Title | Decomposition rates of various quantities of buried litter in a desert |
Publication Type | Journal Article |
Year of Publication | 1983 |
Authors | Urbaniak S, Whitford WG |
Journal | The Southwestern Naturalist |
Volume | 28 |
Pagination | 111-112 |
Date Published | 1983 |
Accession Number | JRN00006 |
Call Number | 00343 |
Keywords | article, articles, decomposition, buried litter, decomposition,litter,Larrea, journal, journals, Larrea, decomposition, litter,Larrea decomposition |
Abstract | Creosobebush (Larrea tridentata) fine litter was treated with either the general biocide HgCl2 and CuSO4 or water (controls) and buried 5 cm beneath the soil surface in the northern Chihuahuan Desert. The treated litter showed significantly less mass loss than controls during the three month summer-autumn field study; controls lost about 20% of the original mass while treated litter lost less than 2%. In addition, the total nitrogen content of the control litter increased from an initial concentration of about 14.08 g kg-1 to 17.62 g kg-1 dry weight by the end of the study, while treated litter nitrogen content decreased to 13.30 g kg-1. Results suggest abiotic processes other than leaching have little effect on the decomposition of buried litter in this environment. |
URL | files/bibliography/JRN00006_0.pdf |