Decomposition Patterns of Surface Leaf Litter of Six Plant Species Along a Chihuahuan Desert Watershed

Cepeda-Pizarro, Jorge; Whitford, Walter G.

doi:10.2307/2426560

Cited by 25 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 19 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…} Elkins & Whitford (1982), Schaefer et al (1985) and Cepeda-Pizarro & Whitford (1990) all reported similar lignin contents of leaf litter (9?5-10?6%). z Cepeda-Pizarro & Whitford (1990) measured 7.9% lignin for Prosopis leaf litter, and we have assumed a similar value for leaves and 2 Â that for roots.…”

Section: Data Analysesmentioning

confidence: 77%

“…Because the principal focus of this study was on the effect of drought on decomposition, we also isolated that treatment effect by carrying out single-factor AOVs to determine specific effects of drought on the decomposition of individual litter types of each of the species. In order to compare decomposition rates through time between species, litter types, and especially between control and drought treatment, we also fit data for litter mass through time to a double exponential model, chosen to estimate the decay constants for the labile (metabolic) and structural fractions of litter (Cepeda-Pizarro & Whitford, 1990;Urquiaga et al, 1998). Instead of allowing four fitting parameters, however, we assumed a fixed metabolic fraction for the litter of the two species (25% and 24% for Larrea and Prosopis, respectively).…”

Section: Data Analysesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Decomposition of leaf and root litter of Chihuahuan desert shrubs: effects of three years of summer drought

Kemp

Reynolds

Virginia

et al. 2003

Journal of Arid Environments

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Section: Data Analysesmentioning

confidence: 77%

Section: Data Analysesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Decomposition of leaf and root litter of Chihuahuan desert shrubs: effects of three years of summer drought

Kemp

Reynolds

Virginia

et al. 2003

Journal of Arid Environments

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…Many studies have attempted to address the relative controls over decomposition by analyzing the difference in decomposition of native plant litter across a climatic gradient (Amundsen et al 1989, Cepeda-Pizarro and Whitford 1990, 1993, O'Lear and Seastedt 1994, Kochy and Wilson 1997, Murphy et al 1998. Many studies have attempted to address the relative controls over decomposition by analyzing the difference in decomposition of native plant litter across a climatic gradient (Amundsen et al 1989, Cepeda-Pizarro and Whitford 1990, 1993, O'Lear and Seastedt 1994, Kochy and Wilson 1997, Murphy et al 1998.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Others have attempted to identify controls through experimental manipulations (Robinson et al 1995, Hobbie 1996, Bryant et al 1998, Williams et al 1998. Cepeda-Pizarro and Whitford (1990) found no significant effect of moisture across their moisture gradient in a Chihuahuan desert watershed. Cepeda-Pizarro and Whitford (1990) found no significant effect of moisture across their moisture gradient in a Chihuahuan desert watershed.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Control of Litter Decomposition in a Subalpine Meadow–sagebrush Steppe Ecotone Under Climate Change

Shaw

Harte

2001

Ecological Applications

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Litter decomposition is an important component of the global carbon and nitrogen cycles. Because climate exerts strong controls over rates of litter decomposition, climate change may alter both cycles. Climate change can influence litter decomposition rates directly, or indirectly through changes in litter quality. The relative importance of climate and litter quality in controlling rates of decomposition varies across ecosystem types. Thus, ecosystem responses to climate change are not readily predictable. This study examines in situ litter decomposition rates of native plant litter of different growth forms (grass, forb, and shrub) in two microclimates (xeric and mesic). In a Colorado subalpine meadow-sagebrush steppe ecotone, a climate-warming treatment was used to determine the influence of litter quality, microclimate, and warming on the rates of decomposition. Three one-year litter bag experiments were performed using senescent leaf litter of the three growth forms from a xeric microclimate (shrub, Artemisia tridentata; grass, Festuca thurberi; forbs, Delphinium nuttallianum, Erigeron speciosus) and a mesic microclimate (shrub, Pentaphylloides floribunda; grass, Festuca thurberi; forbs, Erythronium grandiflorum, Ligusticum porteri). A reciprocal transplant litter experiment was performed in the third year to determine the direct effect of warming on litter quality and subsequent litter mass loss rates. Evidence suggests that decomposition was limited by moisture in the xeric zone and by temperature in the mesic zone. Decomposition rates were strongly correlated with the initial lignin:N ratio of the litter. The forbs had a much lower initial lignin:N ratio and, therefore, decomposed at a much higher rate than did the grasses or shrubs. In a changing climate, initial microclimate and changes in litter quality of the bulk litter produced as a result of shifts in species composition may be more important in determining rates of litter decomposition than the direct effect of warming.

show abstract

“…Decomposition rates of forest litter are significantly influenced by climate and fauna along an elevation gradient [6][7], and the climatic variability across an elevation gradient may be the strongest determinant of decomposition dynamics [8]. The most relevant studies have analyzed changes in decomposition rates of native litter types across climatic gradients [7,[9][10][11][12]. Fragmentation was shown to be a major process contributing to the stabilization of litters derived C and N in soil organic matter [13].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Water Holding Characteristics of Litters from Different Ecological Public Welfare Forest Types

Shi¹,

Li²,

Liu³

et al. 2015

Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Green Materials and Environmental Engineering

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract-Water holding characteristics, including, water holding capacity, water holding rate and absorption rate, together with the litter stock from five public welfare forests with different tree composition and identity were measured. The purpose was to understand water-conserving functions of the three plantations. The results showed that litters from five public welfare forests have different characteristics. The great litter production of litter in different ecological public welfare forest types was of Pinus yunnanensis forest, followed by the litter of Alnus nepalensis forest, Cunninghamia lanceolata forest, Eucalyptus globulus forest, and the least amount of litter stock was from Quercus variabilis forest. The total water holding capacity and water holding rate of litter increased logarithmically with increasing immersing time, according with logarithmic equation W=a*ln(t)+b. Water absorption rates of litter in all plantations decreased according to power correlation with increasing time immersed in water, it accord with power equation W=a*t -b (P < 0.001).

show abstract

Decomposition Patterns of Surface Leaf Litter of Six Plant Species Along a Chihuahuan Desert Watershed

Cited by 25 publications

References 19 publications

Decomposition of leaf and root litter of Chihuahuan desert shrubs: effects of three years of summer drought

Decomposition of leaf and root litter of Chihuahuan desert shrubs: effects of three years of summer drought

Control of Litter Decomposition in a Subalpine Meadow–sagebrush Steppe Ecotone Under Climate Change

Water Holding Characteristics of Litters from Different Ecological Public Welfare Forest Types

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About