scholarly journals Influence of leaf litter quality on N mineralization in soils of subtropical humid forest regrowths

1998 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Maithani ◽  
A. Arunachalam ◽  
R. S. Tripathi ◽  
H. N. Pandey
Keyword(s):  
Leaf Litter ◽  
N Mineralization ◽  
Litter Quality ◽  
Humid Forest ◽  
Subtropical Humid Forest

Increased atmospheric CO2 and litter quality

1998 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Francesca Cotrufo ◽  
Björn Berg ◽  
Werner Kratz
Keyword(s):  
Chemical Composition ◽  
Leaf Litter ◽  
Decomposition Rate ◽  
Litter Quality ◽  
Castanea Sativa ◽  
Plant Litter ◽  
Decomposition Rates ◽  
Chemical Changes ◽  
Substrate Quality ◽  
N Concentration

There is evidence that N concentration in hardwood leaf litter is reduced when plants are raised in an elevated CO2 atmosphere. Reductions in the N concentration of leaf litter have been found for tree species raised under elevated CO2, with reduction in N concentration ranging from ca. 50% for sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa) to 19% for sycamore (Acer platanoides). However, the effects of elevated CO2 on the chemical composition of litter has been investigated only for a limited number of species. There is also little information on the effects of increased CO2 on the quality of root tissues. If we consider, for example, two important European forest ecosystem types, the dominant species investigated for chemical changes are just a few. Thus, there are whole terrestrial ecosystems in which not a single species has been investigated, meaning that the observed effects of a raised CO2 level on plant litter actually has a large error source. Few reports present data on the effects of elevated CO2 on litter nutrients other than N, which limits our ability to predict the effects of elevated CO2 on litter quality and thus on its decomposability. In litter decomposition three separate steps are seen: (i) the initial stages, (ii) the later stages, and (iii) the final stages. The concept of "substrate quality," translated into chemical composition, will thus change between early stages of decomposition and later ones, with a balanced proportion of nutrients (e.g., N, P, S) being required in the early decomposition phase. In the later stages decomposition rates are ruled by lignin degradation and that process is regulated by the availability of certain nutrients (e.g., N, Mn), which act as signals to the lignin-degrading soil microflora. In the final stages the decomposition comes to a stop or may reach an extremely low decomposition rate, so low that asymptotic decomposition values may be estimated and negatively related to N concentrations. Studies on the effects of changes in chemical composition on the decomposability of litter have mainly been made during the early decomposition stages and they generally report decreased litter quality (e.g., increased C/N ratio), resulting in lower decomposition rates for litter raised under elevated CO2 as compared with control litter. No reports are found relating chemical changes induced by elevated CO2 to litter mass-loss rates in late stages. By most definitions, at these stages litter has turned into humus, and many studies demonstrated that a raising of the N level may suppress humus decomposition rate. It is thus reasonable to speculate that a decrease in N levels in humus would accelerate decomposition and allow it to proceed further. There are no experimental data on the long-term effect of elevated CO2 levels, and a decrease in the storage of humus and nutrients could be predicted, at least in temperate and boreal forest systems. Future works on the effects of elevated CO2 on litter quality need to include studies of a larger number of nutrients and chemical components, and to cover different stages of decomposition. Additionally, the response of plant litter quality to elevated CO2 needs to be investigated under field conditions and at the community level, where possible shifts in community composition (i.e., C3 versus C4 ; N2 fixers versus nonfixers) predicted under elevated CO2 are taken into account.Key words: climate change, substrate quality, carbon dioxide, plant litter, chemical composition, decomposition.

scholarly journals Spatial and temporal distribution in two anuran communities in the Chapada do Araripe, Northeastern Brasil

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristiana Ferreira-Silva ◽  
Deivid Batista de Oliveira ◽  
Herivelto Faustino de Oliveira ◽  
Robson Waldemar Ávila
Keyword(s):  
Leaf Litter ◽  
Rainy Season ◽  
Temporal Distribution ◽  
Water Bodies ◽  
Northeastern Brazil ◽  
Microhabitat Use ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Distribution ◽  
Humid Forest ◽  
Temporal Occurrence ◽  
Chapada Do Araripe

In this study, we report the temporal occurrence and habitat and microhabitat use by anurans in two areas located in one highland marsh (brejo-de-altitude) in northeastern Brazil. Fieldwork was carried out between September 2011 and September 2012. The recorded anurans belong to 14 species distributed in five families: Hylidae (six), Leptodactylidae (five), Bufonidae, Odontophrynidae and Pipidae (one each). Vocalization activity was seasonal and concentrated in the wetter and warmer months, but correlated to rainfall only in the top in the Chapada do Araripe. Richness and abundance of calling anurans were lower in the humid forest of the slope than in Cerradão area in the top of the Chapada do Araripe. Scinax x-signatus vocalized during nine months, and along with Dendropsophus soaresi, Phyllomedusa nordestina and Physalaemus cuvieri presented the longest periods of vocalization with the highest number of species vocalizing in at the height of the rainy season. Males were recorded vocalizing in nine different microhabitats, Adenomera sp. uses leaf litter and P. cuvieri the edge of water bodies as calling site both two sampled areas. Differences in richness and abundance of anurans between the two habitats are probably due to physical characteristics, such as presence of lentic environments.

Long-term responses of leaf litter decomposition to temperature, litter quality and litter mixing in plateau wetlands

2016 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 178-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guodong Liu ◽  
Jinfang Sun ◽  
Kun Tian ◽  
Derong Xiao ◽  
Xingzhong Yuan
Keyword(s):  
Leaf Litter ◽  
Litter Decomposition ◽  
Litter Quality ◽  
Leaf Litter Decomposition ◽  
Litter Mixing ◽  
Plateau Wetlands

Effects of soil and leaf litter quality on the biomass of two endogeic earthworm species

2016 ◽  
Vol 77 ◽  
pp. 9-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simone Cesarz ◽  
Dylan Craven ◽  
Christoph Dietrich ◽  
Nico Eisenhauer
Keyword(s):  
Leaf Litter ◽  
Litter Quality ◽  
Earthworm Species

Are growth forms consistent predictors of leaf litter quality and decomposability across peatlands along a latitudinal gradient?

2005 ◽  
Vol 93 (4) ◽  
pp. 817-828 ◽  
Author(s):  
ELLEN DORREPAAL ◽  
JOHANNES H.C. CORNELISSEN ◽  
RIEN AERTS ◽  
BO WALLÉN ◽  
RICHARD S.P. VAN LOGTESTIJN
Keyword(s):  
Leaf Litter ◽  
Litter Quality ◽  
Latitudinal Gradient ◽  
Growth Forms

The effect of sunlight on leaf litter quality reduces growth of the shredderKlapopteryx kuscheli

2008 ◽  
Vol 53 (9) ◽  
pp. 1881-1889 ◽  
Author(s):  
RICARDO ALBARIÑO ◽  
VERÓNICA DÍAZ VILLANUEVA ◽  
CRISTINA CANHOTO
Keyword(s):  
Leaf Litter ◽  
Litter Quality

Effects of increased water temperature on leaf litter quality and detritivore performance: a whole-reach manipulative experiment

2014 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 184-197 ◽  
Author(s):  
Esther Mas-Martí ◽  
Isabel Muñoz ◽  
Francesc Oliva ◽  
Cristina Canhoto
Keyword(s):  
Water Temperature ◽  
Leaf Litter ◽  
Litter Quality ◽  
Manipulative Experiment
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