We monitored the decomposition of mixed leaf litter (Quercus spp., Carya spp., and Pinus echinata) in a Missouri Ozark forest eight years after experimental harvest. Leaf littermass losses and changes in carbon chemistry (extractive, acid soluble, and acid insoluble fractions) were measured over 32 months in field incubations to determine the effects of litter composition and standmanipulation ...

Interaction effect of temperature and litter input on SOM decomposition is poor understood, restricting accurate prediction of the dynamics and stocks of soil organic carbon under global warming. To address this knowledge gap, we conducted an incubation experiment by adding (13)C labeled leaf-litter into a coniferous forest (CF) soil and a broadleaved forest (BF) soil. In this experiment, respo...

Crickets are often found feeding on fallen fruits among forest litter. Fruits and other sugar-rich resources are not homogeneously distributed, nor are they always available. We therefore expect that crickets dwelling in forest litter have a limited supply of sugar-rich resource, and will perceive this and displace towards resource-supplemented sites. Here we evaluate how sugar availability aff...

Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and total dissolved nitrogen (TDN) are generally considered important active biogeochemical pools of total carbon and nitrogen. Many studies have documented the contributions of soil fauna to litter decomposition, but the effects of the soil fauna on labile substances (i.e., DOC and TDN) in litter during early decomposition are not completely clear. Therefore, a f...

To explore the importance of 12 elements in litter production and decomposition, we fertilized 36 1600 m(2)-plots with combinations of N, P, K, or micronutrients (i.e. B, Ca, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Mo, S, Zn) for 6 years in a lowland Panamanian forest. The 90% of litter falling as leaves and twigs failed to increase with fertilization, but reproductive litter (fruits and flowers) increased by 43% with...

The influence of Cracow's urban pollution on small forest ecosystems was studied during 1998-2000. Seven sites located at different distances from the Cracow conurbation and from busy road were selected. Two sites were situated 26 and 31 km from Cracow town along an eastern transect, the other five-3, 8, 14, 26 and 35 km respectively, from Cracow-along a southern transect. At the beginning of S...

Organic nutrients have proven to contribute significantly to nutrient cycling in temperate forest ecosystems. Still, little is known about their relevance in the tropics. In the present study, organic C, N, S and P were analysed in rainfall, throughfall, litter percolate and soil solution of a montane rainforest at Mt. Kilimanjaro, Tanzania. The aim was to determine the amounts of organic nutri...

To what extent microbial community composition can explain variability in ecosystem processes remains an open question in ecology. Microbial decomposer communities can change during litter decomposition due to biotic interactions and shifting substrate availability. Though relative abundance of decomposers may change due to mixing leaf litter, linking these shifts to the non-additive patterns o...

Fire is frequently used as a land management tool for cattle ranching and annual crops in the Amazon. However, these maintenance fires often escape into surrounding forests, with potentially severe impacts for forest biodiversity. We examined the effect of experimental fires on leaf-litter arthropod abundance in a seasonally-dry forest in the Brazilian Amazon. The study plots (50 ha each) inclu...

This study was carried out in 2004 in Iguacu National Park (INP), Paraná-Brazil. The vegetation is composed of Araucaria Forest (AF) (13.1%) and Seasonal Semi-deciduous Forest (FES) (86.9%). Two types of materials were analyzed: litter (L) and woody material (W) (alive (A) and dead (D)), and classified by diameter: W1(0–0.70 cm), W2(0.71–2.5 cm), W3(2.51–7.50 cm), and W4(≥7.5 cm). The results f...