2 research outputs found
Aridec: an open database of litter mass loss from aridlands worldwide with recommendations on suitable model applications
<i>Aridec</i>: an open database of litter mass loss from aridlands worldwide with recommendations on suitable model applications
Plant litter decomposition in terrestrial ecosystems involves the
physical and chemical breakdown of organic matter. Development of databases
is a promising tool for achieving a predictive understanding of organic
matter degradation at regional and global scales. In this paper, we present
aridec, a comprehensive open database containing litter mass loss data from
aridlands across the world. We describe in detail the structure of the
database and discuss general patterns in the data. Then, we explore what are
the most appropriate model structures to integrate with data on litter
decomposition from the database by conducting a collinearity analysis. The
database includes 184 entries from aridlands across the world, representing
a wide range of climates. For the majority of the data gathered in aridec, it is
possible to fit models of litter decomposition that consider initial organic
matter as a homogenous reservoir (one pool models), as well as models with
two distinct types of organic compounds that decompose at different speeds
(two pool models). Moreover, these two carbon pools can either decompose
without interaction (parallel models) or with matter transfer from a labile
pool to a slowly decomposing pool after transformation (series models).
Although most entries in the database can be used to fit these models, we
suggest that potential users of this database test identifiability for each
individual case as well as the number of degrees of freedom. Other model
applications that are not discussed in this publication might also be
suitable for use with this database. Lastly, we give some recommendations
for future decomposition studies to be potentially added to this database.
The extent of the information included in aridec in addition to its open-science
approach makes it a great platform for future collaborative efforts in the
field of aridland biogeochemistry. The aridec version 1.0.2 is archived and
publicly available at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6600345
(Sarquis et al., 2022), and the database is managed under
a version-controlled system and centrally stored in GitHub
(https://github.com/AgustinSarquis/aridec, last access: 31 May 2022).</p