Plant secondary metabolites: a key driver of litter decomposition and soil nutrient cycling

• Published in: The Journal of ecology Vol. 104; no. 6; pp. 1527 - 1541
• Main Authors: Chomel, Mathilde, Guittonny-Larchevêque, Marie, Fernandez, Catherine, Gallet, Christiane, DesRochers, Annie, Paré, David, Jackson, Benjamin G., Baldy, Virginie
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford John Wiley & Sons Ltd 01.11.2016; Blackwell Publishing Ltd; Wiley
• Subjects: Biodiversity and Ecology; biogeochemical cycles; Decomposition; Ecological function; Ecological succession; ecosystem processes; Ecosystems; Environmental changes; Environmental Sciences; ESSAY REVIEW; functional traits; Litter; litter decomposition; Metabolites; Nutrient cycles; phenolic compounds; Plant ecology; plant–soil (below‐ground) interactions; Secondary metabolites; soil; soil biota; Soil nutrients; soil organisms; Soils; tannins; terpenes

1. A broad and diversified group of compounds, secondary metabolites, are known to govern species interactions in ecosystems. Recent studies have shown that secondary metabolites can also play a major role in ecosystem processes, such as plant succession or in the process of litter decomposition, by...