The role of stranding and inundation on leaf litter decomposition in headwater streams

Riedl, Hannah; Marczak, Laurie B.; McLenaghan, Natalie A.; Hoover, Trent M.

doi:10.2478/remc-2013-0002

Cited by 19 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…Although decomposition rates varied by a factor of 2.4–2.9 across litter types, the effect of the exposure scenario was significant, with decomposition rates decreasing consistently for all litter types with the increase in the period of terrestrial exposures. Similar effects of habitat exposure on decomposition rates have been described for leaf litter exposed on the terrestrial habitat after starting decomposing in water (Bruder, Chauvet, & Gessner, ; Riedl et al, ) and for grass litter exposed for different periods in the terrestrial and the aquatic environments (Zheng et al, ).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 61%

Litter movement pathways across terrestrial–aquatic ecosystem boundaries affect litter colonization and decomposition in streams

Abelho

Descals

2019

Functional Ecology

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Streams and their riparian zones are connected by spatial flows of organic matter and constitute a model example of a meta‐ecosystem. Fluxes of leaf litter from the riparian zone to the stream are a major energy source in stream food webs. Leaf litter can enter the stream vertically, falling from the tree and into the stream, or laterally, washing into the stream after a period of exposure in the terrestrial ecosystem. The latter can contribute up to 23% to the total amount of litterfall entering streams. To determine if decomposition, microbial and invertebrate colonization of lateral litter inputs are similar to those of vertical inputs, we assessed leaf decomposition of alder, poplar and a 1:1 mixture of the two species in three scenarios across a gradient of terrestrial:aquatic exposures. Overall, decomposition was explained by a negative exponential model and decreased with the increase in the period of terrestrial exposure in all cases. Invertebrate colonization tended to decrease with the increase in the period of terrestrial exposure, but total invertebrate richness and biomass were more affected by litter type than by the exposure scenario, attaining higher values in the mixture than in the species alone. As the length of exposure in the terrestrial ecosystem increased, in‐stream decomposition rates of leaf litter decreased. Comparing leaf species treatments, alder decomposition rates were faster than poplar and the alder–poplar mixture. The richness of the aquatic hyphomycete community colonizing leaf litter after submergence decreased, and sporulation rates were strongly inhibited with an increasing terrestrial exposure period. While fungi colonizing leaf litter exposed only in the stream invested in rapid reproduction, fungi colonizing litter with prior terrestrial exposure built up more biomass. We conclude that the path taken by the litter fluxes has important effects on the functioning of the receiving ecosystem. Studies relying only on the fate of freshly abscissed leaf litter (vertical inputs) may not present a complete picture of the decomposition process in streams and may have been overestimating the overall richness and reproductive activity of the aquatic hyphomycetes colonizing leaf litter.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 61%

Litter movement pathways across terrestrial–aquatic ecosystem boundaries affect litter colonization and decomposition in streams

Abelho

Descals

2019

Functional Ecology

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“…These studies have typically been performed under constant conditions. However, actual streams experience natural fluctuations in current, temperature and/or availability of resources, which may profoundly affect the persistence and activity of individual species and their function in the ecosystem (Riedl et al, 2013;Mart ınez et al, 2015). In fact, the functional response of communities to abiotic factor fluctuations may be dependent on the proximity of the functional optimum of the consortium: species that periodically experience their ecological optima may fully play out their ecological function, whereas species exposed to suboptimal conditions may display more reduced performances (Ruel and Ayres, 1999).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is diversity a buffer against environmental temperature fluctuations? – A decomposition experiment with aquatic fungi

2015

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“…, Riedl et al. ) than by ephemeral tributaries. The substantial amounts of leaf litter estimated to be transported from ephemeral channels in this study suggest that organic matter processing within ephemeral channels is limited.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Riedl et al. () attributed the slower decay of leaf litter on dry stream banks compared to leaf litter on wet streambed to the availability of the litter to stream consumers. Leaf litter breakdown was also slower on banks than on streambeds in second‐order perennial streams in North Carolina, but leaf packs on banks in that study were colonized by stream consumers but fewer in number and biomass than leaf packs in the streams (Hutchens and Wallace ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Coarse particulate organic matter dynamics in ephemeral tributaries of a Central Appalachian stream network

et al. 2019

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Headwater ephemeral tributaries are interfaces between uplands and downstream waters. Terrestrial coarse particulate organic matter (CPOM) is important in fueling aquatic ecosystems; however, the extent to which ephemeral tributaries are functionally connected to downstream waters through fluvial transport of CPOM has been little studied. Hydrology and deposition of leaf and wood, and surrogate transport (Ginkgo biloba leaves and wood dowels) were measured over month‐long intervals through the winter and spring seasons (6 months) in 10 ephemeral tributaries (1.3–5.4 ha) in eastern Kentucky. Leaf deposition and surrogate transport varied over time, reflecting the seasonality of litterfall and runoff. Leaf deposition was higher in December than February and May but did not differ from January, March, and April. Mean percent of surrogate leaf transport from the ephemeral tributaries was highest in April (3.6% per day) and lowest in February (2.5%) and May (2%). Wood deposition and transport had similar patterns. No CPOM measures were related to flow frequency. Ephemeral tributaries were estimated to annually contribute 110.6 kg AFDM·km−1·yr−1 of leaves to the downstream mainstem. Ephemeral tributaries are functionally connected to downstream waters through CPOM storage and subsequent release that is timed when CPOM is often limited in downstream waters.

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The role of stranding and inundation on leaf litter decomposition in headwater streams

Cited by 19 publications

References 2 publications

Litter movement pathways across terrestrial–aquatic ecosystem boundaries affect litter colonization and decomposition in streams

Litter movement pathways across terrestrial–aquatic ecosystem boundaries affect litter colonization and decomposition in streams

Is diversity a buffer against environmental temperature fluctuations? – A decomposition experiment with aquatic fungi

Coarse particulate organic matter dynamics in ephemeral tributaries of a Central Appalachian stream network

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