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New methods for the investigation of leaf litter breakdown in river sediments

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Abstract

The breakdown rate of leaf litter buried inside river sediments (i.e., in the hyporheic zone) remains poorly known. The burial of large bags (15 × 15 cm) used in the benthic layer generates disturbances of the vertical connectivity with surface water, and thus affects the breakdown rate. We performed field and laboratory experiments to test the suitability of two leaf litter containers: small litter bags (5 × 4 cm) and perforated stainless steel cylinders (6 cm long, 1.6 cm in diameter), both introduced inside sediments using mobile mini-piezometers (1 m long, 1.7 cm or 3 cm in diameter). We compared the two containers for (i) the hydrological exchanges toward leaf litter, (ii) the impact of a benthic shredder on leaf breakdown, and (iii) the response of leaf litter breakdown to changes in sediment characteristics. The two methods give similar patterns of breakdown rates with stream sediment characteristics, but the use of perforated stainless steel cylinders provides an artificial empty volume in which invertebrates can over degrade leaf litter. Small plastic bags do not alter physico-chemical conditions around leaf litter and give lower values of breakdown rates in the hyporheic zone.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Félix Vallier (LEHF, Villeurbanne) and Julien Cornut (EcoLab, Toulouse) for their assistance. This study was supported by the InBioProcess project of the ANR-Biodiversity 2006 programme (ANR-06-BDIV-007-01) and by the methodological aspects of the Field Observatory for Urban Water Management (OTHU).

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  1. Université de Lyon, UMR5023 Ecologie des Hydrosystèmes Naturels et Anthropisés, Université Lyon 1, ENTPE, CNRS, 6 rue Raphaël Dubois, 69622, Villeurbanne, France

    Simon Navel, Christophe Piscart, Florian Mermillod-Blondin & Pierre Marmonier

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  1. Simon Navel
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  2. Christophe Piscart
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  3. Florian Mermillod-Blondin
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  4. Pierre Marmonier
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Correspondence to Pierre Marmonier.

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Navel, S., Piscart, C., Mermillod-Blondin, F. et al. New methods for the investigation of leaf litter breakdown in river sediments. Hydrobiologia 700, 301–312 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-012-1239-1

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