Weak to no effects of litter biomass and mixing on litter decomposition in a seasonally dry tropical forest

Leaf litter mixtures and the amount of litter biomass in the litter standing stocks can affect the decomposition rates by modifying physical properties and resource heterogeneity in the litter layers. However, the potential interactive effects of litter mixtures and the amount of litter biomass on decomposition have been overlooked in the literature, even though both aspects of litter layer may be highly variable in space and time, within and across ecosystems. In a field experiment conducted in a seasonally dry tropical forest (also known as restinga forest), we investigated the individual and interactive effects of litter mixing and litter biomass on the decomposition of leaf litter from four species of trees, at both species- and assemblage-level. We hypothesized that the mixing of litter and higher litter biomass would both promote litter decomposition, and that litter mixture effects on decomposition at assemblage- and species specific-level would be stronger under higher litter biomass. Mixing of litter and the amount of litter in the standing stocks had no significant individual effects on decomposition, neither at the assemblage- or species specific-level. However, we observed an interactive effect between both experimental factors for the decomposition of a single species, where, contrary to our predictions, the decomposition of Andira legalis at low litter biomass was slightly reduced in the litter mixture. Our results indicate that litter decomposition in the restinga ecosystem should be highly predictable with knowledge of species composition and species-specific decomposition rates, and suggest that, at least for seasonally dry tropical ecosystems, the mixing of litter may have only a small effect on the decomposition process.