The role of functional and phylogenetic diversity of riparian tree communities on carbon processing in rivers

Leaf litter from riparian vegetation is a significant resource to aquatic ecosystems, and loss of riparian biodiversity can influence decomposition in streams. We investigated how functional diversity (FD) in foliar chemistry and phylogenetic diversity (PD) of riparian communities explain variation in litter breakdown. Riparian communities were randomly generated from a known regional species pool, FD/PD calculated, and a subset chosen reflecting high/low levels of both FD/PD. Leaf litter breakdown was only significantly related to PD, not FD as shown in other studies. This suggests that traits captured by PD play an important role in regulating carbon processing in streams.