Plants retard litter decay in a nutrient-limited soil: a case of exploitative competition?

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Abstract
Litter was incubated in pasteurized and unpasteurized soils, with and without the presence of prairie grasses (Bouteloua gracilis or Schizachyrium scoparium), to determine if competition between plants and saprophytes altered rates of litter decay. A soil pasteurization treatment was included to ascertain if the presence of vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizae inocula would affect the competitive interaction. Analyses of variance detected significant effects (PPP<0.05) between litter nitrogen content and mass loss (as covariates), when controlling for the effects of time and soil pasteurization. These relationships would be expected if exploitative competition for nutrients existed between plants and decomposers such that nutrient uptake by plants reduced concomitant litter decay.

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