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The contribution of abiotic processes to buried litter decomposition in the northern Chihuahuan desert

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Summary

Creosobebush (Larrea tridentata) fine litter was treated with either the general biocide HgCl2 and CuSO4 or water (controls) and buried 5 cm beneath the soil surface in the northern Chihuahuan Desert. The treated litter showed significantly less mass loss than controls during the three month summer-autumn field study; controls lost about 20% of the original mass while treated litter lost less than 2%. In addition, the total nitrogen content of the control litter increased from an initial concentration of about 14.08 g kg-1 to 17.62 g kg-1 dry weight by the end of the study, while treated litter nitrogen content decreased to 13.30 g kg-1. Results suggest abiotic processes other than leaching have little effect on the decomposition of buried litter in this environment.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Systems Ecology Research Group, College of Sciences, San Diego State University, 92182, San Diego, CA, USA

    Daryl L. Moorhead & James F. Reynolds

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  1. Daryl L. Moorhead
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  2. James F. Reynolds
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Moorhead, D.L., Reynolds, J.F. The contribution of abiotic processes to buried litter decomposition in the northern Chihuahuan desert. Oecologia 79, 133–135 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00378250

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00378250

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