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<journal-meta>
<journal-id journal-id-type="publisher">EGUsphere</journal-id>
<journal-title-group>
<journal-title>EGUsphere</journal-title>
<abbrev-journal-title abbrev-type="publisher">EGUsphere</abbrev-journal-title>
<abbrev-journal-title abbrev-type="nlm-ta">EGUsphere</abbrev-journal-title>
</journal-title-group>
<issn pub-type="epub"></issn>
<publisher><publisher-name>Copernicus Publications</publisher-name>
<publisher-loc>Göttingen, Germany</publisher-loc>
</publisher>
</journal-meta>
<article-meta>
<article-id pub-id-type="doi">10.5194/egusphere-2026-2882</article-id>
<title-group>
<article-title>Canopy litterfall and soil respiration under rainfall and fog reduction in tropical montane cloud forests</article-title>
</title-group>
<contrib-group><contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Huaraca Huasco</surname>
<given-names>Walter</given-names>
<ext-link>https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5300-4986</ext-link>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff1">
<sup>1</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Ezquera Condori</surname>
<given-names>Maria Edith</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff2">
<sup>2</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Corrales Alvarez</surname>
<given-names>Daniela</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff3">
<sup>3</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Espinoza Otazu</surname>
<given-names>Blanca Rosa</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff3">
<sup>3</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Galiano Cabrera</surname>
<given-names>Darcy Fernando</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff3">
<sup>3</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Puma Vilca</surname>
<given-names>Beisit</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff3">
<sup>3</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Sacatuma Cruz</surname>
<given-names>Roxana</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff3">
<sup>3</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Soto Quispe</surname>
<given-names>Yulisa Sari</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff3">
<sup>3</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Alvarez Mayorga</surname>
<given-names>Luis Miguel</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff3">
<sup>3</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Chambi Paucar</surname>
<given-names>Jimmy Ronald</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff3">
<sup>3</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Horwath</surname>
<given-names>Aline Barbara</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff4">
<sup>4</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Bartholomew</surname>
<given-names>David C.</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff1">
<sup>1</sup>
</xref>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff5">
<sup>5</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Metcalfe</surname>
<given-names>Daniel B.</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff1">
<sup>1</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
</contrib-group><aff id="aff1">
<label>1</label>
<addr-line>Department of Ecology, Environment and Geoscience, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff2">
<label>2</label>
<addr-line>Universidad Nacional de San Antonio Abad del Cusco, Peru</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff3">
<label>3</label>
<addr-line>Asociación Civil Sin Fines de Lucro Para la Biodiversidad, Investigación y Desarrollo Ambiental en Ecosistemas Tropicales (ABIDA), Cusco, Peru</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff4">
<label>4</label>
<addr-line>University of Stirling, Biological and Environmental Sciences Stirling, Stirling, UK</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff5">
<label>5</label>
<addr-line>Botanic Gardens Conservation International, Richmond, UK</addr-line>
</aff>
<pub-date pub-type="epub">
<day>11</day>
<month>06</month>
<year>2026</year>
</pub-date>
<volume>2026</volume>
<fpage>1</fpage>
<lpage>35</lpage>
<permissions>
<copyright-statement>Copyright: &#x000a9; 2026 Walter Huaraca Huasco et al.</copyright-statement>
<copyright-year>2026</copyright-year>
<license license-type="open-access">
<license-p>This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this licence, visit <ext-link ext-link-type="uri"  xlink:href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/</ext-link></license-p>
</license>
</permissions>
<self-uri xlink:href="https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2026/egusphere-2026-2882/">This article is available from https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2026/egusphere-2026-2882/</self-uri>
<self-uri xlink:href="https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2026/egusphere-2026-2882/egusphere-2026-2882.pdf">The full text article is available as a PDF file from https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2026/egusphere-2026-2882/egusphere-2026-2882.pdf</self-uri>
<abstract>
<p>Tropical montane cloud forests (TMCFs) are globally important ecosystems that act as large carbon sinks. However, climate-driven declines in rainfall and cloud immersion threaten these forests, and their responses to declines in these distinct water sources remain poorly understood. Two separate large-scale experiments to reduce throughfall (TE) and fog (FE) in a Peruvian TMCF were conducted, to compare the temporal patterns and drivers of canopy litterfall and soil respiration, with nearby control (CON) plots.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Litterfall and soil respiration declined during the relatively dry season on the CON plots. Seasonal patterns of soil respiration were related to soil moisture, while litterfall was related to air temperature. Litterfall and soil respiration on the TE plot were suppressed overall and aseasonal, although litterfall pattern was offset FE-induced increases in litterfall from fine wood structures and epiphytes. On the FE plot, the only sign of altered seasonality was elevated litterfall from reproductive structures in the late dry season relative to the CON plot. There was little consistent interannual trend in either litterfall or respiration over time under the FE treatment. By contrast, the TE treatment was associated with a consistent decline in total litterfall, mainly caused by leaf litterfall while soil respiration initially declined for the first four years of the treatment followed by a rise likely associated with a concomitant increase in soil moisture. TE and FE appear to alter the amount and seasonality of reproductive activity in the canopy which could have major consequences for stand structure in a drier future climate.</p>
</abstract>
<counts><page-count count="35"/></counts>
<funding-group>
<award-group id="gs1">
<funding-source>Svenska Forskningsrådet Formas</funding-source>
<award-id>2023-00361, 2015-­ 10002</award-id>
</award-group>
<award-group id="gs2">
<funding-source>Vetenskapsrådet</funding-source>
<award-id>2019-­ 04779, 201306395</award-id>
</award-group>
<award-group id="gs3">
<funding-source>European Research Council</funding-source>
<award-id>ECOHERB 682707</award-id>
</award-group>
</funding-group>
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