Summary
Concentrations of about 26,000 ppm Zn, 10,000 ppm Fe, 2,300 ppm Pb, 900 ppm Cd, 340 ppm Cu, and 0.40% S were measured in the O2 litter horizon about 1 km from a zinc smelter at Palmerton, Pennsylvania. Samples taken about 6 km east of the smelter had concentrations of about 15,000 ppm Zn, 6,500 ppm Fe, 970 ppm Pb, 250 ppm Cd, 170 ppm Cu, and 0.26% S. Samples from a control area about 40 km east of the smelter had concentrations of 2,800 ppm Fe, 650 ppm Zn, 260 ppm Pb, 50 ppm Cu, 9 ppm Cd, and 0.13% S.
Litter bags were used to estimate first-year weight loss in sassafras leaves and a mixture of chestnut oak/red oak leaves in the three sites. At the end of one year, average weight loss for sassafras was 39.3% in the control site, 21.8% at 6 km, and 17.5% at the 1 km site. For the chestnut oak/red oak mixture, average weight loss was 36.8% (40 km), 25.7% (6 km), and 19.1% (1 km). Numbers and diversity of soil microarthropods inhabiting the litter bags showed a corresponding decline at sites near the smelter. Concentrations of Ca, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, N, Na, Ni, P, Pb, S and Zn in the decomposing litter were also measured.
The average amount of organic matter on the forest floor was estimated to be 3.8 kg/m2 in the control site, about 3.8 kg/m2 at 6 km, and about 8.1 kg/m2 1 km from the smelter. Average thickness of the litter horizons in these three sites was 6.0 cm (40 km), 7.0 cm (6 km), and 12.4 cm (1 km), suggesting a long-term depression of decomposition and mineral cycling near the smelter.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Attiwill, P.M.: The loss of elements from decomposing litter. Ecology 49, 142–145, (1968)
Ball, D.F.: Loss-on-ignition as an estimate of organic matter and organic carbon in non-calcareous soils. J. Soil Sci. 15, 84–93 (1964)
Bhuiya, M.R.H., Cornfield, A.H.: Effects of addition of 1000 ppm Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn on carbon dioxide release during incubation of soil alone and after treatment with straw. Environ. Pollut. 3, 173–177 (1972)
Bocock, K.L., Gilbert, O.J.: The disappearance of leaf litter under different woodland conditions. Plant Soil 9, 179–185 (1957)
Bond, H., Lighthart, B., Shimabuku, R., Russell, L.: Some effects of cadmium on coniferous forest soil and litter microsmsms., Soil Sci. 121, 278–287 (1976)
Bray, J.R., Gorham, E.: Litter production in forests of the world. Adv. Ecol. Res. 2, 101–157 (1964)
Buchauer, M.J.: Effects of zinc and cadmium pollution on vegetation and soils. Ph.D. Thesis, Rutgers-The State University (1971)
Buchauer, M.J.: Contamination of soil and vegetation near a zinc smelter by zinc, cadmium, copper, and lead. Environ. Sci. Technol. 7, 131–135 (1973)
Costescu, L.M., Hutchinson, T.C.: The ecological consequences of soil pollution by metallic dust from the Sudbury smelters. Proc. Inst. Environ. Sci., pp. 540–545 (1972)
Crossley, D.A. Jr., Hoglund, M.P.: A litter-bag method for the study of microarthropods inhabiting leaf litter. Ecology 43, 571–573 (1962)
Dudzik, M., Harte J., Levy, D., Sandusky, J.: Stability indicators for nutrient cycles in ecosystems. Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory Report LBL-3264, University of California (1975)
Edwards, C.A., Heath, G.W.: The role of soil animals in breakdown of leaf material. In: Soil organisms (J. Doeksen, J. van der Drift, eds.) pp. 76–84. Amsterdam: North-Holland 1963
Fisher, G., Mattern, R., McCombs, R., Norgren, J., Rebert, A.: Soil survey of Carbon County, Pennsylvania U.S. Dept. Agric. Soil Conserv. Serv. Series 1959, No. 14. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office 1962
Gordon, A.G., Gorham, E.: Ecological aspects of air pollution from an iron-sintering plant at Wawa, Ontario. Can. J. Bot. 41, 1063–1078 (1963)
Gosz, J.R., Likens, G.E., Bormann, F.H.: Nutrient content of litter fall on the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, New Hampshire. Ecology 53, 769–784 (1972)
Gosz, J.R., Likens, G.E., Bormann, F.H.: Nutrient release from decomposing leaf and branch litter in the Hubbard Brook Forest, New Hampshire. Ecol. Monogr. 43, 173–191 (1973)
Gosz, J.R., Likens, G.E., Bormann, F.H.: Organic matter and nutrient dynamics of the forest and forest floor in the Hubbard Brook Forest. Oecologia (Berl.) 22, 305–320 (1976)
Jordan, M.J.: Effects of zinc smelter emissions and fire on a chestnut-oak woodland. Ecology 56, 78–91 (1975)
Jordan, M.J., Lechevalier, M.P.: Effects of zinc-smelter emissions on forest soil microflora. Can. J. Microbiol. 21, 1855–1865 (1975)
Kurcheva, G.F.: Role of invertebrates in the decomposition of oak litter. Sov. Soil Sci. (Engl. Transl. Pochvovedenie) 4, 360–365 (1960)
Lutz, H.J., Chandler, R.F. Jr.: Forest soils. New York: Wiley 1946
Nash III, T.H.: Influence of effluents from a zinc factory on, lichens. Ecol. Monogr. 45, 183–198 (1975)
Paluch, J., Karweta, S.: Die Luftvernreinigung, durch, Blei und Zink im Bereich eines metallurgischen Kombinates und ihr Einfluß auf Vegetation und Boden. Wiss. Z. Humboldt-Univ. Berl. Math-Naturwiss. Reihe 19, 495–497 (1970)
Reiners, W.A.: Terrestrial detritus and the carbon cycle. In: Carbon and the biosphere (G.M. Woodwell, E.V. Pecan, eds.), pp. 303–327, U.S. Atomic Energy Commission CONF-720510 (1973)
Reiners, W.A., Marks, R.H., Vitousek, P.M.: Heavy metals in subalpine and alpine soils of New Hampshire. Oikos 26, 264–275 (1975)
Remezov, N.P.: Decomposition of forest litter and the cycle of elements in an oak forest. Sov. Soil Sci. (Engl. Transl. Pochvovedenie) 7, 703–711 (1961)
Rühling, Å, Tyler, G.: Heavy metal pollution and decomposition of spruce needle litter. Oikos 24, 402–416 (1973)
Strojan, c.L.: The ecological impact of zinc smelter pollution on forest soil communities. Ph. D. Thesis, Rutgers-The State University (1975)
Tyler, G.: Heavy metals pollute nature, may reduce productivity. Ambio. 1, 52–59 (1972)
Tyler, G.: Heavy metal pollution and soil enzymatic activity. Plant Soil 41, 303–311 (1974)
Wallwork, J.A.: Acari. In: Soil biology (A. Burges, F. Raw, eds.), pp. 363–395. London-New York: Academic Press 1967
Watson, A.P., Van Hook, R.I., Jackson, D.R., Reichle, D.E.: Impact of a lead mining-smelting complex on the forest-floor litter arthropod fauna in the New Lead Belt region of southwest Missouri. ORNL/NSF/EATC-30, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (1976)
Witkamp, M., Crossley, D.A. Jr.: The role of arthropods and microflora in breakdown, of white oak litter. Pedobiologia 6, 293–303 (1966)
Witkamp, M., Olson, J.S.: Breakdown of confined and nonconfined oak litter. Oikos 14, 138–147 (1963)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Strojan, C.L. Forest leaf litter decomposition in the vicinity of a zinc smelter. Oecologia 32, 203–212 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00366072
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00366072