Litter Decomposition Processes in a Floodplain Forest

Shure, Donald J.; Gottschalk, Marlin R.; Parsons, Keith A.

doi:10.2307/2425868

Cited by 70 publications

(44 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…However, other studies have indicated that floodplains can act as sinks for organic matter (Sigafoos, 1964;Mitsch, 1979) or as both a sink and source depending upon the annual hydropedod (Shure et al, 1986). Differences in annual hydroperiods, floodplain topography (i.e.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It makes relatively little dil^ference which leaf species is used to represent decomposition (i.e. sweetgum or water oak) since decomposition rates within these fioodplains are very slow, particularly when compared to headwater streams (Cuffney & Wallace, 1987), and there are relatively small differences between species when compared to differences among sites (Shure, Gottschalk & Parsons, 1986).…”

Section: Decomposition Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Input, movement and exchange of organic matter within a subtropical coastal black water river‐flood plain system

Cuffney

1988

Freshwater Biology

126

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SUMMARY. 1. Inputs, movements and exchanges of particulate organic matter were measured on two contrasting floodplains of the Ogeechee River, Georgia, U.S.A. A model, which incorporated measurements of standing crop, respiration, litterfall, inundation, and litter processing rates, was used to estimate annual exchanges of organic matter between the river and floodplains.2. Annual litterfall was higher on the East floodplain than on the lower elevation West floodplain (902 v. 784 g ash-free-dry-mass [AFDM] m-2).3. Experiments with tagged leaves and sticks demonstrated that litter was readily displaced during floods. The distance and direction of displacement varied within and between floodplains but tended to be higher closer to the river and was generally parallel to the river. 4. The model indicated that both floodplains lost organic matter to the river. The lower elevation floodplain (Hast) lost more organic matter to the river (208g AFDM m~^ year"^) than did the higher elevation (West) floodplain (79g AFDM m~^ year

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Decomposition Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

Input, movement and exchange of organic matter within a subtropical coastal black water river‐flood plain system

Cuffney

1988

Freshwater Biology

126

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“…For instance, envision a floodplain forest floor, covered with fallen leaves and seeds produced by the vegetation growing at the site. If this floodplain surface were to be rapidly buried and preserved in sediments (Shure et al 1986;Clague et al 2003), any plant material incorporated into these flood sediments would then represent a snapshot of the vegetation at the time of the flood. Thus, the plant fossil record preserved would be akin to a photograph taken at a relatively high shutter speed.…”

Section: Temporal and Spatial Aspects Of Paleoecological Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

A Paleoecological Perspective on Wetland Restoration

Williams

2011

Wetlands

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Paleoecological investigations of wetland sedimentary deposits offer the possibility of obtaining accurate reconstructions of base line conditions in the past. Plant remains, such as leaves, seeds, fruits, wood, and pollen, provide a window of variable temporal and spatial resolution into past environmental conditions at a particular site. These archives of physical and biological wetland ecosystem characteristics, if preserved, may be exploited to reconstruct the plant community at a single point in time. Moreover, changes in past plant community composition, hydrology, and the dynamics of wetland ecosystems through time may be better understood. This paper reviews the range of paleoecological information archived in wetland sedimentary deposits that may be understood in the restoration science context. This type of information gleaned by applying paleoecological techniques should provide reasonable targets for restoration ecologists working to improve the quality and quantity of ecosystem functions and services in wetlands.Undisturbed wetlands, by virtue of their position on the landscape and the specific properties of the plants that populate these ecosystems, archive proxies of past environmental information within their soils and sediments. In temperate North America the geomorphic settings for wetlands typically vary from locale to locale, including depressional, riverine or floodplain, and lacustrine, among others. Yet all wetlands share a common attribute; the inundation of soil by water at a duration or frequency that is sufficient to exclude flora and fauna intolerant of such conditions. Although this ecosystem trait provides wetland scientists a means to mechanistically define a wetland, from a paleoecological standpoint there is a more important consequence of hydric soil conditions; plant and animal remains are often preserved in the wet, oxygen-deficient soils. Moreover, most wetlands are depositional environments; places where sediment accumulation exceeds erosion, thereby providing B. A. LePage (ed.), Wetlands,

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“…Evidence from a variety of wetland ecosystems suggests that, in general, litter decomposition is more rapid at sites that are inundated for at least a portion of the growing season than at sites that are never flooded (Brinson, 1977;Bell et al, 1978;Ewel & Odum, 1978;Merritt & Lawson, 1979;Day, 1982;Shure et al, 1986). Decomposition of macrophyte litter that is submerged by flooding also proceeds faster than that of standing litter (Boyd, 1970;Davis & van der Valk, 1978;Bruquetas & Neiff, 1991).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hydrologic control of litter decomposition in seasonally flooded prairie marshes

Neckles

Neill

1994

Hydrobiologia

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The effect of seasonal inundation on the decomposition of emergent macrophyte litter (Scolochloa festucacea) was examined under experimental flooding regimes in a northern prairie marsh. Stem and leaf litter was subjected to six aboveground inundation treatments (ranging from never flooded to flooded April through October) and two belowground treatments (nonflooded and flooded April to August). Flooding increased the rate of mass loss from litter aboveground but retarded decay belowground. Aboveground, N concentration decreased and subsequently increased earlier in the longer flooded treatments, indicating that flooding decreased the time that litter remained in the leaching and immobilization phases of decay. Belowground, both flooded and nonflooded litter showed an initial rapid loss of N, but concentration and percent of original N remaining were greater in the nonflooded marsh throughout the first year. This suggested that more N was immobilized on litter under the nonflooded, more oxidizing soil conditions. Both N concentration and percent N remaining of belowground litter were greater in the flooded than the nonflooded marsh the second year, suggesting that N immobilization was enhanced after water-level drawdown. These results suggest different mechanisms by which flooding affects decomposition in different wetland environments. On the soil surface where oxygen is readily available, flooding accelerates decomposition by increasing moisture. Belowground, flooding creates anoxic conditions that slow decay. The typical hydrologic pattern in seasonally flooded prairie marshes of spring flooding followed by water-level drawdown in summer may maximize system decomposition rates by allowing rapid decomposition aboveground in standing water and by annually alleviating soil anoxia.

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Litter Decomposition Processes in a Floodplain Forest

Cited by 70 publications

References 35 publications

Input, movement and exchange of organic matter within a subtropical coastal black water river‐flood plain system

Input, movement and exchange of organic matter within a subtropical coastal black water river‐flood plain system

A Paleoecological Perspective on Wetland Restoration

Hydrologic control of litter decomposition in seasonally flooded prairie marshes

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