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Field study of beech (t Fagus sylvatica L.) and melojo oak (t Quercus pyrenaica Willd) leaf litter decomposition in the centre of the Iberian Peninsula

Plant and Soil volume 191, pages 89–100 (1997)Cite this article

Abstract

The effect of the canopy on leaf decomposition of beech (t Fagus sylvatica) and melojo oak (t Quercus pyrenaica) was studied during a period of 660 days in a mountain forest of central Spain; response of leaves to leaching was also studied to determine the effects of rainfall after leaf fall. Beech leaves lost 5.8% of their weight by leaching, whereas melojo oak leaves lost 13%. Under both types of canopy, beech leaves showed almost no difference in their decomposition patterns, with decay constants of 0.31 and 0.32 respectively. Melojo oak leaves showed quite a different behaviour under both canopies; decay constant was 0.47 under t Quercus pyrenaica and 0.77 under beech canopy. Total immobilization of nitrogen was less in the melojo oak forest. Effects of summer dryness were sharper in the melojo oak forest, where decomposition stopped during the summer. This delay in the decomposition might have been due to the lower canopy density in the melojo oak forest. The decomposition patterns of the leaves of both species, under the canopy of the other species, suggests what might happen in mixed stands. Thus, the presence of melojo oaks in beech forest would increase decay and decrease nitrogen immobilization. The presence of beech trees in melojo oak forests would improve microclimatic conditions and increase decay, whereas beech litter on the soil would immobilizate more nitrogen.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Unidad de Anatomí, Spain

    Fernando Pardo, Luis Gil & Jose Alberto Pardos

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  1. Fernando Pardo
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  2. Luis Gil
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  3. Jose Alberto Pardos
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Pardo, F., Gil, L. & Pardos, J.A. Field study of beech (t Fagus sylvatica L.) and melojo oak (t Quercus pyrenaica Willd) leaf litter decomposition in the centre of the Iberian Peninsula. Plant and Soil 191, 89–100 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1004237305438

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1004237305438

  • decay constant
  • mixed formations
  • nitrogen immobilization
  • submediterranean
  • summer dryness