Bacterial Activity Associated with the Decomposition of Woody Substrates in a Stream Sediment

Ground bark and heartwood from Alnus rubra and Pseudotsuga menziesii were added to a muddy sediment from a small Oregon stream and incubated in situ. Carbon dioxide and methane production rates were increased by all amendments, the biggest increase being shown with A. rubra wood. Except for sediment amended with A. rubra wood, nitrogen fixation rates from all treatments (including the control) were approximately 0.1 nmol/g per h throughout the 6-month study period. Contrary to expectations, neither bark had a noticeable adverse effect on microbial activity, but the A. rubra wood promoted nitrogen fixation. These results help to explain the faster rate of decomposition of A. rubra wood in water compared with that of P. menziesii described in the literature. The uptake kinetics of glucose (V(max)) did not follow the same pattern as gas evolution.