Pond-bottom decomposition of leaf litters canopied by free-floating vegetation

In wetland ecosystems, vegetation can float freely on water surface, forming dense canopy which may play important ecological roles. This is especially true in many urban wetlands in which fluidity is low and nutrient level is high. So far, effects of free-floating vegetation on abiotic and biotic factors of wetlands have been known, while little on wetland ecosystem functions such as litter decomposition. To examine whether the canopy of free-floating vegetation on water surface will influence litter decomposition in wetlands or not, we conducted a 50-day in situ decomposition experiment in a subtropical urban pond wetland, in which litter bags of nine combinations of three mesh sizes and three litter species were put on the bottoms of total 22 ponds which were half with and half without free-floating vegetation canopy on the water surface. The ponds with and without the canopy had different water physicochemical properties. Overall, the canopy, the species identity, and the mesh size significantly decelerated mass loss and carbon loss of leaf litters while slightly on nitrogen loss. Effects of the canopy on leaf litter decomposition also showed species- and mesh size-dependent. Our results suggest that free-floating vegetation on water surface can alter water environmental factors and consequently change ecosystem functioning in wetlands.