scholarly journals Learning Science during Teatime: Using a Citizen Science Approach to Collect Data on Litter Decomposition in Sweden and Austria

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (18) ◽  
pp. 7745
Author(s):  
Taru Sandén ◽  
Heide Spiegel ◽  
Hannah Wenng ◽  
Michael Schwarz ◽  
Judith M. Sarneel
Keyword(s):  
Litter Decomposition ◽  
Soil Depth ◽  
Global Carbon Cycle ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Basic Process ◽  
Decomposition Rates ◽  
Tea Bag Index ◽  
Life On Earth ◽  
Critical Process ◽  
Global Carbon

The decay of organic material—litter decomposition—is a critical process for life on Earth and an essential part of the global carbon cycle. Yet, this basic process remains unknown to many citizens. The Tea Bag Index (TBI) measures decomposition in a standardized, measurable, achievable, climate-relevant, and time-relevant way by burying commercial tea bags in soil for three months and calculating proxies to characterize the decomposition process (expressed as decomposition rate (k) and stabilization factor (S)). We measured TBI at 8 cm soil depth with the help of school and farm citizen scientists in 2015 in Sweden and in 2016 in Austria. Questionnaires to the participating schools and farms enabled us to capture lessons learned from this participatory data collection. In total >5500 citizen scientists participated in the mass experiments, and approximately 50% of the tea bags sent out yielded successful results that fell well within previously reported ranges. The average decomposition rates (k) ranged from 0.008 to 0.012 g d−1 in Sweden and from 0.012 to 0.015 g d−1 in Austria. Stabilization factors (S) were up to four times higher in Sweden than Austria. Taking part in a global experiment was a great incentive for participants, and in future experiments the citizen scientists and TBI would benefit from having enhanced communication between the researchers and participants about the results gained.

scholarly journals TeaTime4Schools: Using Data Mining Techniques to Model Litter Decomposition in Austrian Urban School Soils

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Taru Sandén ◽  
Anna Wawra ◽  
Helene Berthold ◽  
Julia Miloczki ◽  
Agnes Schweinzer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Data Mining ◽  
Litter Decomposition ◽  
Decomposition Rate ◽  
Classification Trees ◽  
Urban School ◽  
Attribute Selection ◽  
Decomposition Rates ◽  
Soil Attributes ◽  
Tea Bag Index ◽  
Stabilization Factor

Litter decomposition plays a pivotal role in the global carbon cycle, but is difficult to measure on a global scale, especially by citizen scientists. Here, citizen scientists, i.e., school students with their teachers, used the globally applied and standardized Tea Bag Index (TBI) method to collect data on litter decomposition in urban areas in Austria. They also sampled soils to investigate the linkages between litter decomposition and soil attributes. For this study, 54 sites were selected from the school experiments and assembled into a TBI dataset comprising litter decomposition rates (k), stabilization factors (S), as well as soil and environmental attributes. An extensive pre-processing procedure was applied to the dataset, including attribute selection and discretization of the decomposition rates and stabilization factors into three categories each. Data mining analyses of the TBI data helped reveal trends in litter decomposition. We generated predictive models (classification trees) that identified the soil attributes governing litter decomposition. Classification trees were developed for both of the litter decomposition parameters: decomposition rate (k) and stabilization factor (S). The main governing factor for both decomposition rate (k) and stabilization factor (S) was the sand content of the soils. The data mining models achieved an accuracy of 54.0 and 66.7% for decomposition rates and stabilization factors, respectively. The data mining results enhance our knowledge about the driving forces of litter decomposition in urban soils, which are underrepresented in soil monitoring schemes. The models are very informative for understanding and describing litter decomposition in urban settings in general. This approach may also further encourage participatory researcher-teacher-student interactions and thus help create an enabling environment for cooperation for further citizen science research in urban school settings.

scholarly journals Avaliação da Atividade Alimentar dos Invertebrados de Solo em Campos do Sul do Brasil – Bait-Lamina Test

2011 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 108-113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luciana Regina Podgaiski ◽  
Fernanda Schmidt Silveira ◽  
Milton Mendonça Jr.
Keyword(s):  
Leaf Litter ◽  
Litter Decomposition ◽  
Soil Fauna ◽  
Soil Depth ◽  
Feeding Activity ◽  
Soil Invertebrates ◽  
Leaf Litter Decomposition ◽  
The South ◽  
Decomposition Rates ◽  
Campos Sulinos

Esse trabalho tem como finalidade fornecer informações sobre um teste pioneiro (bait-lamina test) utilizado nos Campos do Sul do Brasil com a finalidade de avaliar a atividade alimentar dos invertebrados do solo – um indicativo de taxas de decomposição da serapilheira nos ecossistemas. Descreve-se o comportamento alimentar durante dois meses, acessando a profundidade do solo (0-8 cm) na qual ocorre maior consumo e analisando duas formas de quantificação deste consumo (técnica conservativa X técnica prática) em dois diferentes ecossistemas campestres. Foram estabelecidas 100 unidades amostrais (u.a.) independentemente em cada área (pastejada e não pastejada), adicionando a cada uma duas bait-lamina, uma disposta horizontalmente na superfície do solo, e outra verticalmente dentro do solo. Para cada data amostral (9, 16, 22, 29 e 65 dias de exposição) foram sorteadas 20 u.a. para análise. Foi observado grande consumo desde o início da exposição, tanto na superfície quanto dentro do solo. A atividade da fauna diferiu com a profundidade do solo, sendo maior na superfície e na profundidade de 6,5-8 cm. Em relação às diferentes técnicas, ambas revelaram resultados similares quando se compararam as duas áreas. A área pastejada demonstrou menor atividade dos invertebrados quando comparada a não pastejada. Esses resultados constituem base para futuras pesquisas no Brasil, relatando que o teste de bait-lamina nos Campos Sulinos pode oferecer resultados otimizados após cerca de uma quinzena de dias de exposição. Evaluation of Soil Invertebrates Feeding Activity in South Brazilian Campos – Bait Lamina Test Abstract. The aim of this work is to inform about a pioneer bait-lamina test in the South Brazilian Campos to evaluate the soil invertebrates feeding activity which is an approaching to leaf litter decomposition rates in the ecosystems. The feeding activity was tested during two months, across 8 cm of soil depth and employing a comparison between two techniques of consumption quantification (conservative technique vs. practical technique) in two different grassland areas (grazed and not grazed) were described. One hundred independent sampling units (s.u.) were established on each area, and in each s.u. two bait-lamina were inserted: one horizontally and another vertically. For each sampling date (9, 16, 22, 29 e 65 days of exposition), 20 s.u. were sorted and analyzed. We observed a high feeding activity from the beginning of the experiments, both in the surface and within the soil. Soil fauna feeding activity differed according to soil depth, being higher on the surface and for 6.5-8 cm deep in the soil. Both techniques lead to similar results when the two areas were compared. The grazed site showed lower invertebrate feeding activity than the site not grazed. These findings constitute a basis for future researches in Brazil, relating that the bait-lamina test can offer useful results around fifteen days of exposition.

scholarly journals Spatiotemporal Differentiation of Soil Organic Carbon of Grassland and Its Relationship with Soil Physicochemical Properties on the Northern Slope of Qilian Mountains, China

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (22) ◽  
pp. 9396
Author(s):  
Le Yang ◽  
Wenxiong Jia ◽  
Yang Shi ◽  
Zhiyuan Zhang ◽  
Hui Xiong ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Soil Organic Carbon ◽  
Carbon Cycle ◽  
Physicochemical Properties ◽  
Soil Depth ◽  
Global Carbon Cycle ◽  
Qilian Mountains ◽  
Forest Steppe ◽  
Northern Slope ◽  
Global Carbon

The soil organic carbon pool is an important part of the global carbon cycle, and its accumulation and decomposition affect the balance of the global carbon cycle. It is important to understand scientifically the temporal and spatial variation of soil organic carbon (SOC) and its influencing factors, which could aid further understanding of the accumulation and decomposition of SOC. In order to reveal the relationship between soil organic carbon and soil’s physicochemical properties, six plots were selected on the east, middle and west of forest steppes and typical grasslands on the northern slope of Qilian Mountains during two consecutive growing seasons from 2013 to 2014. Soil samples under 0–30 cm were used to study the spatiotemporal differentiation of SOC and its relationship with the soil’s physicochemical properties in the grassland of the study area. The results show that the content of SOC in the grassland in 2013 was higher than that in 2014, and that it decreased gradually from east to west. The content of SOC is significantly different between the soil layer of 0–10 cm and the soil layers of 10–20 cm and 20–30 cm (p < 0.05), and it decreases with increases in soil depth. The SOC content on forest steppe is higher than that on typical grassland. Significant positive correlations appear between SOC with soil water content and soil nutrients (alkaline nitrogen, available phosphorus, available potassium) (p < 0.01), but there are significant negative correlations between SOC and soil temperature, soil pH, and soil electrical conductivity (p < 0.01).

scholarly journals Pairing litter decomposition with microbial community structures using the Tea Bag Index (TBI)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Daebeler ◽  
Eva Petrová ◽  
Elena Kinz ◽  
Susanne Grausenburger ◽  
Helene Berthold ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Community ◽  
Microbial Communities ◽  
Litter Decomposition ◽  
Green Tea ◽  
Plant Litter ◽  
Soil Types ◽  
Community Structures ◽  
Decomposition Rates ◽  
Tea Bag Index ◽  
Decomposition Dynamics

Abstract. Including information about soil microbial communities into global decomposition models is critical for predicting and understanding how ecosystem functions may shift in response to global change. Here we combined a standardised litter bag method for estimating decomposition rates, Tea Bag Index (TBI), with high-throughput sequencing of the microbial communities colonising the plant litter in the bags. Together with students of the Federal College for Viticulture and Fruit Growing, Klosterneuburg, Austria, acting as citizen scientists, we used this approach to investigate the diversity of prokaryotes and fungi colonising recalcitrant (rooibos) and labile (green tea) plant litter buried in three different soil types and during four seasons with the aim of (i) comparing litter decomposition [decomposition rates (k) and stabilisation factors (S)] between soil types and seasons, (ii) comparing the microbial communities colonising labile and recalcitrant plant litter between soil types and seasons (iii) correlating microbial diversity and taxa relative abundance patterns of colonisers with litter decomposition rates (k)and stabilisation factors (S). Stabilisation factor (S), but not decomposition rate (k), correlated with the season and was significantly lower in the summer. This finding highlights the necessity to include colder seasons in the efforts of determining decomposition dynamics in order to quantify nutrient cycling in soils accurately. With our approach, we further showed selective colonisation of plant litter by fungal and prokaryotic taxa sourced from the soil. The community structures of these microbial colonisers differed most profoundly between summer and winter, and rooibos litter was generally a stronger selector than green tea litter. Moreover, this study indicates an equal, if not higher, importance of fungal versus prokaryotic degraders for recalcitrant and labile plant litter decomposition. Our results collectively demonstrate the importance of analysing decomposition dynamics over multiple seasons and isolating the effect of the active component of the microbial community.

scholarly journals Space cannot substitute for time -- an integrated experimental assessment of climate-change effects on litter decomposition

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liesbeth van den Brink ◽  
Rafaella Canessa ◽  
Maaike Bader ◽  
Harald Neidhardt ◽  
Yvonne Oelmann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Carbon Cycle ◽  
Litter Decomposition ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Global Carbon Cycle ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Climate Effects ◽  
Climate Change Effects ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Global Carbon

Litter decomposition, a key component of the global carbon cycle, is greatly affected by climate. Unfortunately, our current understanding of climate-change effects on decomposition stems mainly from space-for-time studies along climate gradients, where biotic and climatic effects on litter decomposition are confounded. Experimental studies separating indirect from direct climate effects are needed that test the validity of the space-for-time approach. Here, we combined large- and small scale reciprocal litter translocations, in situ precipitation manipulation, and a prominent climate gradient for studying drought effects on litter decomposition. Interestingly, all experiments indicated clear positive effects of precipitation on decomposition, but the space-for-time approach indicated the opposite, due to indirect climate effects on litter quality. This indicates that space cannot substitute for time and highlights the need for experimental evidence in litter decomposition studies. Such evidence would improve predictions of models of the global carbon cycle that include interactions between climate and vegetation.

scholarly journals Tea Bag Index to Assess Carbon Decomposition Rate in Cranberry Agroecosystems

Soil Systems ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 44
Author(s):  
Wilfried Dossou-Yovo ◽  
Serge-Étienne Parent ◽  
Noura Ziadi ◽  
Élizabeth Parent ◽  
Léon-Étienne Parent
Keyword(s):  
Litter Decomposition ◽  
Green Tea ◽  
Decomposition Rate ◽  
Terrestrial Ecosystems ◽  
Carbon Accumulation ◽  
N Leaching ◽  
Decomposition Rates ◽  
Rooibos Tea ◽  
Tea Bag Index ◽  
Stabilization Factor

In cranberry production systems, stands are covered by 1–5 cm of sand every 2–5 years to stimulate plant growth, resulting in alternate layers of sand and litter in soil upper layers. However, almost intact twigs and leaves remain in subsurface layers, indicating a slow decomposition rate. The Tea Bag Index (TBI) provides an internationally standardized methodology to compare litter decomposition rates (k) and stabilization (S) among terrestrial ecosystems. However, TBI parameters may be altered by time-dependent changes in the contact between litter and their immediate environment. The aims of this study were to determine the TBI of cranberry agroecosystems and compare it to the TBI of other terrestrial ecosystems. Litters were standardized green tea, standardized rooibos tea, and cranberry residues collected on the plantation floor. Litter decomposition was monitored during two consecutive years. Added N did not affect TBI parameters (k and S) due to possible N leaching and strong acidic soil condition. Decomposition rates (k) averaged (mean ± SD) 9.7 × 10−3 day−1 ± 1.6 × 10−3 for green tea, 3.3 × 10−3 day−1 ± 0.8 × 10−5 for rooibos tea, and 0.4 × 10−3 day−1 ± 0.86 × 10−3 for cranberry residues due to large differences in biochemical composition and tissue structure. The TBI decomposition rate (k) was 0.006 day−1 ± 0.002 in the low range among terrestrial ecosystems, and the stabilization factor (S) was 0.28 ± 0.08, indicating high potential for carbon accumulation in cranberry agroecosystems. Decomposition rates of tea litters were reduced by fractal coefficients of 0.6 for green tea and 0.4 for rooibos tea, indicating protection mechanisms building up with time in the tea bags. While the computation of the TBI stabilization factor may be biased because the green tea was not fully decomposed, fractal kinetics could be used as additional index to compare agroecosystems.

Are response function representations of the global carbon cycle ever interpretable?

Tellus B ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 61 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sile Li ◽  
Andrew J. Jarvis ◽  
David T. Leedal
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Cycle ◽  
Response Function ◽  
Global Carbon Cycle ◽  
Global Carbon

The morphology of experimentally produced charcoal distinguishes fuel types in the Arctic tundra

The Holocene ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (7) ◽  
pp. 1091-1096 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eleanor MB Pereboom ◽  
Richard S Vachula ◽  
Yongsong Huang ◽  
James Russell
Keyword(s):  
Arctic Tundra ◽  
Global Carbon Cycle ◽  
Fire Frequency ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Fuel Type ◽  
The Past ◽  
Primary Means ◽  
Forested Ecosystems ◽  
Global Carbon ◽  
Tundra Ecosystems

Wildfires in the Arctic tundra have become increasingly frequent in recent years and have important implications for tundra ecosystems and for the global carbon cycle. Lake sediment–based records are the primary means of understanding the climatic influences on tundra fires. Sedimentary charcoal has been used to infer climate-driven changes in tundra fire frequency but thus far cannot differentiate characteristics of the vegetation burnt during fire events. In forested ecosystems, charcoal morphologies have been used to distinguish changes in fuel type consumed by wildfires of the past; however, no such approach has been developed for tundra ecosystems. We show experimentally that charcoal morphologies can be used to differentiate graminoid (mean = 6.77; standard deviation (SD) = 0.23) and shrub (mean = 2.42; SD = 1.86) biomass burnt in tundra fire records. This study is a first step needed to construct more nuanced tundra wildfire histories and to understand how wildfire will impact the region as vegetation and fire change in the future.

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