Limnetica 34

Riparian invasion by exotic trees may lead to changes in the quality of leaf-litter inputs to freshwater ecosystems. Leaf-litter inputs are especially important in headwater streams, where aquatic food webs largely depend on the organic matter provided by the terrestrial vegetation. In a headwater stream of Central Spain, North of Guadalajara Province (Tagus basin) we compared the decomposition and biological colonization of leaf litter among two exotic (Ailanthus altissima Mill. Swingle and Robinia pseudoacacia L.) and two native trees (Fraxinus angustifolia Vahl. and Populus alba L.) co-existing in riparian zones. We hypothesized a lower biological colonization of exotic leaves due to organisms have not co-evolved with the exotic trees according to the Novel Weapons Hypothesis (NWH) and, consequently, lower decomposition rates of exotic leaves. To test our hypothesis, litter bags with different mesh sizes (coarse (C) and fine (F)), were used to distinguish between the total and microbial decomposition. The litter bags were placed in the stream and recovered after 2, 20, 39, 62 and 82 days of incubation. After each collection, we assessed the amount of remaining litter, analysed the nitrogen (N) and phosphorous (P) in the litter, identified the macroinvertebrates and quantified the fungal biomass. Consistent with our hypothesis, we found greater fungal biomass buildup on native leaves than on exotic leaves. However, decomposition rates (k) were species-specific, being the ranking in C-bags (A. altissima = F. angustifolia > P. alba > R. pseudoacacia) slightly different than in F-bags (A. altissima > F. angustifolia > P. alba > R. pseudoacacia). The k in both the C-bags and F-bags were correlated with leaf traits, such as lignin, acid detergent fibre (ADF) and lignin:P. There was not a clear effect of the exotic species on macroinvertebrate variables, but the contribution of macroinvertebrates to litter decomposition was lower in exotic litter than in native litter, as shown by a lower ratio between k in C-bags and k in F-bags (k_C:k_F). Our results supported that invasive species might impact both biological colonization and decomposition rates in stream ecosystems by the addition of different quality leaf litter when compared to native vegetation. The differences in the biological colonization may be explained by the NWH, but differences in the decomposition rates were better explained by litter quality.