Effects and mechanism of plant litter on grassland ecosystem: A review

Abstract Plant litter is dead, above and below ground; organic material i.e. leaves barks, needles, twigs and roots. Plant litter plays a key role in nutrient cycling and community organization in grassland ecosystems. Litter can have important consequences on recruitment of plant species through modification of biological, physical, and chemical features of microenvironment. Plant litter offers a major input of organic matter to the soil which modifies soil chemistry, hence impacts nutrient cycling. At early stages of litter decomposition, a particular amount of carbon is transporting to the soil nutrient pool. In terrestrial ecosystems, plant litter regulating biogeochemical cycles, maintain soil fertility, nutrient availability, and therefore influence plant growth, diversity, composition, structure, and productivity. Litter can also impact plant above net plant productivity and below net plant productivity in grassland ecosystem. Plant litter accumulation and decomposition can impact plant species composition and community structure through temperature, light and nutrient availability. The effects of plant litter on vegetation may be negative, positive or neutral due vegetation variability, study duration, habitat, latitude, quantity and quality of litter. These diverse effects of plant litter on grassland ecosystem might be due to, management practice type, management intensity, climate type, timing, precipitation and soil nutrient pool etc. Current review attempts to describe prominent effects of plant litter on vegetation, seed germination, soil fertility, Productivity, species composition, community structure and mechanism in grassland ecosystem.