Decomposition and nutrient dynamic of leaf litter and roots from palatable and unpalatable grasses in a semi-arid grassland

Shifts in soil biodiversity—A forensic comparison between Sus scrofa domesticus and vegetation decomposition

“…4b, 4d & 4f) Changes in soil pH due to cadaver decomposition have been reported [12,[33][34][35]. The results of our study showed differences in pH in response to Sus scrofa domesticus and grass decomposition due to their chemical compositions of protein, lipid and carbohydrate [2,5] and cellulose and lignin [36][37][38], respectively. Hopkins et al [35] reported an accumulation of NH4 + and mineralisation of C and N at a gravesite which resulted in a soil pH increase similar to the one recorded for the Sus scrofa domesticus microcosm.…”

Seasonal patterns in decomposition and nutrient release from East African savanna grasses grown under contrasting nutrient conditions

“…In addition, most studies involved leguminous forbs and trees (Fornara and Du Toit, 2008;Fosu et al, 2007;Jama and Nair, 1996;Mafongoya et al, 1997;Mugendi and Nair, 1997;Mugendi et al, 1999;Oladoye et al, 2008), and few included grasses (Deshmukh, 1985;Ohiagu and Wood, 1979), even though grasses dominate the aboveground biomass of savanna ecosystems (Bond, 2008). Finally, few studies have examined the role of nutrients in determining the decomposition rates of tropical savanna grasses, yet foliar nutrients can have a marked impact on litter decomposition in other ecosystems such as temperate grassland (Kochy and Wilson, 1997;Moretto et al, 2001), tundra (Bryant et al, 1997;Hobbie and Gough, 2004), temperate forest (Melillo et al, 1982), montane forests (Hobbie and Vitousek, 2000) and tropical forests (Gonzalez and Seastedt, 2001;Kaspari et al, 2008).…”

Aboveground Net Primary Productivity and Cover of Vegetation Exposed to Various Disturbances in Arid Argentina

“…It has been reported that non-preferred, native perennial grasses (e.g., A. ambigua), avoided by grazing animals, have a higher tissue C/N and lignin/N ratios than preferred, native perennial grasses (e.g., Nassella clarazzi and P. ligularis) in central Argentina (Moretto et al, 2001 (Distel et al, 1992), and the very high vegetative reproduction reported for this species (Busso et al, 1993), may help to explain its persistence and high contribution to total herbaceous standing crop in both Old Field treatments.…”