Long-term patterns of mass loss during the decomposition of leaf and fine root litter: an intersite comparison
dc.contributor.author | Harmon, Mark E. | en_US |
dc.contributor.author | Silver, Whendee L. | en_US |
dc.contributor.author | Fasth, Becky | en_US |
dc.contributor.author | Chen, Hua | en_US |
dc.contributor.author | Burke, Ingrid C. | en_US |
dc.contributor.author | Parton, William J. | en_US |
dc.contributor.author | Hart, Stephen C. | en_US |
dc.contributor.author | Currie, William S. | en_US |
dc.date.accessioned | 2010-06-01T21:26:13Z | |
dc.date.available | 2010-06-01T21:26:13Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2009-05 | en_US |
dc.identifier.citation | HARMON, MARK E.; SILVER, WHENDEE L.; FASTH, BECKY; CHEN, HUA; BURKE, INGRID C.; PARTON, WILLIAM J.; HART, STEPHEN C.; CURRIE, WILLIAM S. (2009). "Long-term patterns of mass loss during the decomposition of leaf and fine root litter: an intersite comparison." Global Change Biology 15(5): 1320-1338. <http://hdl.handle.net/2027.42/74496> | en_US |
dc.identifier.issn | 1354-1013 | en_US |
dc.identifier.issn | 1365-2486 | en_US |
dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/2027.42/74496 | |
dc.description.abstract | Decomposition is a critical process in global carbon cycling. During decomposition, leaf and fine root litter may undergo a later, relatively slow phase; past long-term experiments indicate this phase occurs, but whether it is a general phenomenon has not been examined. Data from Long-term Intersite Decomposition Experiment Team, representing 27 sites and nine litter types (for a total of 234 cases) was used to test the frequency of this later, slow phase of decomposition. Litter mass remaining after up to 10 years of decomposition was fit to models that included (dual exponential and asymptotic) or excluded (single exponential) a slow phase. The resultant regression equations were evaluated for goodness of fit as well as biological realism. Regression analysis indicated that while the dual exponential and asymptotic models statistically and biologically fit more of the litter type–site combinations than the single exponential model, the latter was biologically reasonable for 27–65% of the cases depending on the test used. This implies that a slow phase is common, but not universal. Moreover, estimates of the decomposition rate of the slowly decomposing component averaged 0.139–0.221 year −1 (depending on method), higher than generally observed for mineral soil organic matter, but one-third of the faster phase of litter decomposition. Thus, this material may be slower than the earlier phases of litter decomposition, but not as slow as mineral soil organic matter. Comparison of the long-term integrated decomposition rate (which included all phases of decomposition) to that for the first year of decomposition indicated the former was on average 75% that of the latter, consistent with the presence of a slow phase of decomposition. These results indicate that the global store of litter estimated using short-term decomposition rates would be underestimated by at least one-third. | en_US |
dc.format.extent | 472773 bytes | |
dc.format.extent | 3109 bytes | |
dc.format.mimetype | application/pdf | |
dc.format.mimetype | text/plain | |
dc.publisher | Blackwell Publishing Ltd | en_US |
dc.rights | Journal compilation © 2009 Blackwell Publishing | en_US |
dc.subject.other | Decay | en_US |
dc.subject.other | Decomposition | en_US |
dc.subject.other | Fine Roots | en_US |
dc.subject.other | Leaves | en_US |
dc.subject.other | Litter | en_US |
dc.subject.other | Long-term Study | en_US |
dc.subject.other | Rate Constant | en_US |
dc.subject.other | Stable Fraction | en_US |
dc.title | Long-term patterns of mass loss during the decomposition of leaf and fine root litter: an intersite comparison | en_US |
dc.type | Article | en_US |
dc.subject.hlbsecondlevel | Ecology and Evolutionary Biology | en_US |
dc.subject.hlbsecondlevel | Geology and Earth Sciences | en_US |
dc.subject.hlbtoplevel | Science | en_US |
dc.description.peerreviewed | Peer Reviewed | en_US |
dc.contributor.affiliationum | ∥ School of Natural Resources & Environment, Dana Bldg., 430 E. University, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1115, USA | en_US |
dc.contributor.affiliationother | Department of Forest Science, Oregon State University, 321 Richardson Hall, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA , | en_US |
dc.contributor.affiliationother | † Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, Ecosystem Sciences Division, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA , | en_US |
dc.contributor.affiliationother | † Department of Forest, Rangeland, and Watershed Stewardship, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA , | en_US |
dc.contributor.affiliationother | § Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA , | en_US |
dc.contributor.affiliationother | ¶ School of Forestry and Merriam-Powell Center for Environmental Research, Northern Arizona University, PO Box 15018, Flagstaff, AZ 86011-5018, USA , | en_US |
dc.description.bitstreamurl | http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/74496/1/j.1365-2486.2008.01837.x.pdf | |
dc.identifier.doi | 10.1111/j.1365-2486.2008.01837.x | en_US |
dc.identifier.source | Global Change Biology | en_US |
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