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Summary: Interactive effects of UV radiation and soil coverage on leaf litter decomposition in velvet mesquite (Prosopis velutina)
Abstract
Michele L. Abbene1, Paul W. Barnes1, Heather L. Throop2; and Steven R. Archer3
1 Loyola University New Orleans, New Orleans, LA; 2 New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM; 3University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
Methods
Introduction
Objective
Results Summary & Conclusions
Acknowledgements
Recent studies have shown that leaf litter decomposition in
dryland ecosystems can be influenced by both soil deposition
and solar UV radiation, but how these factors interact to drive
decomposition has received little attention. We conducted a
growth chamber study to test whether coverage with sterile
soil could reduce the direct effect of UV on litter
photodegradation in senescent leaflets of velvet mesquite
(Prosopis velutina), a common woody plant of desert
grasslands and shrublands in the southwestern USA. Leaf
samples were exposed to two UV treatments (no UV and
simulated clear-sky, ambient summer UV [added as UV-B and
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