Do indigenous browse trees influence chemical composition and in vitro dry matter digestibility of parasitic plants?

Madibela, Othusitse Ricky; Letso, Moagi; Makoba, B; Seitshiro, O

doi:10.1016/j.anifeedsci.2004.02.004

Cited by 7 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…Since the chemical composition of mistletoes is dependent on the host species (Madibela et al . ; Umucalılar et al . ), all the mistletoe litter samples were collected from adult mistletoes in A. karroo trees to avoid intraspecific variation in chemical composition.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Decomposition and nutrient release patterns of mistletoe litters in a semi‐arid savanna, southwest Zimbabwe

Ndagurwa

Dube²,

Mlambo³

2014

Austral Ecology

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Nutrient loss from litter plays an essential role in carbon and nutrient cycling in nutrient-constrained environments. However, the decomposition and nutrient dynamics of nutrient-rich mistletoe litter remains unknown in semi-arid savanna where productivity is nutrient limited. We studied the decomposition and nutrient dynamics (nitrogen: N, phosphorous; P, carbon: C) of litter of three mistletoe species, Erianthemum ngamicum, Plicosepalus kalachariensis, and Viscum verrucosum and N-fixing Acacia karroo using the litter-bag method in a semi-arid savanna, southwest Zimbabwe. The temporal dynamics of the soil moisture content, microbial populations, and termite activity during decomposition were also assessed. Decay rates were slower for A. karroo litter (k = 0.63), but faster for the high quality mistletoe litters (mean k-value = 0.79), which supports the premise that mistletoes can substantially influence nutrient availability to other plants. Nitrogen loss was between 1.3 and 3 times greater in E. ngamicum litter than in the other species.The litter of the mistletoes also lost C and P faster than A. karroo litter. However, soil moisture content and bacterial and fungal colony numbers changed in an opposite direction to changes in the decomposition rate. Additionally, there was little evidence of termite activity during the decay of all the species litters.This suggests that other factors such as photodegradation could be important in litter decomposition in semi-arid savanna. In conclusion, the higher rate of decay and nutrient release of mistletoe than A. karroo litter indicate that mistletoes play an important role in carbon and nutrient fluxes in semi-arid savanna.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Decomposition and nutrient release patterns of mistletoe litters in a semi‐arid savanna, southwest Zimbabwe

Ndagurwa

Dube²,

Mlambo³

2014

Austral Ecology

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“…The litter samples were collected at the same time of the year to minimise seasonal changes within the plants. Further, since the chemical composition of mistletoes is dependent on the host species (Madibela et al 2004;Umucalılar et al 2007), litter samples of all the mistletoe species were collected from adult mistletoes in V. karroo trees to avoid intraspecific variation in chemical composition (Ndagurwa et al 2015).…”

Section: Study Sitementioning

confidence: 99%

Mistletoe litter accelerates the decomposition of recalcitrant host litter in a semi‐arid savanna, south‐west Zimbabwe

2020

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Litter mixing plays an important role in enhancing carbon and nutrient cycling, but little is known about the effects of nutrient-rich mistletoe litter on the decomposition of slow-decaying litter in nutrient-poor environments. We investigated the effects of mistletoe litter on the decomposition and nutrient release of host Vachellia karroo litter in semi-arid savanna, southwest Zimbabwe. Mass loss and nutrient release was quantified in litter of each single species, two-species, three-species and four-species mixtures of mistletoe, Erianthemum ngamicum, Plicosepalus kalachariensis and Viscum verrucosum, and the host V. karroo in 30 × 30 cm nylon-mesh litterbags under field conditions at 2-month intervals for one year. Repeated-measures analysis of variance was used to test the effects of litter type, incubation time and their interaction on mass loss and nutrient release. The effects of initial litter quality, incubation time and litter mixture on decomposition rate were also tested. Litter mixtures of mistletoes and V. karroo decomposed three times faster than V. karroo decomposing alone, and decomposition of litter mixtures was influenced by initial litter quality and incubation time. Further, non-additive effects are reported, with synergistic interactions being greater after 12 months and common regarding mass loss, phosphorus and carbon, whereas antagonistic interactions were common in nitrogen release. These effects varied both in magnitude and direction between litter-mixing treatments and with incubation time (P < 0.05). Our findings show that mistletoe litter enhance the decomposition of recalcitrant host litter consistent with findings in other ecosystems that contain hemiparasites, suggesting that hemiparasite litter plays an important role in carbon and nutrient flux in this system. Further, by enhancing the decomposition and nutrient release rate of recalcitrant host litter, mistletoes increase nutrient availability to other organisms within the ecosystem lending support to the premise that parasitic plants function as keystone species in environments where they occur.

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The influence of mistletoes on nutrient cycling in a semi-arid savanna, southwest Zimbabwe

Ndagurwa¹,

Dube

Mlambo

2013

Plant Ecol

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Do indigenous browse trees influence chemical composition and in vitro dry matter digestibility of parasitic plants?

Cited by 7 publications

References 12 publications

Decomposition and nutrient release patterns of mistletoe litters in a semi‐arid savanna, southwest Zimbabwe

Decomposition and nutrient release patterns of mistletoe litters in a semi‐arid savanna, southwest Zimbabwe

Mistletoe litter accelerates the decomposition of recalcitrant host litter in a semi‐arid savanna, south‐west Zimbabwe

The influence of mistletoes on nutrient cycling in a semi-arid savanna, southwest Zimbabwe

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