Decomposition of Populustremuloides leaf litter accelerated by addition of Alnuscrispa litter

1989 ◽  
Vol 19 (5) ◽  
pp. 674-679 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barry R. Taylor ◽  
William F. J. Parsons ◽  
Dennis Parkinson
Keyword(s):  
Mass Loss ◽  
Leaf Litter ◽  
Loss Rate ◽  
Mass Loss Rate ◽  
Rocky Mountain ◽  
Litter Type ◽  
Litter Bags ◽  
Mass Losses ◽  
Mixed Litter ◽  
Aspen Forest

Decomposition of a slow-decaying litter type is expected to be faster in the presence of a nutrient-rich, fast-decaying litter type, but this effect has never been conclusively demonstrated for deciduous leaves. In a Rocky Mountain aspen forest, we followed decomposition of leaf litter of trembling aspen (Populustremuloides), a relatively slow-decomposing, nutrient-poor species, and green alder (Alnuscrispa), a nutrient-rich, faster-decomposing species, as well as a mixture of the two, for 2 years. Mass losses over the first winter were greatest for aspen alone, probably as a result of loss of solubles, but the mass loss rate overall was lowest for aspen (k = −0.191/year) and greatest for alder (k = −0.251/year). Mass loss rate for mixed litter (k = −0.245/year) was much closer to the rate for alder than for aspen, demonstrating a marked acceleration of mass loss rates in the mixed-litter bags. At these rates, 95% mass loss would be achieved by aspen, alder, and mixed litter in 14.5, 11.5, and 11.6 years, respectively.

Litter mass-loss rates and decomposition patterns in some needle and leaf litter types. Long-term decomposition in a Scots pine forest. VII

1991 ◽  
Vol 69 (7) ◽  
pp. 1449-1456 ◽  
Author(s):  
Björn Berg ◽  
Gunnar Ekbohm
Keyword(s):  
Mass Loss ◽  
Leaf Litter ◽  
Litter Decomposition ◽  
Loss Rate ◽  
Mass Loss Rate ◽  
Nitrogen Concentration ◽  
White Birch ◽  
Litter Mass ◽  
Mass Losses ◽  
Litter Mass Loss

The decomposition dynamics of four types of needle litter and three types of leaf litter were followed for 4 years. Mass losses and certain chemical changes were studied. Most of the nutrient-rich litters appeared to decompose relatively quickly during the first 12–18 months. After 3–4 years, however, their accumulated mass losses were lower compared with litter types that intially had lower rates. Thus the more nutrient-rich litters had considerably lower mass-loss rates in the later stages. This pattern was even more pronouced for extract-free lignocellulose: its mass-loss rate was negatively related to the lignin concentration, which increased progressively as litter decomposition proceeded. During late stages in litter with a high nitrogen content, there was also a clear negative relation between nitrogen concentration and lignin mass-loss rate, as well as between nitrogen concentration and litter mass-loss rate. By extrapolation of measured mass-loss values, maximum values for accumulated litter–mass loss were estimated. A nonlinear statistical model predicted that the proportion of mass lost through decomposition should be 50% for grey alder leaves, 54% for green leaves of white birch, and 57% for brown leaves of white birch. For Scots pine the predicted maximums for accumulated mass loss were 68% for green needles and 89% for brown needles, whereas corresponding values for lodgepole pine needles were 81% (green) and 100% (brown). Lodgepole pine is an introduced species in this system. Key words: litter, decomposition, lignin, nitrogen, maxium mass loss.

Decomposition of aspen (Populustremuloides) leaf litter modified by leaching

1990 ◽  
Vol 20 (7) ◽  
pp. 943-951 ◽  
Author(s):  
William F. J. Parsons ◽  
Barry R. Taylor ◽  
Dennis Parkinson
Keyword(s):  
Mass Loss ◽  
Leaf Litter ◽  
Rocky Mountain ◽  
Exponential Model ◽  
Decay Rates ◽  
Double Exponential ◽  
Exponential Trend ◽  
Aspen Forest ◽  
Double Exponential Model ◽  
Soluble Material

In a Rocky Mountain aspen forest, the detailed pattern of mass loss from decomposing leaf litter of trembling aspen (Populustremuloides Michx.) during the first 6 months of decay was compared with that from aspen leaves modified to produce a more recalcitrant litter type by removal of leachable material (31.7% of original mass). Leaching litter removed substantial quantities of N (24%) and P (54%), but did not change the litter's C/N ratio (77:1); and leached leaves still contained 33% labile (benzene alcohol soluble) material. Decomposition of intact aspen litter was best described by a double exponential model (k1 = −7.91/year, k2 = −0.21/year), except during the first 2 weeks, when an extremely rapid mass loss (14.2%) apparently resulted from leaching. Microbial metabolism was probably responsible for most of the subsequent decay (35% total in 6 months). In contrast, decomposition of leached aspen showed no exponential trend and was best described by a simple linear regression with a slope of −19.7%/year. Additional data from a 2nd year (12–15 months decay) reduced the regression estimates of decay rates but did not alter the best fit models. Fits were improved slightly if temperature sum replaced time in the regressions, especially if 2nd-year data were included.

Apparent controls of mass loss rate of leaf litter on a regional scale

1990 ◽  
Vol 5 (1-4) ◽  
pp. 311-323 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary L. Dyer ◽  
Vernon Meentemeyer ◽  
Björn Berg
Keyword(s):  
Mass Loss ◽  
Leaf Litter ◽  
Loss Rate ◽  
Mass Loss Rate ◽  
Regional Scale

Ants accelerate litter decomposition in a Costa Rican lowland tropical rain forest

2012 ◽  
Vol 28 (5) ◽  
pp. 437-443 ◽  
Author(s):  
Terrence P. McGlynn ◽  
Evan K. Poirson
Keyword(s):  
Mass Loss ◽  
Leaf Litter ◽  
Litter Decomposition ◽  
Rain Forest ◽  
Costa Rican ◽  
Tropical Rain Forests ◽  
Rain Forests ◽  
Food Web Structure ◽  
Litter Bags ◽  
Lowland Rain Forest

Abstract:The decomposition of leaf litter is governed, in part, by litter invertebrates. In tropical rain forests, ants are dominant predators in the leaf litter and may alter litter decomposition through the action of a top-down control of food web structure. The role of ants in litter decomposition was investigated in a Costa Rican lowland rain forest with two experiments. In a mesocosm experiment, we manipulated ant presence in 50 ambient leaf-litter mesocosms. In a litterbag gradient experiment, Cecropia obtusifolia litter was used to measure decomposition rate constants across gradients in nutrients, ant density and richness, with 27 separate litterbag treatments for total arthropod exclusion or partial arthropod exclusion. After 2 mo, mass loss in mesocosms containing ants was 30.9%, significantly greater than the 23.5% mass loss in mesocosms without ants. In the litter bags with all arthropods excluded, decomposition was best accounted by the carbon: phosphorus content of soil (r2 = 0.41). In litter bags permitting smaller arthropods but excluding ants, decomposition was best explained by the local biomass of ants in the vicinity of the litter bags (r2 = 0.50). Once the microarthropod prey of ants are permitted to enter litterbags, the biomass of ants near the litterbags overtakes soil chemistry as the regulator of decomposition. In concert, these results support a working hypothesis that litter-dwelling ants are responsible for accelerating litter decomposition in lowland tropical rain forests.

scholarly journals SN 2009ip: CONSTRAINTS ON THE PROGENITOR MASS-LOSS RATE

2013 ◽  
Vol 768 (1) ◽  
pp. 47 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. O. Ofek ◽  
L. Lin ◽  
C. Kouveliotou ◽  
G. Younes ◽  
E. Göğüş ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mass Loss ◽  
Loss Rate ◽  
Mass Loss Rate

Effect of Sample Width on Downward Flame Spread over Typical Energy Conservation Material at a High Elevation Area

2014 ◽  
Vol 664 ◽  
pp. 199-203 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Guang An ◽  
Lin Jiang ◽  
Jin Hua Sun ◽  
K.M. Liew
Keyword(s):  
Mass Loss ◽  
Flame Spread ◽  
Loss Rate ◽  
Mass Loss Rate ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Flame Height ◽  
Spread Rate ◽  
Flame Spread Rate ◽  
Sample Width ◽  
Downward Flame Spread

An experimental study on downward flame spread over extruded polystyrene (XPS) foam at a high elevation is presented. The flame shape, flame height, mass loss rate and flame spread rate were measured. The influences of width and high altitude were investigated. The flame fronts are approximately horizontal. Both the intensity of flame pulsation and the average flame height increase with the rise of sample width. The flame spread rate first drops and then rises with an increase in width. The average flame height, mass loss rate and flame spread rate at the higher elevation is smaller than that at a low elevation, which demonstrates that the XPS fire risk at the higher elevation area is lower. The experimental results agree well with the theoretical analysis. This work is vital to the fire safety design of building energy conservation system.

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