Decomposition of Cones and Woody Litter

Plant Litter ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 209-226
Author(s):  
Björn Berg ◽  
Charles McClaugherty
Keyword(s):  
Fire ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 36
Author(s):  
Quinn A. Hiers ◽  
E. Louise Loudermilk ◽  
Christie M. Hawley ◽  
J. Kevin Hiers ◽  
Scott Pokswinski ◽  
...  

Measuring wildland fuels is at the core of fire science, but many established field methods are not useful for ecosystems characterized by complex surface vegetation. A recently developed sub-meter 3D method applied to southeastern U.S. longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) communities captures critical heterogeneity, but similar to any destructive sampling measurement, it relies on separate plots for calculating loading and consumption. In this study, we investigated how bulk density differed by 10-cm height increments among three dominant fuel types, tested predictions of consumption based on fuel type, height, and volume, and compared this with other field measurements. The bulk density changed with height for the herbaceous and woody litter fuels (p < 0.001), but live woody litter was consistent across heights (p > 0.05). Our models predicted mass well based on volume and height for herbaceous (RSE = 0.00911) and woody litter (RSE = 0.0123), while only volume was used for live woody (R2 = 0.44). These were used to estimate consumption based on our volume-mass predictions, linked pre- and post-fire plots by fuel type, and showed similar results for herbaceous and woody litter when compared to paired plots. This study illustrates an important non-destructive alternative to calculating mass and estimating fuel consumption across vertical volume distributions at fine scales.


Plant Litter ◽  
2003 ◽  
pp. 173-189
Author(s):  
Björn Berg ◽  
Charles McClaugherty
Keyword(s):  

Forests ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 253 ◽  
Author(s):  
Esperanza Mateos ◽  
Leyre Ormaetxea

1977 ◽  
Vol 55 (12) ◽  
pp. 1632-1640 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Fogel ◽  
Kermit Cromack Jr.

Linear regression models were developed for Douglas fir needle, female cone, branch, and bark decomposition in seven stands representing four mature vegetation types in western Oregon. Rate constants (k) for annual weight loss of needles ranged from 0.22 to 0.31 year−1, from 0.047 to 0.083 year−1 for cones, from 0.059 to 0.089 year−1 for branches, and from 0.005 to 0.040 year−1 for bark. The decomposition constant (k) of needles had a negative linear correlation (P < 0.01) with maximum plant moisture stress and temperature growth index of the seven stands. In comparing substrate quality of needle and woody litter components, k was more closely correlated with lignin content than with C:N ratio.


BIOPHYSICS ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 63 (5) ◽  
pp. 769-778
Author(s):  
E. V. Menko ◽  
E. N. Tikhonova ◽  
R. V. Ulanova ◽  
M. V. Sukhacheva ◽  
T. V. Kuznetsova ◽  
...  

1985 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul K. S. Lam ◽  
David Dudgeon

ABSTRACTAn investigation of seasonal rates of litter production in a mixed forest, Hong Kong Island, was undertaken from October 1982 to January 1984. Total annual litterfall amounted to 1218.96 g m−2 yr−1, comprising 68.6% leaves, 18.9% woody material, and 12.5% fruits, seeds and insect frass. 398.70 g m−2 of litter was recorded immediately after a severe typhoon (9 September 1983). Rates of leaf-fall and organic debris production were correlated with prevailing temperature and rainfall. Leaf-fall peaked in January 1983, March to July 1983, and in September 1983 after the typhoon, while large amounts of insect faeces were collected in May and June. Woody litter production rates were correlated with temperature and rainfall recorded in previous months. Woody litterfall exhibited no obvious periodicity but was slightly increased during March and April. The seasonal distribution of litterfall is discussed in relation to climatic factors and habitat nutrient economy.


2002 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 742-750 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert L Edmonds ◽  
Georgia LD Murray

Overstory litterfall rates and nutrient returns were determined in an old-growth temperate rainforest watershed in the Hoh River valley, Olympic National Park, Washington. Litter was sorted into green needles, senescent needles, fine wood, reproductive, and miscellaneous litter (mostly arboreal lichens and mosses). Understory and coarse woody debris inputs were not determined. Total annual overstory litterfall averaged 3594 kg·ha–1 and varied among the six plant communities in the watershed. There was a trend for litterfall to be higher in the upper watershed; elevations ranged from 180 to 850 m. Needles provided the greatest amount of litterfall (60%) with woody litter and other material averaging 18 and 22%, respectively. Highest senescent needle litterfall occurred from July to October, but highest woody litterfall was from January to April. Green needles provided only 3% of annual needle litterfall. Green and senescent needle litterfall were related to western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla (Raf.) Sarg.) basal area, suggesting that this shade-tolerant species was the greatest contributor to needle litterfall. The following quantities (kg·ha–1) of nutrients were returned to the forest floor annually: Ca, 26.8; N, 24.6; K, 4.0; Mg, 3.0; P, 2.9; Mn, 1.7; and Na, 1.2.


MycoKeys ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 86 ◽  
pp. 65-85
Author(s):  
Guang-Cong Ren ◽  
Dhanushka N. Wanasinghe ◽  
Rajesh Jeewon ◽  
Jutamart Monkai ◽  
Peter E. Mortimer ◽  
...  

During our survey into the diversity of woody litter fungi across the Greater Mekong Subregion, three rhytidhysteron-like taxa were collected from dead woody twigs in China and Thailand. These were further investigated based on morphological observations and multi-gene phylogenetic analyses of a combined DNA data matrix containing SSU, LSU, ITS, and tef1-α sequence data. A new species of Rhytidhysteron, R. xiaokongense sp. nov. is introduced with its asexual morph, and it is characterized by semi-immersed, subglobose to ampulliform conidiomata, dark brown, oblong to ellipsoidal, 1-septate, conidia, which are granular in appearance when mature. In addition to the new species, two new records from Thailand are reported viz. Rhytidhysteron tectonae on woody litter of Betula sp. (Betulaceae) and Fabaceae sp. and Rhytidhysteron neorufulum on woody litter of Tectona grandis (Lamiaceae). Morphological descriptions, illustrations, taxonomic notes and phylogenetic analyses are provided for all entries.


Author(s):  
Donald B Zobel ◽  
Joseph A. Antos ◽  
Dylan Grey Fischer

Forest disturbance is usually described by effects on trees, and small disturbances to forest understory are seldom studied. Nevertheless, effective analyses of succession need to consider both stand-replacing and subsequent “secondary” disturbances in both canopy and understory. We estimated characteristics of 13 types of secondary disturbance in old-growth forest understory, and of canopy cover, after the 1980 tephra (aerially transported volcanic ejecta) deposition from Mount St. Helens, Washington. We sampled 100 1-m2 plots at each of four sites for vegetation change and types of disturbance at ten times from 1980-2010; we sampled tree canopy above each plot in 1980 and 2016. The number of canopy gaps increased 23 % and mean gap dimension 68 % during 36 years, mostly from loss of Abies amabilis. Secondary disturbance in understory affected 1.4 % of stand area per year. The areas affected by soil disturbance and effects of woody litter were similar. Erosion, greater in deep than in shallow tephra, peaked in 1981, whereas most litter-caused disturbances increased after 2000. Less frequent litter-based disturbances covered greater area. Our results differ from conclusions about non-volcanic understory disturbances. Secondary disturbances are variable, need more study, and are likely to affect many other systems.


Forests ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 379
Author(s):  
Ziyi Liang ◽  
Fuzhong Wu ◽  
Xiangyin Ni ◽  
Bo Tan ◽  
Li Zhang ◽  
...  

Headwater streams have low productivity and are closely linked to forest ecosystems, which input a large amount of plant litter into streams. Most current studies have focused on the decomposition process of plant litter in streams, and the effects of non-woody and woody litter on metal transfer, accumulation, and storage in streams are poorly understood. Here, we addressed how non-woody and woody litter affect metals in headwater streams in an alpine forest on the Eastern Tibetan Plateau. This area is the source of many rivers and plays an important regulatory role in the regional climate and water conservation. Through comparisons of five metal concentrations, exports and storage in headwater streams with different input conditions of plant litter, our results showed that the input of woody litter could significantly increase flow discharge and increase the metal export ratio in the water. Similarly, the input of non-woody litter could reduce the metal concentration in the water and facilitate the stable storage of metals in the sediment in the headwater streams. Therefore, allochthonous non-woody and woody litter can affect the concentration of metals in water and sediment, and the transfer and accumulation of metals from upstream to downstream in headwater streams. This study provides basic data and new findings for understanding the effects of allochthonous plant litter on the accumulation and storage of metals in headwater forest streams and may provide new ideas for assessing and managing water quality in headwater streams in alpine forests.


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