Human activities shape global patterns of decomposition rates in rivers
Rivers and streams contribute to global carbon cycling by decomposing immense quantities of terrestrial plant matter. However, decomposition rates are highly variable and large-scale patterns and drivers of this process remain poorly understood. Using a cellulose-based assay to reflect the primary constituent of plant detritus, we generated a predictive model (81% variance explained) for cellulose decomposition rates across 514 globally distributed streams. A large number of variables were important for predicting decomposition, highlighting the complexity of this process at the global scale. Predicted cellulose decomposition rates, when combined with genus-level litter quality attributes, explain published leaf litter decomposition rates with high accuracy (70% variance explained). Our global map provides estimates of rates across vast understudied areas of Earth and reveals rapid decomposition across continental-scale areas dominated by human activities.
Citation Information
| Publication Year | 2024 |
|---|---|
| Title | Human activities shape global patterns of decomposition rates in rivers |
| DOI | 10.1126/science.adn1262 |
| Authors | Scott Tiegs, Krista A. Capps, David M. Costello, John Paul Schmidt, Christopher J. Patrick, Jennifer Follstad Shah, Carri J. LeRoy, Vicenç Acuña, Ricardo Albariño, Daniel Allen, Cecilia Alonso, Patricio Andino, Clay Arango, Jukka Aroviita, Marcus Barbosa, Leon A. Barmuta, Colden V. Baxter, Brent Bellinger, Luz Boyero, Lyubov Bragina, Lee E. Brown, Andreas Bruder, Denise Bruesewitz, Francis Burdon, Marcos Callisto, Antonio G. Camacho, Cristina Canhoto, María Castillo, Eric Chauvet, Joanne Clapcott, Fanny Colas, Checo Colón-Gaud, Julien Cornut, Verónica Crespo-Pérez, Wyatt F. Cross, Joseph M. Culp, Michael Danger, Olivier Dangles, Elvira de Eyto, Alison Derry, Veronica Díaz-Villanueva, Michael Douglas, Arturo Elosegi, Andrea Encalada, Sally Entrekin, Rodrigo Espinosa, Verónica Ferreira, Carmen Ferriol, Kyla Flanagan, Alexander Flecker, Tadeusz Fleituch, André Frainer, Nikolai Friberg, Paul C. Frost, Erica A. Garcia, Liliana García-Lago, Pavel García Soto, Mark Gessner, Sudeep Ghate, Darren Giling, Alan Gilmer, Jose Goncalves, Rosario Gonzales, Manuel Graça, Mike Grace, Natalie A. Griffiths, Hans-Peter Grossart, François Guérold, Vlad Gulis, Pablo E. Gutiérrez-Fonseca, Luiz Hepp, Scott Higgins, Takuo Hishi, Joseph Huddart, John P. Hudson, Moss Imberger, Carlos Iñiguez-Armijos, Mark Isken, Tomoya Iwata, Dave Janetski, Andrea Kirkwood, Aaron A. Koning, Sarian Kosten, Kevin Kuehn, Hjalmar Laudon, Peter Leavitt, Aurea Lemes da Silva, Shawn Leroux, Peter Lisi, Richard Mackenzie, Amy M Marcarelli, Frank Masese, Peter B. McIntyre, Brendan G. McKie, Adriana Medeiros, Kristian Meissner, Marko Miliša, Shailendra Mishra, Yo Miyake, Ashley Moerke, Shorok Mombrikotb, Robert J Mooney, Tim Moulton, Timo Muotka, Junjiro N. Negishi, Vinicius Neres-Lima, Mika Nieminen, Jorge Nimptsch, Jakub Ondruch, Riku Paavola, Isabel Pardo, Edwin Peeters, Jesus Pozo, Aaron Prussian, Estefania Quenta, Brian Reid, John S. Richardson, Anna Rigosi, José Rincón, Geta Rîșnoveanu, Chris Robinson, Lorena Rodríguez-Gallego, Todd V Royer, James A. Rusak, Anna Santamans, Géza Selmeczy, Gelas Simiyu, Agnija Skuja, Jerzy Smykla, Ryan A. Sponseller, Kandikere Sridhar, Aaron Stoler, Christopher M. Swan, Franco Teixeira-de Mello, Jonathan Tonkin, Sari Uusheimo, Allison Veach, Sirje Vilbaste, Lena Vought, Chiao-Ping Wang, Jackson Webster, Paul B. Wilson, Stefan Woelfl, Guy Woodward, Marguerite A. Xenopoulos, Adam Yates, Chihiro Yoshimura, Catherine Yule, Yixin Zhang, Jacob Aaron Zwart |
| Publication Type | Article |
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Series Title | Science |
| Index ID | 70261201 |
| Record Source | USGS Publications Warehouse |
| USGS Organization | WMA - Integrated Information Dissemination Division |