Woody Detritus Inputs and Decomposition Kinetics in a Southern Temperate Deciduous Forest

Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical ClubPublished 1 January 1991

Tracy L. Onega, William G. Eickmeier

Citations51

TL;DR

Woody detritus inputs in a mesic deciduous forest in Tennessee were followed from 1976 to 1988 and it was found that detrital turnover is rapid and woody debris is not a longterm energy and nutrient sink in this forest.

Abstract

ONEGA, T. L. AND W. G. EICKMEIER (Department of Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235). Woody detritus inputs and decomposition kinetics in a southern temperate deciduous forest. Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 118: 52-57. 1991.-The dynamics of woody debris input and decomposition in temperate forest ecosystems are rarely examined. Woody detritus inputs in a mesic deciduous forest in Tennessee were followed from 1976 to 1988. Annual inputs were highly variable with a mean of 3.97 Mg ha-' yr-1, with a range from 0.55 to 16.00 Mg ha-' yr-'. The woody detritus pool in 1989 was 19.26 Mg ha-'. The stand-level decomposition constant, based on the input/biomass ratio, was 0.21 yr-1 for a half-life of 3.4 years. The decomposition of 14 standing dead and 39 fallen boles of known age since death was also examined. The decomposition rate constant based on a single-exponential decay model was 0.110 yr-1, with a half-life of 6.3 years, for fallen logs and 0.062 yr-1, with a half-life of 11.2 years, for standing dead boles. Detrital turnover is thus rapid and woody debris is not a longterm energy and nutrient sink in this forest.

Keywords

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