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Decomposition and nitrogen dynamics of Rhynchospora asperula in floating soils of Esteros del Iberá, Argentina

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Abstract

In floating soils, organic matter accumulation is the result of the imbalance between decomposition rate and macrophytes’ production, and it can limit nutrient availability. In this study, we determined the percentage of litter that is added to the floating soil in one year and the nitrogen dynamics of Rhynchospora asperula (Nees) Steud (Cyperaceae), an abundant species in Esteros del Iberá, a South American wetland with extended areas of floating soils. According to the decomposition rate determined (k = 0.0032 day−1), the annual percentage of mass lost was 69%. Conditions of the floating soil were simulated in a 146-day field experiment. The results show that the decomposition rate was higher when the litter was in water contact, and the mass loss in the field sampling at the beginning of the decomposition was similar to that of the treatments that simulated this condition. The nitrogen concentration in the aboveground biomass was almost constant, and the results indicate that there was translocation from the senescent leaves, but not a preferential nitrogen translocation from the rhizomes and roots. During summer the maximum biomass and the low nitrogen concentration in the floating soil coincide, but the nitrogen intake by the aboveground biomass was only 4% of the total nitrogen content of the floating soil. Nitrogen concentration in the litter increased and, though immobilization cannot be ruled out, there was net mineralization. The nitrogen mineralized in the first decomposition year was 30% of the nitrogen added to aboveground biomass during the study period.

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Acknowledgements

We wish to thank Justo Sanchez for his collaboration with the chemical analyses and Dr. Rosa Guaglianone for help in the recognition of the species. We also acknowledge Roque Boccalandro, Mario Sanchez, Ramón Molina, and other Park rangers for their field assistance, and Carlos Coviella for helping us with thoughtful comments on the manuscript. Financial support was provided by “The sustainable management of wetland resources in Mercosur” ERB IC18-CT98-0262 and Universidad Nacional del Luján.

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  1. Programa de Investigación en Ecología Acuática, Departamento de Ciencias Básicas, Universidad Nacional de Luján, Luján, Argentina

    Ana Torremorell & Patricia Gantes

  2. Laboratorio de Ecología y Fotobiología Acuática, IIB-INTECH, Camino Circunvalación Laguna km. 6, B7130IWA, Chascomús, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Ana Torremorell

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  1. Ana Torremorell
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Correspondence to Ana Torremorell.

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Torremorell, A., Gantes, P. Decomposition and nitrogen dynamics of Rhynchospora asperula in floating soils of Esteros del Iberá, Argentina. Wetlands Ecol Manage 18, 191–201 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11273-009-9159-1

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