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Do Leaf Breakdown Rates Actually Measure Leaf Disappearance from Streams?
Author(s) -
Webster J.R.,
Benfield E.F.,
Hutchens J.J.,
Tank J.L.,
Golladay S.W.,
Adams J.C.
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
international review of hydrobiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.524
H-Index - 52
eISSN - 1522-2632
pISSN - 1434-2944
DOI - 10.1002/1522-2632(200107)86:4/5<417::aid-iroh417>3.0.co;2-l
Subject(s) - streams , benthic zone , environmental science , botany , biology , horticulture , ecology , computer network , computer science
We measured leaf input, leaf breakdown, and benthic leaf standing stock in Hugh White Creek, a second‐order, Appalachian Mountain stream in North Carolina, U. S. A. Leaf input and leaf breakdown data were used in a computer model to predict standing stocks. Predicted standing stocks were then compared with measured values. Once the model was modified to include leaves in four breakdown rate categories, leaf blow‐in, and temperature effects on leaf breakdown, agreement between model prediction and measurement was quite good.