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Spatial and Temporal Variations of Detritus Breakdown Rates in the River Flumendosa Basin (Sardinia, Italy)
Author(s) -
Fonnesu Alessio,
Pinna Maurizio,
Basset Alberto
Publication year - 2004
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/iroh.200410763
Subject(s) - detritus , phragmites , mediterranean climate , environmental science , litter , spatial variability , seasonality , spatial ecology , ecosystem , spring (device) , hydrology (agriculture) , ecology , physical geography , geography , geology , biology , wetland , mechanical engineering , statistics , mathematics , geotechnical engineering , engineering
Here we analyse in a 5 th order Mediterranean river (River Flumendosa, Sardinia, Italy) spatial and temporal variations of plant detritus processing, a key functional aspect of river ecosystems. Decay rates of dead leaves ( Phragmites australis ) were studied during the fall‐winter and spring‐summer seasons at 17 sites distributed among 5 stream orders. Litter decay rates varied more, and were higher in spring‐summer than in fall‐winter. On the spatial scale, patterns of decay rate variation among sites and orders did not vary between seasons; seasonal variation was low in reaches with slow rates and high in reaches with fast rates. Data analysis showed a spatial pattern of increasing reed detritus decay rates with increasing stream order. (© 2004 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)