Assistant Professor, Division of Agriculture Natural Resource Management, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85281; and Supervisory Soil Scientist, Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station, U.S. Forest Service, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85281. Abstract: Runoff and sediment was measured for a chaparral community on the Prescott National Forest in the summer of 1979...

AIMS The release of heavy metals (such as Pb and Cd) from foliar litter play an important role in element cycling in alpine forest ecosystems. Although natural forest gaps could play important roles in the release of heavy metals from foliar litter by affecting the snow cover during the winter and solar irradiation during the growing season, few studies have examined these potential roles. The ...

Doctor Ingeniero de Montes, ICONA Forest Fire Section, Madrid Spain. Abstract: Forest fuels in the Mediterranean ecosystems of Spain are characterized by generalized pyrophytism and large accumulations of woody shrub vegetation. The Forest Service prepared in 1978 a fuel management plan and a program of surveys including: A study on the vegetation's evolution in forests after fires; the experim...

nitrification due to a high C/N ratio in litter (Vitousek et al., 1979), temporary sorption on ion exchange sites The mechanisms by which forest ecosystems retain or lose soluble (Vitousek et al., 1979) and in the case of P, fixation or inorganic nutrients after disturbance are well known, but substantial amounts of soluble organic nutrients may also be released from cut sorption on soil (Wood ...

Coarse woody debris (CWD) biomass was measured and mapped in burned, clearcut, and intact lodgepole pine forests in two areas of the Rocky Mountains of Wyoming: the Medicine Bow National Forest (MBNF) and Yellowstone National Park (YNP). In addition, the amount of CWD consumed or converted to charcoal by fire was estimated in a recently burned stand in YNP. A spatially explicit simulation model...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Litter is a key factor in structuring plant populations, through positive or negative interactions. The litter layer forms a mechanical barrier that is often strongly selective against individuals lacking hypocotyle plasticity. Litter composition also interacts with plant growth by providing beneficial nutrients or, inversely, by allowing harmful allelopathic leaching. As co...

The litter decomposition process is closely correlated with nutrient cycling and the maintenance of soil fertility in the forest ecosystem. In particular, the intense environmental concern about atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition requires a better understanding of its influence on the litter decomposition process. This study examines the responses of single-species litter and litter mixture de...

In common with most of Borneo, the Bakun region of Sarawak is currently subject to heavy deforestation mainly due to logging and, to a lesser extent, traditional slash-and-burn farming practices. This has the potential to affect stream ecosystems, which are integrators of environmental change in the surrounding terrestrial landscape. This study evaluated the effects of both types of deforestati...

Amazonian forest fragments and secondgrowth forests often differ substantially from undisturbed forests in their microclimate, plant-species composition, and soil fauna. To determine if these changes could affect litter decomposition, we quantified the mass loss of two contrasting leaf-litter mixtures, in the presence or absence of soil macroinvertebrates, and in three forest habitats. Leaf-lit...

Tropical forests play a substantial role in the global carbon (C) cycle and are projected to experience significant changes in climate, highlighting the importance of understanding the factors that control organic matter decomposition in this biome. In the tropics, high temperature and rainfall lead to some of the highest rates of litter decomposition on earth, and given the near-optimal abioti...