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Originally published in Science Express on 17 June 2004
Science 23 July 2004:
Vol. 305. no. 5683, pp. 509 - 513
DOI: 10.1126/science.1098778
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Reports

Ecosystem Properties and Forest Decline in Contrasting Long-Term Chronosequences

David A. Wardle,1,2* Lawrence R. Walker,3 Richard D. Bardgett4

During succession, ecosystem development occurs; but in the long-term absence of catastrophic disturbance, a decline phase eventually follows. We studied six long-term chronosequences, in Australia, Sweden, Alaska, Hawaii, and New Zealand; for each, the decline phase was associated with a reduction in tree basal area and an increase in the substrate nitrogen–to-phosphorus ratio, indicating increasing phosphorus limitation over time. These changes were often associated with reductions in litter decomposition rates, phosphorus release from litter, and biomass and activity of decomposer microbes. Our findings suggest that the maximal biomass phase reached during succession cannot be maintained in the long-term absence of major disturbance, and that similar patterns of decline occur in forested ecosystems spanning the tropical, temperate, and boreal zones.

1 Department of Forest Vegetation Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE901 83 Umeå, Sweden.
2 Landcare Research, Post Office Box 69, Lincoln, New Zealand.
3 Department of Biological Sciences, Box 454004, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 4505 Maryland Parkway, Las Vegas, NV 89154–4004, USA.
4 Institute of Environmental and Natural Sciences, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YQ, UK.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: david.wardle{at}svek.slu.se

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