Phylogenetic distances of coexisting species differ greatly within plant communities, but their consequences for decomposers and decomposition remain unknown. We hypothesized that large phylogenetic distance of leaf litter mixtures increases differences of their litter traits, which may, in turn, result in increased resource complementarity or decreased resource concentration for decomposers and hence increased or decreased chemical transformation and reduction of litter. We conducted a litter mixture experiment including 12 common temperate tree species (evolutionarily separated by up to 106 Myr), and sampled after seven months, at which average mass loss was more than 50%. We found no effect of increased phylogenetic distance on litter mass loss or on abundance and diversity of invertebrate decomposers. However, phylogenetic distance decreased microbial biomass and increased carbon/nitrogen (C/N) ratios of litter mixtures. Consistently, four litter traits showed (marginally) significant phylogenetic signal and in three of these traits increasing trait difference decreased microbial biomass and increased C/N. We suggest that phylogenetic proximity of litter favours microbial decomposers and chemical transformation of litter owing to a resource concentration effect. This leads to a new hypothesis: closely related plant species occurring in the same niche should promote and profit from increased nutrient availability.

Animal Ecology Department of Ecological Science VU University Amsterdam De Boelelaan 1085 1081 HV Amsterdam The Netherlands

Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique Campus de Beaulieu Université de Rennes 1 Bâtiment 14 A 35042 Rennes France

Department of Sustainable Soils and Grassland Systems Rothamsted Research North Wyke Okehampton Devon EX20 2SB UK

Institute of Botany Academy of Sciences of Czech Republic Pruhobice Zamek 1 25243 Czech Republic

J F Blumenbach Institute of Zoology and Anthropology Georg August University Göttingen Berliner Strasse 28 37073 Göttingen Germany

Key Laboratory of Hangzhou City for Ecosystem Protection and Restoration College of Life and Environmental Sciences Hangzhou Normal University Hangzhou 310036 People's Republic of China Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique Campus de Beaulieu Université de Rennes 1 Bâtiment 14 A 35042 Rennes France State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change Institute of Botany Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing 100093 People's Republic of China

Key Laboratory of Hangzhou City for Ecosystem Protection and Restoration College of Life and Environmental Sciences Hangzhou Normal University Hangzhou 310036 People's Republic of China State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change Institute of Botany Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing 100093 People's Republic of China

Systems Ecology Department of Ecological Science VU University Amsterdam De Boelelaan 1085 1081 HV Amsterdam The Netherlands

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