Seasonal Losses of Surface Litter in Northern Great Plains Mixed-Grass Prairies |
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Affiliation: | 1. Department of Rural & Biosystems Engineering, Chonnam National University, Gwangju 61186, Republic of Korea;2. Bio R&D Center, CJ Cheiljedang, Suwon, Gyeonggi-do 16495, Republic of Korea;3. National Instrumentation Center for Environmental Management, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea;4. Department of Rural Construction Engineering, Chonbuk National University, Jeonju, Jeollabukodo 57896, Republic of Korea;5. Department of Applied Plant Science, Chonnam National University, Gwangju 61186, Republic of Korea;6. Department of Statistics, Chonnam National University, Gwangju 61186, Republic of Korea |
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Abstract: | Surface litter protects rangeland soils against wind and water erosion and provides food and nesting materials for wildlife and insects. However, the ability of grassland systems to provide these services depends on the little studied topic of seasonal surface litter decomposition. Seasonal and annual surface litter decomposition rates were determined between 2014 and 2015 in central and western South Dakota at three mixed-grass prairie locations. Residue bags containing surface litter were placed in the field in late fall (1 November) of 2014 and removed after the winter (1 April), spring (1 July), and summer + fall seasons (1 November) of 2015. The litter was analyzed for total C, total N, acid detergent fiber (ADF), and acid detergent lignin (ADL). Average winter temperatures ranged from −5oC to −15oC, while summer temperatures ranged from 10oC to 35oC. Litter decomposition was lowest during the winter (0.57−0.86 g [kg × day]−1) and greatest during the summer + fall (2.12−2.69 g [kg × day]−1). Over the entire season, 40.8−62% of the surface litter decomposed. Winter litter decomposition was positively correlated with air temperature (r = 0.62, P < 0.01) and snow depth (r = 0.61, P < 0.01), and negatively correlated with C/N ratio (r = −0.65, P < 0.01), ADF (r = −0.35, P < 0.05), and ADL (r = −0.25, P < 0.05) concentrations. These findings indicate that winter decomposition cannot be ignored and that winter surface litter decomposition increases with snow depth. |
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Keywords: | carbon decomposition grasslands litter mineralization |
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