Decomposition of leaf litter of Dombeya goetzenii in the Njoro River, Kenya

Abstract

Decomposition of the leaves of Dombeya goetzenii (K. Schum) in the Njoro River is described and analysed. The loss of the ash-free dry mass was rapid during the first 14 d of exposure in the wet and humid zones. The leaves in the litter bags in the humid and wet zones were processed at a rate (±SD) of 0.005±0.001 d^-1 and 0.021±0.001 d^-1, respectively. The processing rates of the leaves in the wet zone differed significantly from those observed in the humid zone (t-value, p<0.05). The interchanged litter bags (i.e. from wet to humid zones vice versa) showed that the processing rates of the leaves in the litter bags interchanged from the wet zone to the humid zone was about 200 times lower than that of the leaves retained in the wet zone throughout; fourfold higher in the leaves in the litter bags which were transferred to the wet zone than in those leaves of the litter bags which were retained in the humid zone throughout the experiment. It took approximately 38 months for 90% of the leaf dry mass to be processed in the humid zone whilst it took 4 months for a similar percentage to be processed in the wet zone. It is concluded that the immersion and emersion of leaf litter, which may occur in the wet and humid zones, respectively, are important aspects of the decomposition process which may influence the quantity of nutrients in stream ecosystems.