Leaf litter decomposition in a southern Sonoran Desert ecosystem, northwestern Mexico: Effects of habitat and litter quality

Martínez‐Yrízar, Angelina; Núñez, Silvia; Búrquez, Alberto

doi:10.1016/j.actao.2007.05.010

Cited by 64 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…Litter chemistry and quality vary with vegetation type and likely control rates of litter decomposition and accumulation of SOC. Previous work in Sonoran Desert ecosystems found litter quality, and particularly lignin content, as a significant control of leaf litter decomposition rate (Martínez-Yrízar et al, 2007). Similarly, Vaieretti et al (2005) and Gallardo and Merino (1993) found good correlation between vegetation type and rates of litter decomposition in semiarid ecosystems.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 75%

Vegetation controls on soil organic carbon dynamics in an arid, hyperthermic ecosystem

et al. 2009

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 75%

Vegetation controls on soil organic carbon dynamics in an arid, hyperthermic ecosystem

et al. 2009

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“…In the Sonoran Desert, spatial heterogeneity in vegetation structure eeven among adjacent sitese has been related to strong differences in primary productivity (Maya and Arriaga, 1996;Martínez-Yrízar et al, 1999;Sponseller and Fisher, 2006), microbial potential of soils (Núñez et al, 2001) and decomposition rates (Arriaga and Maya, 2007;Martínez-Yrízar et al, 2007). Plant biomass is also likely to exhibit strong spatial variability, but its quantification has been a neglected aspect of ecosystem studies in this region.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Aboveground biomass in three Sonoran Desert communities: Variability within and among sites using replicated plot harvesting

Búrquez

Martínez‐Yrízar

Núñez

et al. 2010

Journal of Arid Environments

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“…Subsequently, litter decomposition was assessed for each time period by measuring the dry weight of oven-dried litter bag leaves after the extraction of fauna. The remaining dry mass was expressed as percentage of the initial sample dry mass (Martínez-Yrízar et al 2007). Remaining dry mass values were transformed into square roots (Zar 1999) to determine differences in leaf decomposition between sites and among sampling times, using a multifactor analysis of variance.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Remaining dry mass values were transformed into square roots (Zar 1999) to determine differences in leaf decomposition between sites and among sampling times, using a multifactor analysis of variance. The relationships between remaining litter mass and time (days) were tested by fitting it to negative exponential decomposition models (Martínez-Yrízar et al 2007, Adair et al 2010. Total decay rate (k-value) for each forest was calculated by the negative exponential regression of ln(X 0 /X 1 ) vs. time, where X 0 is the original dry mass, X 1 is the percentage of leaf litter remaining after time 1 (time in days).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Litter fauna communities and litter decomposition in a selectively logged and an unmanaged pine-oak forest in Mexico

2015

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Comunidades de fauna y descomposición de la hojarasca en un bosque de pino-encino con tala selectiva y un bosque sin manejo en México SUMMARYWe analyzed the effect of selective logging on litter fauna parameters (abundance, richness and diversity) and litter decomposition (remaining dry mass) over time in a temperate pine-oak (Pinus spp.-Quercus spp.) forest in central México. An unmanaged and a managed forest were compared using a litter bag field experiment. Litter fauna was quantified to the levels of families and morphospecies. Litter fauna abundance, richness and diversity were higher in the unmanaged forest. The remaining dry mass of litter and the decomposition rates were statistically different between the two forests, suggesting that selective logging practices reduce decomposition processes. The remaining dry mass of litter was negatively correlated with fauna richness in the managed forest, and with both morphospecies richness and diversity at the unmanaged forest; indicating that as biodiversity increases, more litter might be decomposed. Both litter fauna diversity and the litter decay processes were better preserved in the unmanaged site, as compared with the selective logged forest. Our study reveals that leaving some pine-oak forest patches unmanaged is important for the protection of their biodiversity.Key words: Mexican temperate forests, selective logging, soil fauna diversity, litter remaining dry mass. RESUMENSe analizó el efecto del manejo silvícola en la abundancia, riqueza y diversidad de la fauna de invertebrados, así como en la tasa de descomposición de la hojarasca en un bosque templado de pino (Pinus spp.) y encino (Quercus spp.) del centro de México. Se comparó un bosque manejado (tala selectiva) y otro sin manejo, empleando un experimento de bolsas de malla plástica (litterbags). El bosque sin manejo tuvo mayor abundancia, riqueza y diversidad de morfoespecies de invertebrados que el bosque donde se aplicó tala selectiva. Se encontraron diferencias significativas en la hojarasca remanente y en la tasa de descomposición entre bosques: la hojarasca en el bosque sin manejo se descompuso más rápidamente que en el que se aplica tala selectiva. La hojarasca remanente correlacionó de forma negativa con la riqueza de invertebrados en el bosque manejado y con la riqueza y diversidad en el bosque sin manejo. Estos resultados indican que a mayor diversidad de fauna, más hojarasca puede descomponerse. El estudio muestra que las prácticas silviculturales pueden afectar los patrones de diversidad de invertebrados del suelo y los procesos de descomposición de los que forman parte. Se propone como medida de conservación dejar fragmentos de bosque sin manejo en localidades donde se aplica tala selectiva para mantener la diversidad y los procesos ecosistémicos en estos bosques templados.Palabras clave: bosques templados mexicanos, tala selectiva, diversidad de fauna de suelo, peso seco remanente de hojarasca.

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Leaf litter decomposition in a southern Sonoran Desert ecosystem, northwestern Mexico: Effects of habitat and litter quality

Cited by 64 publications

References 49 publications

Vegetation controls on soil organic carbon dynamics in an arid, hyperthermic ecosystem

Vegetation controls on soil organic carbon dynamics in an arid, hyperthermic ecosystem

Aboveground biomass in three Sonoran Desert communities: Variability within and among sites using replicated plot harvesting

Litter fauna communities and litter decomposition in a selectively logged and an unmanaged pine-oak forest in Mexico

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