We report data on leaf litter production and decomposition from a manipulative biodiversity experiment with trees in tropical Panama, which has been designed to explore the relationship between tree diversity and ecosystem functioning. A total of 24 plots (2025 m) were established in 2001 using six native tree species, with 1-, 3-, and 6-species mixtures. We estimated litter production during t...

A common hypothesis to explain the effect of litter mixing is based on the difference in litter N content between mixed species. Although many studies have shown that litter of invasive non-native plants typically has higher N content than that of native plants in the communities they invade, there has been surprisingly little study of mixing effects during plant invasions. We address this ques...

Land disposal of poultry litter is an environmental concern often associated to excess phosphorus (P) in soils and potential water pollution in regions with intense poultry production. Although poultry litter can be moved off the farm and traded as fertilizer, its transportation becomes less economical with increasing distances from the farm. Thus, new litter management alternatives are needed ...

Links between resting metabolic rate (RMR) and reproductive output have been previously sought at both inter- and intraspecific levels, but have only been found in some interspecific studies. We aimed to examine correlations between RMR measured both prior to breeding and at peak lactation with litter size and litter mass in Mus musculus. By manipulating the litter size of some females at birth...

The litter carbon (C) pool of a single litter cohort in an agroecosystem is the difference between net primary productivity and decomposition and comprises 1113% of the total C pool (litter and soil 0-15 cm depth) post-harvest. This litter-C pool is highly dynamic and up to 50% can be decomposed in the first 12 months of decomposition. Thus, understanding litter-C dynamics is key in understandi...

KOSTEL-HUGHES, F., T. P. YOUNG, AND J. D. WEHR. (Louis Calder Center—Biological Field Station and Department of Biological Sciences, Fordham University, P.O. Box 887, Armonk, NY 10504). Effects of leaf litter depth on the emergence and seedling growth of deciduous forest tree species in relation to seed size. J. Torrey Bot. Soc. 132: 50–61. 2005.—Leaf litter has a major impact on soil microenvi...

1. While it is well established that leaf litter decomposition is controlled by climate and substrate quality at broad spatial scales, conceptual frameworks that consider how local-scale factors affect litter decay in heterogeneous landscapes are generally lacking. 2. A critical challenge in disentangling the relative impacts of and interactions among local-scale factors is that these factors f...

we studied litterfall dynamic of tree plantations in dez river floodplain, at 14 to 15 years old. the plantations consist of populus euphratica oliv., eucalyptus camaldulensis dehnh., e. microtheca f. muell, acacia farnesiana (l.) willd., a. salicina lindl., a. saligna (labill.) h. wendl., a. stenophylla benth. and dalbergia sissoo roxb. litterfall was different between the tree species, and le...

To better understand the role of resource heterogeneity in decomposition and nitrous oxide (N2O) flux we systematically altered the degree of plant litter aggregation in soil, from uniformly distributed to highly aggregated. In laboratory incubations, we distributed 4.5 g of dried clover shoots (Trifolium pratense L.) in two particle sizes (1 or >5 mm) into 1, 3, or 9 patches versus uniformly d...

It is widely accepted that microarthropods influence decomposition dynamics but we know relatively little about their effects on litter chemistry, extracellular enzyme activities, and other finer-scale decomposition processes. Further, few studies have investigated the role of individual microarthropod species in litter decomposition. The oribatid mite Scheloribates moestus Banks (Acari: Oribat...