Biological decomposition efficiency in different woodland soils

Abstract

The decomposition (meaning disappearance) of different leaf types and artificial leaves made from cellulose hydrate foil was studied in three forests - an alluvial forest (Ulmetum), a beech forest on limestone soil (Melico-Fagetum), and a spruce forest in soil overlying limestone bedrock.Fine, medium, and coarse mesh litter bags of special design were used to investigate the roles of abiotic factors, microorganisms, and meso- and macrofauna in effecting decomposition in the three habitats. Additionally, the experimental design was carefully arranged so as to provide information about the effects on decomposition processes of the duration of exposure and the date or moment of exposure. 1. Exposure of litter samples oor 12 months showed: a) Litter enclosed in fine mesh bags decomposed to some 40-44% of the initial amount placed in each of the three forests. Most of this decomposition can be attributed to abiotic factors and microoganisms. b) Litter placed in medium mesh litter bags reduced by ca. 60% in alluvial forest, ca. 50% in beech forest and ca. 44% in spruce forest. c) Litter enclosed in coarse mesh litter bags was reduced by 71% of the initial weights exposed in alluvial and beech forests; in the spruce forest decomposition was no greater than observed with fine and medium mesh litter bags. Clearly, in spruce forest the macrofauna has little or no part to play in effecting decomposition. 2. Sequential month by month exposure of hazel leaves and cellulose hydrate foil in coarse mesh litter bags in all three forests showed that one month of exposure led to only slight material losses, they did occur smallest between March and May, and largest between June and October/November. 3. Coarse mesh litter bags containing either hazel or artificial leaves of cellulose hydrate foil were exposed to natural decomposition processes in December 1977 and subsampled monthly over a period of one year, this series constituted the From-sequence of experiments. Each of the From-sequence samples removed was immediately replaced by a fresh litter bag which was left in place until December 1978, this series constituted the To-sequence of experiments. The results arising from the designated From- and To-sequences showed: a) During the course of one year hazel leaves decomposed completely in alluvial forest, almost completely in beech forest but to only 50% of the initial value in spruce forest. b) Duration of exposure and not the date of exposure is the major controlling influence on decomposition in alluvial forest, a characteristic reflected in the mirror-image courses of the From- and To-sequences curves with respect to the abscissa or time axis. Conversely the date of exposure and not the duration of exposure is the major controlling influence on decomposition in the spruce forest, a characteristic reflected in the mirror-image courses of the From-and To-sequences with respect to the ordinate or axis of percentage decomposition. c) Leaf powder amendment increased the decomposition rate of the hazel and cellulose hydrate leaves ...

Rate of litter decay and litter macroinvertebrates in limed and unlimed forests of the Adirondack Mountains, USA

“…Invertebrate animals, especially isopods, millipedes, earthworms, and gastropods, have been shown to accelerate litter decay, especially in temperate deciduous forests (Coleman et al, 2004;Herlitzius, 1983;Meyer et al, 2011;Milcu and Manning, 2011;Mason, 1970;Slade and Riutta, 2012;Vos et al, 2011). The assemblage of invertebrates at the litter layer markedly differed between limed and unlimed plots in our study.…”

Trophic interactions in an arid ecosystem: From decomposers to top-predators

“…Many studies show the role of different groups of soil decomposers on root and litter decomposition Herlitzius, 1983;Maraun and Scheu, 1996;Bardgett, 2005). One the most important guilds affecting root decomposition includes macro-invertebrates (Lavelle et al, 1997;Whitford, 2000;Wolters, 2000).…”

The role of microarthropods in terrestrial decomposition: a meta‐analysis of 40 years of litterbag studies

“…Approximately 9% of all papers reported the collection of litterbags only at the end of the exposure period (e.g. Herlitzius, 1983a, 1983b; Tingle & Grant, 1995). We did not consider these since time series with two dates (initial mass at exposure, remaining mass at collection) fail to permit the determination of the standard error of the fitted exponential decomposition model. In a considerable number of papers (20%), the reported experimental procedure was ambiguous or seemed dubious, and important details were not given (e.g.…”