Nutrient release from decomposing leaf and branch litter in the Hubbard Brook Forrest, New Hampshire
Rates of weight loss and nutrient release (N, P, S, K, Mg, Ca, Zn, Fe, Mn, Cu, Na) were measured in decomposing leaf and branch tissue from yellow birch, sugar maple, and beech, and in branch tissue from red spruce and balsam fir. Decomposition rates for leaves varied with yellow birch > sugar maple > beech. The decomposition rate for hardwood branches was greater than that for conifer branches, but differences between hardwoods were not significant. The concentration and absolute weight of N, S, and P in the leaf litter of all species increased with time. The amount of the increase as well as the initiation of nutrient release was influenced by C:element ratios in the leaf tissue. These studies also indicate that P levels can influence the mineralization or immobilization of other important nutrients. Carbon-to-element ratios in decomposing litter varied between species and elevation at different times of the year, but element%P ratios were much more uniform. In branch tissue the physical loss of N-and P-rich bark and buds offset any increase in concentration that would have occurred through decomposition. Potassium and magnesium were rapidly released from the litter by leaching. Similar minimum concentrations in leaf tissue indicate that critical C:element ratios also exist for these elements. Calcium release was similar to dry weight loss, indicating that it is a structural component primarily released by decomposition. The new output of Ca, Mg, and K from the watershed was very small compared to quantities released from current litter. Factors which contribute to the complex nature of decompositions are: seasonal heterotroph activity, heterotroph nutrient demand, environmental conditions regulating heterotroph activity, species tissue palatability, species composition of litter, tissue composition of litter, nutrient content of litter, nutrient mobility, and nutrient input.
- OSTI ID:
- 5402890
- Journal Information:
- Ecol. Monogr.; (United States), Vol. 43
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Leaf litter decomposition in three Adirondack lakes
Similarity of nutrient uptake and root dimensions of Engelmann spruce and subalpine fir at two contrasting sites in Colorado
Related Subjects
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
CALCIUM
ECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
COPPER
IRON
LEAVES
DECOMPOSITION
MAGNESIUM
MANGANESE
NITROGEN
PHOSPHORUS
POTASSIUM
SODIUM
SULFUR
ZINC
AIR POLLUTION
BEECH TREES
BIRCHES
FOREST LITTER
FORESTS
MAPLES
MINERAL CYCLING
NEW HAMPSHIRE
NUTRIENTS
PLANT TISSUES
SPRUCES
TREES
WEIGHT MEASUREMENT
ALKALI METALS
ALKALINE EARTH METALS
BIOLOGICAL MATERIALS
BODY
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
ELEMENTS
FEDERAL REGION I
MATERIALS
METALS
NONMETALS
NORTH AMERICA
PLANTS
POLLUTION
TISSUES
TRANSITION ELEMENTS
USA
560303* - Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology- Plants- (-1987)
500200 - Environment
Atmospheric- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport- (-1989)