The Controls of Litter Decomposition over the Course of Winter in Keene, NH
Item
- Description
- L. P. Young Student Center, West Dining and Flag Room
- Ecosystem processes during the winter such as decomposition are poorly understood in New England due to lack of research. This study investigated the environmental factors that controlled litter decomposition rates and the dynamics of litter quality during the winter in Keene, New Hampshire through the comparison of two different habitat types under similar microclimatic conditions. Litter bags filled with leaves collected from the KSC Athletic Field and pine needles from Wheelock Park were transplanted at both sites on a monthly basis from December through April. Monthly measurements of soil and air temperatures were also taken at both sites. After the litter bags were retrieved from the field they were dried, weighed, ground, and analyzed to determine their Carbon: Nitrogen ratios. Results indicate that the site-specific and microclimatic conditions from both environments such as temperature and moisture played major long-term roles in litter decomposition while litter-type only played minor short-term roles.
- Renate Gebauer
- Contributor
- Keene State College
- Creator
- Julia E. Janson
- Date
- 2016-04-09
- Identifier
- https://commons.keene.edu/s/KSCArchive/item/21038
- Language
- en_US
- Subject
- Environmental Studies
- Type
- Presentation
- Rights
- http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
- Site pages
- School of Sciences and Social Sciences
Position: 3506 (51 views)