Document: KEL-3-59-46

Decomposition and nitrogen release from leaves of three Chilean Nothofagus species.

DECKER, K.* and R.E.J.BOERNER

Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, U.S.A. ¹

Abstract:
As a portion of a larger study of nutrient cycling in a Chilean mixed deciduous Nothofagus forest, we tested the hypothesis that leaf litter from the mid elevation deciduous Nothofagus obliqua would decompose faster than leaf litter from the evergreen N. dombeyi and the high elevation deciduous N. pumilio. During 1997, we collected litter in a mixed stand of the three Nothofagus species at approximately 1430m. in the south central Chilean Andes. Litter was placed in mesh bags and allowed to decompose for 1, 3, 5, 7.5, 10, and 12 months in a mixed hardwood forest in Ohio. For all three species, mass loss fit linear functions best. Instantaneous decay rates averaged -0.975 y-1 (N. obliqua), -0.749 y-1 (N. dombeyi), and -1.053 y-1 (N. pumilio). N. obliqua leaves decayed significantly faster than N. dombeyi leaves. Decay rates of N. pumilio leaves were more variable and did not differ from N obliqua or N. dombeyi. We will also discuss rates of N release from Nothofagus litters and the relevance of these results in relation to previous work in this Chilean forest that has shown that N. dombeyi and N. pumilio inhabit soil with lower N turnover rates than N. obliqua.

Keywords: Decomposition, Nothofagus, N release

This abstract is being presented at: 4:15 PM in session:
Oral Session #67: Decomposition Processes.