In Situ Decomposition of Roots and Rhizomes of Two Tidal Marsh Plants

Hackney, Courtney T.; Cruz, Armando A. de la

doi:10.2307/1935178

Cited by 94 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…Temperature has been shown to strongly influence rates of microbial degradation of Spartina in salt-marsh sediments (Benner et al 1986a), but in the present study temporal changes in chemical composition and decomposability confound the seasonal influence of temperature on rates of weight loss. Overall rates of belowground decomposition (55% AFDW loss in 1.5 yr) in the present study were relatively high compared to other studies of belowground decomposition of salt-marsh vegetation (Buth 1987;Hackney and de la Cruz 1980;Valiela et al 1984).…”

Section: Resultscontrasting

confidence: 63%

“…Rates of decomposition in sediments could therefore be quite variable, particularly in areas where molecular oxygen is available as a terminal electron acceptor, such as fiddler crab burrows and the oxidized regions surrounding living rhizome and root biomass. Hackney and de la Cruz (1980) found that rates of belowground decomposition of Spartina were about threefold higher at 5-than at 15-cm depth in marsh sediments.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 97%

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Diagenesis of belowground biomass of Spartina alterniflora in salt‐marsh sediments

Benner¹,

Fogel

Sprague

1991

Limnology & Oceanography

218

103

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Belowground biomass of Spartina alterniflora lost 55% of its organic matter during 18 months of decomposition in salt-marsh sediments. Significant losses of lignin were observed under highly reducing conditions confirming previous reports of lignin degradation in the absence of molecular oxygen. The submolecular components of lignin varied in susceptibility to degradation and were ranked in the following descending order of resistance to decomposition: V-P> S-C. The preferential degradation of 1 he cinnamyl and syringyl components constrains the quantitative usefulness of these compounds for estimating the contributions ofherbaceous and angiosperm tissues to pools of dissolved and particulate organic matter. The relative concentration of lignin increased about 1.6-fold during decomposition owing to the more rapid loss of polysaccharides.Two phases in nitrogen dynamics were evident during the decomposition study. During the first 4 months of decomposition there was a net loss of N from Spartina tissues at a rate of about 10 gg N g-l tissue d-I. After this initial phase of net N loss, a phase of N immobilization was evident and was tightly coupled with rates of microbial degradation of the tissues. Net rates of N immobilization were -19 pg N g-' tissue d -I; by the end of the 18-month study more N had accumulated in the tissues than was initially present. Stable N isotope composilions of decaying Spartina were also very dynamic and reflected the sources of N that were immobilized during decomposition and the N transformations that occurred on the detrital particles.The stable C isotope composition of the polysaccharide components of Spartina was -6%~ heavier than that of the lignin component. The isotopic compositions of these components retained the 6o/oo difference throughout the 18-month study. The stable C isotope composition of the bulk tissues, however, decreased gradually during decomposition as the isotopically heavier polysaccharides were preferentially lost. Residual material was relatively enriched in the isotopically lighter, lignin-deriveci C.'

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Section: Resultscontrasting

confidence: 63%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 97%

Diagenesis of belowground biomass of Spartina alterniflora in salt‐marsh sediments

Benner¹,

Fogel

Sprague

1991

Limnology & Oceanography

218

103

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“…We can only speculate about the factors controlling the depth distribution of marsh grass roots and rhizomes. The deeper distribution of dead material than of biomass may reflect the lower rate of microbial activity at depth in marsh sediments (Christian and Wiebe 1978;Howarth and Hobbie 1982) and hence a decreased rate of decomposition (Hackney and de la Cruz 1980). Live material may be centered nearer the surface, where remineralization and supposedly nutrient supply are greatest, but deep enough to avoid damage clue to seasonal changes in microclimatology.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Above‐ and belowground emergent macrophyte production and turnover in a coastal marsh ecosystem, Georgia1

Schubauer

Hopkinson

1984

Limnology & Oceanography

204

100

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Seasonal patterns of aboveground plant mass and the depth distribution of live roots, rhizomes, and dead belowground organic matter were measured for Spartina alterniflora and Spartina cynosuroides in Georgia tidal marshes. Peak live aboveground biomass was 1.6 x higher for S. cynosuroides than for S. alterniflora. Live biomass was 2.4 x more belowground thanaboveground for S. cynosuroides and 1.7 x for S. alterniflora. Rhizomes made up 76 and 87% of live belowground biomass during the year. Mirrored patterns of biomass accumulation and loss in above-and belowground tissues during the year suggest the importance of seasonal storage and redistribution of organic matter.

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“…The cores were replaced in their original position with individual litterbags inserted horizontally at the 30, 15 and 3 cm depth levels (cf. Hackney & de la Cruz 1980). A 4th litterbag was placed above-ground on top of each core.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Decomposition of Spartina anglica roots and rhizomes in a salt marsh of the Westerschelde Estuary

Hemminga¹,

Kok²,

Munck³

1988

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Decomposition of roots of the salt marsh grass Spartina anglica was inveshgated using litter bags. The pattern of disappearance of the root matenal was essentially the same at sol1 depths of 30, 15, and 3 cm, and above-ground. Average calculated turnover time for S. anglica root material varied between 2.0 and 3.9 yr. These differences are due to variations in decay rates at the various depth levels and marsh locations. At the creek levee and low marsh study site, decomposition rate decreased with depth. This phenomenon was less obvious at the moderately vegetated middle marsh site. A possible explanation of these observations may be found in the interactions of living roots with the decomposer community in the salt marsh sedment. S. anghca roots decomposed faster w t h increasing elevation of the marsh location, indicating that inundation frequency is an important factor in determining the rate of decay processes. Percentage nitrogen in the litter increased in time, both below-ground and above-ground. There was a strong positive correlation between the percentage nitrogen and the percentage weight loss of root material. In contrast to nitrogen levels, the percentage of extractable protein in the root litter decreased rapidly to undetectable levels a few months after the start of the expenment. This finding underlines the difficulty in interpreting elemental N values in terms of resource quality. The course of protein decrease was similar on all depth levels and locahons; this suggests that the transformation of compounds valuable to microbial metabolism, such as proteins, is much less responsive to environmental factors than the majority of plant materials.

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In Situ Decomposition of Roots and Rhizomes of Two Tidal Marsh Plants

Cited by 94 publications

References 15 publications

Diagenesis of belowground biomass of Spartina alterniflora in salt‐marsh sediments

Diagenesis of belowground biomass of Spartina alterniflora in salt‐marsh sediments

Above‐ and belowground emergent macrophyte production and turnover in a coastal marsh ecosystem, Georgia1

Decomposition of Spartina anglica roots and rhizomes in a salt marsh of the Westerschelde Estuary

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