Effects of nutrient enrichment on boreal streams: invertebrates, fungi and leaf-litter breakdown

1. The effect of nutrient enrichment on structural (invertebrate indices) and functional (leaf-litter breakdown rates) characteristics of stream integrity was studied in nine boreal streams. 2. The results showed predicted changes in biotic indices and leaf-litter breakdown along a complex (principal component) nutrient gradient. Biotic indices were better correlated with nutrient effects than leaf-litter breakdown. 3. Fungal biomass and invertebrate densities in the litter bags were positively correlated with leaf-litter breakdown, and both were also positively related to the nutrient gradient. 4. Invertebrate community composition influenced breakdown rate. High breakdown rates at one site were associated with the high abundance of the detritivore Asellus aquaticus. 5. This study lends support to the importance of invertebrate and fungi as mediators of leaf-litter decomposition. However, our study also shows that study design (length of incubation) can confound the interpretation of nutrient-induced effects on decomposition.