Annual differences in quality of leaf litter of aspen (Populus tremuloides) affecting rates of decomposition

Freshly fallen leaf litter was collected from a stand of trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) in the Rocky Mountains of Alberta each autumn from 1981 through 1984. Leaves from 1981 and 1982 were yellow, waxy, and strong. Leaves from 1983 were pale brown and very brittle, and almost 1% of them suffered symmetrical deformities. Leaves from 1984 were composed of 80% yellow leaves and 20% green leaves, which apparently abscissed before senescence. Green and yellow 1984 leaves were distinctly different with respect to total (3 days) leaching loss, leachate conductivity, and proportions of ash, cellulose, and labile material. Green 1984 leaves contained twice as much nitrogen as yellow ones (13.1 vs. 6.5 mg∙g−1) and significantly more phosphorus (1.6 vs. 1.3 mg∙g−1). Leaves of different years varied widely with respect to leaf mass, water absorption rate, mass and conductivity of leachate, and proportions of cellulose, labiles, lignin, and ash, but there was no consistent ordering among years; leaves of different colouration (especially 1981 and 1983) were often physicochemically similar, while leaves identical in appearance were often chemically different. Small but significant differences in N and P concentrations among years were removed by 2 h leaching. Leaves of 1981 decomposing in laboratory microcosms at 26 °C lost less mass than either 1982 or 1983 leaves after 1 month, but not after 2 months. Ability of the cuticle to resist water absorption was probably responsible for the difference in initial decomposition rate.