Decomposition: driven by nature or nurture?

Although the carbon flow involved in decomposi- tion is approximately equal to that in primary pro- duction, the amount of research is far less. A recent symposium under the title “Driven by Nature” re- viewed the role of plant litter quality in determining decomposition in terrestrial ecosystems, both in the tropics and in the temperate region (Cadisch and Giller, 1996). In as far as decomposition of plant residues is indeed fully ‘driven by their nature’, i.e. determined by the physical, chemical and biological qualities of the organic residue, a fairly small re- search attention might be justified. In practice, how- ever, the biotic and abiotic environment in which decomposition takes place (the ‘nurture’) has a con- siderable modifying effect both on the rate at which decomposition occurs and on the end-products formed (CO 2, CH 4, humus, charcoal). The role of cell and tissue structure as well as ‘secondary’ metabolites during the life of the plant can now be connected to their effects during decomposition after death of the plant (or its parts).

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