomposition. ECOSYSTEMS, 26(2), 397-411. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-022-00764-7
Englmeier J, Mitesser O, Benbow ME, Hothorn T, Hoermann CV, Benjamin C et al. Diverse Effects of Climate, Land Use, and Insects on Dung and Carrion Decomposition. ECOSYSTEMS. 2023 Mar;26(2):397-411. Epub 2022 Apr 26. doi: 10.1007/s10021-022-00764-7
Englmeier, Jana ; Mitesser, Oliver ; Benbow, M. Eric et al. / Diverse Effects of Climate, Land Use, and Insects on Dung and Carrion Decomposition. In: ECOSYSTEMS. 2023 ; Vol. 26, No. 2. pp. 397-411.
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abstract = "Land-use intensification and climate change threaten ecosystem functions. A fundamental, yet often overlooked, function is decomposition of necromass. The direct and indirect anthropogenic effects on decomposition, however, are poorly understood. We measured decomposition of two contrasting types of necromass, rat carrion and bison dung, on 179 study sites in Central Europe across an elevational climate gradient of 168–1122 m a.s.l. and within both local and regional land uses. Local land-use types included forest, grassland, arable fields, and settlements and were embedded in three regional land-use types (near-natural, agricultural, and urban). The effects of insects on decomposition were quantified by experimental exclusion, while controlling for removal by vertebrates. We used generalized additive mixed models to evaluate dung weight loss and carrion decay rate along elevation and across regional and local land-use types. We observed a unimodal relationship of dung decomposition with elevation, where greatest weight loss occurred between 600 and 700 m, but no effects of local temperature, land use, or insects. In contrast to dung, carrion decomposition was continuously faster with both increasing elevation and local temperature. Carrion reached the final decomposition stage six days earlier when insect access was allowed, and this did not depend on land-use effect. Our experiment identified different major drivers of decomposition on each necromass form. The results show that dung and carrion decomposition are rather robust to local and regional land use, but future climate change and decline of insects could alter decomposition processes and the self-regulation of ecosystems.",
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AU - Englmeier, Jana

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AU - Hothorn, Torsten

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AU - Benjamin, Caryl

AU - Fricke, Ute

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AU - Haensel, Maria

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AU - Rummler, Thomas

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AU - Stengel, Elisa

AU - Tobisch, Cynthia

AU - Uhler, Johannes

AU - Uphus, Lars

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AU - Müller, Jörg

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