Decomposition, litter

Damage to epicuticular waxes Altered photosynthesis Increased water loss Accumulation of acidic anions Leaching of ions, sugars, etc. Mineral imbalances Altered metabolism Increased susceptibility to winter freezing injury Death of fine roots Destabilization of trees Reduced water/mineral uptake Reduced water uptake Cations leached below roots Accumulation of acidic anions Altered structure/texture Altered microflora Reduced litter decomposition Altered N transformations Solubilization of metal ions... 

Langhans SD, Tockner K (2006) The role of timing, duration, and frequency of inundation in controlling leaf-litter decomposition in a river-floodplain ecosystem (Tagliamento, NE Italy). Oecologia 147 501-509... 

R. L. Sinsabaugh, R. K. Antibus, and A. E. Linkins, An enzymatic approach to the analysis of microbial activity during plant litter decomposition. Agricult. Ecosyst. Environ.. 14 43 (1991). 

Many studies have reported the effects of metals on general soil microbiological processes. Metals including cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, mercury, nickel, and zinc have been reported to inhibit many of the microbial processes listed above. Metal toxicity in the environment ultimately decreases litter decomposition, which can be measured by the rate of mass loss. Both copper (0.5 mg Cu g4 soil) and zinc (1.0 mg Zn g 1 soil) were shown to decrease the rate of decomposition of unpolluted Scots pine needle litter near a brass mill in Sweden.61 Duarte et al.63 also determined that copper and zinc toxicity reduced leaf decomposition rates and fungal reproduction. Other metals, such as cadmium, nickel, and lead, have also been reported to decrease litter decomposition.77... 

Litter decomposition Cu2+ 0.50 mg/g soil Indigenous community Scots pine needle litter 61... 

Duarte, S., Pascoal, C., Alves, A., Correia, A., and Cassio, F., Copper and zinc mixtures induce shifts in microbial communities and reduce leaf litter decomposition in streams, Freshwater Biol, 53 (1), 91-101, 2008. 

Dilly O, loemJ B, Vos A, Munch JC (2004) Bacterial diversity in agricultural soils during litter decomposition. Appl Environ Microbiol 70 468-474 Dizdaroglu M (1991) Chemical determination of free radical-induced damage to DNA. Free Radical Biol Med 10 225-242 Eaton RW, Ribbons DW (1982) Metabolism of dimethylphthalate by Micrococcus sp. strain 12B. JBacteriol 151 465-467... 

Freedman B, Hutchinson TC (1980) Effects of smelter pollutants on forest litter decomposition near a nickel copper smelter at Sudbury, Ontario. Can J Bot 58 1722-1736... 

Weary, G.C. and H.G. Merriam. 1978. Litter decomposition in a red maple wood lot under natural conditions and under insecticide treatment. Ecology 59 180-184. 

Swift, M.C., R.A. Smucker, and K.W. Cummins. 1988b. Effects of dimilin on freshwater litter decomposition. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 7 161-166. 

Soil microbes. Effects include reduced microbial biomass and/or species diversity, thus affecting microbial processes such as enzyme synthesis and activity, litter decomposition, associated with carbon and nitrogen mineralization, and soil respiration ... 

The process of forest litter decomposition is one of the key processes leading to the redistribution of Cs among the ecosystem components. It is affected by two major factors the rate of decomposition, which is dependent on the composition of the litter and the time since the introduction of Cs, which determines the level of decomposition of the uppermost, most heavily contaminated layer. The distribution of i Cs between the separate litter layers is important, since Of and Oh are critical for the roots of many undergrowth plant species (such as V. myrtillus, V. vitis-idaea, V. uUginosu and L. palustre ) and fungal saprotrophs (Clitocybe,... 

A coincident effect on decomposers may be from the accumulation of heavy metals, such as lead, which is entrained in the photochemical-oxidant complex. In Sweden, Ruhling and Tyler have preliminaiy evidence that litter decomposition rate in a spruce forest was limited by increased concentration of heavy-metal ions, but only during times of the year when water and temperature were not limiting factors. 

Sophisticated decomposition models are being developed. A simulation model developed by Bunnell and Dowding for tundra sites is a nine-compartment model with 23 transfers between compartments. This type of model may provide the only method for understanding the extremely complex litter decomposition process. 

Jensen, V. Decomposition of angiosperm tree leaf litter, pp. 69-104. In C. H. Dickinson, and G. J. F. Pugh, Eds. Biology of Plant Litter Decomposition. Vol. 1. New York Academic Press, 1974. 

Lee-Taylor JM, Holland EA (2000) Litter Decomposition as a Potential Natural Source of Methyl Bromide. J Geophys Res 105 8857... 

Sinsabaugh, R. L., and D. L. Moorhead. 1994. Resource allocation to extracellular enzyme production A model for nitrogen and phosphorus control of litter decomposition. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 26 1305-1311. 

Sinsabaugh, R. L., M. M. Carreiro, and S. Alvarez. 2001. Enzyme and microbial dynamics during litter decomposition. In Enzymes in the Environment (R. Burns, Ed.). Dekker, New York. 

Johnson, D., and Hale, B. (2004). White birch (Betula papyrifera Marshall) foliar litter decomposition in relation to trace metal atmospheric inputs at metal-contaminated and uncontaminated sites near Sudbury, Ontario and Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec, Canada. Environ. Poll. 127, 65-72. 

I. Litter Decomposition Experiments. The rate of mass loss of fresh plant litter may be used to estimate litter decomposition rates, assuming first-order kinetics ... 

Melillo, J. M., Aber, J. D., and Muratore, J. F. (1982). Nitrogen and lignin control of hardwood leaf litter decomposition dynamics. Ecology 63(3), 621-626. 

Moore,T. R., Bubier, J. L., and Bledzki, L. (2007). Litter decomposition in temperate peatland ecosystems The effect of substrate and site. Ecosystems 10(6), 949-963. 

Osono, T., Takeda, H., and Azuma, J.-i. (2008). Carbon isotope dynamics during leaf litter decomposition with reference to lignin fractions. Ecol. Res. 23(1), 51-55. 

Zhang, D., Hui, D., Luo, Y., and Zhou, G. (2008). Rates of litter decomposition in terrestrial ecosystems global patterns and controlling factors. I. Plant Ecol. 1(2), 85-93. 

Figure 14.10. Principal component analysis of Py-FI mass spectra of (a) cold and (b) hot water extracts from the sequence of organic litter layers Oi-Oe-Oa in a beech stand (Fagus sylvat-ica) obtained before (-pre) and after (-post) aerobic incubation. The arrows indicate changes due to progressive decomposition top-down in the litter profile. Reprinted from Landgraf, D., Leinweber, P, and Makeschin, F. (2006). Cold and hot water extractable organic matter as indicators of litter decomposition in forest soils. Journal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science 169,76-82, with permission of Wiley-VCH.

Landgraf, D., Leinweber, R, and Makeschin, F. (2006). Cold and hot water extractable organic matter as indicators of litter decomposition in forest soils. J. Plant Nutr. Soil Sci. 169, 76-82. 

Wershaw, R. L., Leenheer, J. A., Kennedy, K. R., and Noyes, T. I. (1996a). Use of 13C NMR and FTIR for elucidation of degradation pathways during natural litter decomposition and composting. 1. Early stage leaf degradation. Soil Sci. 161,667-679. 

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