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Interactive Effects of Litter Quality and Invertebrates on Litter Decomposition Rates Across a Successional Gradient

Baroudi, Robby Hassan

Abstract Details

2016, Master of Science (MS), Bowling Green State University, Biological Sciences.
Disturbance in patches of hardwood forests by periodic burns can lead to stages of transition in which soil and litter dwelling invertebrate communities may vary in response to changes in plant community structure. The presence of many invertebrates, in particular detritivores, can drastically alter leaf decomposition as they make leaf litter more readily available for microbes to colonize and break down, which may have significant effects on decomposition rates, depending on the stage of forest transition. This is significant as heterotrophic respiration during decomposition is a major input of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, and the effects of invertebrates are often overlooked. This study took place in northern Michigan, along an experimental burn chronosequence consisting of six 1 hectare plots that were clear-cut and burned, ranging in age from 20 to 100 years old. Younger plots in earlier recovery and transition are dominated by big-tooth aspen, mid-aged plots have a mixed composition characterized by the presence of aspen, oak and maple, and older plots are dominated by oak. To examine the differences in decomposition along the transitional gradient, three treatments of litter boxes were placed in each of the six burn plots, with each of the treatments being a composite mixture of leaves from either the oldest-growth (burned in 1911), mid-growth (burned in 1948), or earliest-growth (burned in 1998) forests. We found that decomposition rates varied significantly with litter mixture and local decomposer and abiotic conditions. More specifically, leaf litter originating from the older burn plots decomposed faster than litter from the youngest burn plot. Generally, decomposition rates decreased with decreasing forest age, despite higher temperatures, which typically result in faster decomposition, in the younger forests. Invertebrate abundance and taxonomic richness followed the same pattern as decomposition; they increased with forest age. The composition of these communities varied significantly with forest age as well. Invertebrate community attributes did not vary with litter origin. Overall, this study shows that there is a close association of invertebrate presence to litter decomposition, that forest age, and in particular the factors which are heavily manipulated by forest age (invertebrate and plant community structure), are a strong drivers of the rate of decomposition, and that microinvertebrates such as Collembola may be playing a larger role in driving the process than previously considered.
Shannon Pelini, Dr. (Advisor)
Kevin McCluney, Dr. (Committee Member)
Paul Moore, Dr. (Committee Member)
32 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Baroudi, R. H. (2016). Interactive Effects of Litter Quality and Invertebrates on Litter Decomposition Rates Across a Successional Gradient [Master's thesis, Bowling Green State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1467656636

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Baroudi, Robby. Interactive Effects of Litter Quality and Invertebrates on Litter Decomposition Rates Across a Successional Gradient. 2016. Bowling Green State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1467656636.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Baroudi, Robby. "Interactive Effects of Litter Quality and Invertebrates on Litter Decomposition Rates Across a Successional Gradient." Master's thesis, Bowling Green State University, 2016. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1467656636

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)