Litter decomposition rates in Canadian forests

Moore, Tim R.; Trofymow, J. A.; Taylor, Barry R.; Prescott, Cindy E.; Camiré, Claude; Duschene, L.; Fyles, James W.; Kozak, Larry; Kranabetter, M.; Morrison, I. K.; Siltanen, M.; Smith, Stacy A.; Titus, Brian; Visser, S.; Wein, Ross W.; Zoltai, S. C.

doi:10.1046/j.1365-2486.1998.00224.x

Cited by 195 publications

(166 citation statements)

References 38 publications

(60 reference statements)

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“…In our study, we did not find any agerelated differences for organic matter turnover when comparing litterfall and decomposition rates among the three older sites. Decomposition rates were within the range of those previously reported for other Canadian coniferous forests (Moore et al, 1999;Trofymow et al, 2002) and appeared to be unaffected by either stand age or site quality. In contrast, age-related differences in the litterfall rates were apparent when comparing the 35-and 70-year-old stands, with the latter one having higher rates (but similar SI values).…”

Section: Site Quality Effect On the Cumulative Nepsupporting

confidence: 81%

Carbon and greenhouse gas balances in an age sequence of temperate pine plantations

et al. 2014

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Abstract. This study investigated differences in the magnitude and partitioning of the carbon (C) and greenhouse gas (GHG) balances in an age sequence of four white pine (Pinus strobus L.) afforestation stands (7, 20, 35 and 70 years old as of 2009) in southern Ontario, Canada. The 4-year (2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008) mean annual carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) exchanges, based on biometric and eddy covariance data, were combined with the 2-year means of static chamber measurements of methane (CH 4 ) and nitrous oxide (N 2 O) fluxes (2006)(2007) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) export below 1 m soil depth (2004)(2005). The total ecosystem C pool increased with age from 46 to 197 t C ha −1 across the four stands. Rates of organic matter cycling (i.e. litterfall and decomposition) were similar among the three older stands. In contrast, considerable differences related to stand age and site quality were observed in the magnitude and partitioning of individual CO 2 fluxes, showing a peak in production and respiration rates in the middle-age (20-year-old) stand growing on fertile postagricultural soil. The DOC export accounted for 10 % of net ecosystem production (NEP) at the 7-year-old stand but < 2 % at the three older stands. The GHG balance from the combined exchanges of CO 2 , CH 4 and N 2 O was 2.6, 21.6, 13.5 and 4.8 t CO 2 equivalent ha −1 year −1 for the 7-, 20-, 35-and 70-year-old stands, respectively. The maximum annual contribution from the combined exchanges of CH 4 and N 2 O to the GHG balance was 13 and 8 % in the 7-and 70-year-old stands, respectively, but < 1 % in the two highly productive middle-age (20-and 35-year-old) stands. Averaged over the entire age sequence, the CO 2 exchange was the main driver of the GHG balance in these forests. The cumulative CO 2 sequestration over the 70 years was estimated at 129 t C and 297 t C ha −1 year −1 for stands growing on low-and high-productivity sites, respectively. This study highlights the importance of accounting for age and site quality effects on forest C and GHG balances. It further demonstrates a large potential for net C sequestration and climate benefits gained through afforestation of marginal agricultural and fallow lands in temperate regions.

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Section: Site Quality Effect On the Cumulative Nepsupporting

confidence: 81%

Carbon and greenhouse gas balances in an age sequence of temperate pine plantations

et al. 2014

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“…Commonly, the higher these recalcitrant components, the slower the decomposition (Cooke and Whipps, 1993;Moore et al, 1999;Silver and Miya, 2001). The initial value of lignin/N was 1.46 in the present study, with little change throughout the experiment.…”

Section: Role Of Polyphenol In the Short-term Decomposition Of Tea Lementioning

confidence: 99%

Tea polyphenols dominate the short-term tea (Camellia sinensis) leaf litter decomposition

Fan

Cuiping³

et al. 2017

J. Zhejiang Univ. Sci. B

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Polyphenols are one of the most important secondary metabolites, and affect the decomposition of litter and soil organic matter. This study aims to monitor the mass loss rate of tea leaf litter and nutrient release pattern, and investigate the role of tea polyphenols played in this process. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and classical litter bag method were used to simulate the decomposition process of tea leaf litter and track the changes occurring in major polyphenols over eight months. The release patterns of nitrogen, potassium, calcium, and magnesium were also determined. The decomposition pattern of tea leaf litter could be described by a two-phase decomposition model, and the polyphenol/N ratio effectively regulated the degradation process. Most of the catechins decreased dramatically within two months; gallic acid (GA), catechin gallate (CG), and gallocatechin (GC) were faintly detected, while others were outside the detection limits by the end of the experiment. These results demonstrated that tea polyphenols transformed quickly and catechins had an effect on the individual conversion rate. The nutrient release pattern was different from other plants which might be due to the existence of tea polyphenols.

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“…4), thus, 22 indicating the need to include additional factors affecting leaf litter decomposition, particularly 23 climatic variables. 24 Moore et al [44] examined the three-year decomposition dynamics of 11 litter types 25 across 18 sites throughout Canada and found annual precipitation to be strongly related to litter 26 mass remaining. Likewise in our study, the relationship between climate and leaf litter 27 decomposition was explicit, with 80.1% of the variability explained in the two principal axes 28 (Fig.…”

Section: Principal Component Analysesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…5). 16 Leaf litter lignin concentration data may have improved the PCA results, given its 17 consistent control on decomposition across regional scales [44,67]. Additionally, considering the 18 importance of soil flora and fauna populations within SRC willow plantations [6,49], including 19 soil biota community structure and activity data among varieties and sites may have also 20 enhanced the PCA results, given their vital relationship with leaf litter dynamics [48].…”

Section: Principal Component Analysesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Leaf Litter Decomposition and Nutrient-Release Characteristics of Several Willow Varieties Within Short-Rotation Coppice Plantations in Saskatchewan, Canada

et al. 2014

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Abstract:Quantifying short-rotation coppice (SRC) willow leaf litter dynamics will improve our understanding of carbon (C) sequestration and nutrient cycling potentials within these biomass energy plantations and provide valuable data for model validation. The objective of this study was to quantify the decomposition rate constants (kBiomass) and decomposition limit values (LVBiomass), along with associated release rates (kNutrient) and release limits (LVNutrient) of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), sulphur (S), calcium (Ca), and magnesium (Mg) of leaf litter from several native and exotic willow varieties during an initial four-year rotation at four sites within Saskatchewan, Canada. The kBiomass, LVBiomass, kNutrient, and LVNutrient values varied among the willow varieties, sites, and nutrients, with average values of 1.7 year-1, 79 %, 0.9 year-1, and 83 %, respectively. Tissue N had the smallest kNutrient and LVNutrient values, while tissue K and Mg had the largest kNutrient and LVNutrient values, respectively. The leaf litter production varied among willow varieties and sites with an average biomass accumulation of 7.4 Mg ha-1 after the four-year rotation and associated C sequestration rate of 0.2 Mg C ha-1 yr-1. The average contribution of nutrients released from leaf litter decomposition during the four-year rotation to the plant available soil nutrient pool across varieties and sites was 22, 4, 47, 10, 112, and 18 kg ha-1 of N, P, K, S, Ca, and Mg, respectively. Principal component analysis identified numerous key relationships between the measured soil, plant tissue, climate and microclimate variables and observed willow leaf litter decomposition and nutrient release characteristics. Our findings support the contention that SRC willow leaf litter is capable of enhancing both soil organic C levels and supplementing soil nutrient availability over time. Powered by Editorial Manager® and ProduXion Manager® from Aries Systems Corporation

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Litter decomposition rates in Canadian forests

Cited by 195 publications

References 38 publications

Carbon and greenhouse gas balances in an age sequence of temperate pine plantations

Carbon and greenhouse gas balances in an age sequence of temperate pine plantations

Tea polyphenols dominate the short-term tea (Camellia sinensis) leaf litter decomposition

Leaf Litter Decomposition and Nutrient-Release Characteristics of Several Willow Varieties Within Short-Rotation Coppice Plantations in Saskatchewan, Canada

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