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Changes in Substrate Composition During Decomposition

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Plant Litter

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Abstract

The chemical composition of litter changes as decomposition proceeds. The readily decomposed organic compounds such as organic solubles, cellulose and hemicelluloses decrease in concentration or are constant whereas that of lignin or Acid Unhydrolyzable Residue (AUR) increases. The challenge and promise of studying the recalcitrant fractions of litter are addressed. The use of 13C–NMR techniques provides the measurement of changes in particular types of C bonds, allowing greater insight into chemical changes than can determined by analyzing proximate chemical fractions. With the principal nutrient elements, it appears that concentrations of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and sulfur (S) increase. For N the concentration increases irrespective of changes in absolute amount. Also, concentrations of some heavy metals increase e.g. copper (Cu), lead (Pb), and iron (Fe) but there is variation among litter species. In contrast, because potassium (K) is rapidly leached its concentration decreases. The concentration changes for nutrients such as calcium (Ca), and manganese (Mn) appear to have variable patterns while Mn concentration decreases over the early stage whereas it increases in the late stages. Studies on Mn and Ca concentrations as well as nutrient release in pine and spruce litter indicated a clear difference between the two genera.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Forest Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

    Prof. Björn Berg

  2. Department of Biology, University of Mount Union, Alliance, OH, USA

    Prof. Charles McClaugherty

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  1. Prof. Björn Berg
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Correspondence to Björn Berg .

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Berg, B., McClaugherty, C. (2020). Changes in Substrate Composition During Decomposition. In: Plant Litter. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-59631-6_5

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