Litter decomposition of emergent macrophytes in a floodplain marsh of the Lower Paraná River
The role of litter decomposition on organic matter accumulation and nutrient cycling was studied in a floodplain marsh of the Lower Paraná River by means of in situ litterbag experiments. The effect of waterborne nutrients on decomposition rates was studied through a laboratory litterbag experiment....
| Authors: | ; ; ; |
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| Format: | Article |
| Status: | Published version |
| Publication date: | 2001 |
| Country: | Argentina |
| Institution: | Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas |
| Repository: | CONICET Digital (CONICET) |
| Language: | English |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/44169 |
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/11336/44169 |
| Access Level: | Open access |
| Keyword: | Decomposition Organic Matter Nutrients Floodplain Marshes Emergent Macrophytes Paraná River https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1.6 https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1 |
| Summary: | The role of litter decomposition on organic matter accumulation and nutrient cycling was studied in a floodplain marsh of the Lower Paraná River by means of in situ litterbag experiments. The effect of waterborne nutrients on decomposition rates was studied through a laboratory litterbag experiment. Litter decomposition was rather slow, remaining 40–50% of the initial mass after 2 years incubation. Similar decomposition rates were observed in laboratory and field experiments. Water fertilization did not significantly affect decomposition rates. Since organic matter production is faster than decomposition a net accumulation takes place in the upper layers of the marsh soil. N and P litter concentration increased during the decomposition experiment. Floodplain marshes represent effective sinks of nutrients through litter accumulation. |
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