Leaf litter decomposition in western Iberian forested wetlands : lentic versus lotic response
Leaf litter breakdown is frequently used to measure both structural and functional integrity in aquatic ecosystems. Forested wetlands are interface systems that received little attention, especially in the Iberian Peninsula. The present study compares the decomposition of alder and willow in two bio...
| Autores: | , , , , |
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| Tipo de documento: | artigo |
| Data de publicação: | 2008 |
| País: | España |
| Recursos: | Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona |
| Repositório: | Dipòsit Digital de Documents de la UAB |
| Idioma: | inglês |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:ddd.uab.cat:27997 |
| Acesso em linha: | https://ddd.uab.cat/record/27997 |
| Access Level: | Acceso aberto |
| Palavra-chave: | Fullam Boscos pantanosos Descomposició Lòtic Lenític Microorganismes Macroinvertebrats Hojarasca Bosques pantanosos Descomposición Lótico Lenítico Microorganismos Macroinvertebrados Leaf litter Forested wetlands Decomposition Lotic Lentic Microorganisms Macroinvertebrates |
| Resumo: | Leaf litter breakdown is frequently used to measure both structural and functional integrity in aquatic ecosystems. Forested wetlands are interface systems that received little attention, especially in the Iberian Peninsula. The present study compares the decomposition of alder and willow in two biotopes (lentic and lotic) located in two different sites (Caxarias and Alpiarça). Litterbags were used to compare decomposition among the different treatments. Throughout decay, dry weight loss, nitrogen and phosphorus content, microbial community physiological profiles, microbial and macro-invertebrate colonization were measured at days 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 and 64. Decomposition rates ranged from intermediate to rapid for alder (0.006 day-1 to 0.0338 day-1) and slow to rapid for willow (0.0024 day-1 to 0.0272 day-1), depending on site and biotopes type. The combined effects biotope × time was significant for heterotrophs (P < 0.05), molds (P < 0.05) and yeasts (P < 0.001). The analysis of average well colour development (AWCD), richness (R) and Shannon-Wiener index (H') based on the oxidation of carbon and nitrogen sources by the microbial community, showed differences between the two biotopes, lotic and lentic, and sites. These differences were also shown by the principal component analysis (PCA). Moreover, the macroinvertebrate communities clearly distinguished between lentic and lotic systems. The invertebrates belonging to Plecoptera, Ephemeroptera and Trichoptera were absent from lentic habitats. |
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