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The effects of a single hot summer fire on soil fauna and on litter decomposition in jarrah ( Eucalyptus marginata ) forest in Western Australia
Author(s) -
SPRINGETT J. A.
Publication year - 1979
Publication title -
australian journal of ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1442-9993
pISSN - 0307-692X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1442-9993.1979.tb01219.x
Subject(s) - decomposer , litter , plant litter , banksia , eucalyptus , biology , nutrient , myrtaceae , population , ecology , botany , fauna , agronomy , ecosystem , demography , sociology , woodland
An area of jarrah (Eucalyptus marginata Sm) forest was burnt with a hot fire (ca 600 kw/ha) in March 1975. The meso‐ and microarthropod faunas were sampled in May, June and July 1976 and the decomposer activity of the soil and litter was estimated using buried cotton strips. The growth of jarrah seedlings in pots was measured under different litter and nutrient regimes. Feeding experiments with Eucalyptus, Banksia and Bossiaea litter were carried out on Podykipus sp., a litter millipede common at the site of the fire.Burning reduced the numbers of arthropods, the proportion of juveniles and the proportion of fungal feeders in the micro‐arthropod population. The rate of decomposition was also reduced. The seedlings grew most under leaf Utter and millipede faeces and least under leaf ash. Podykipus sp. preferred Bossiaea litter (high nutrient content) to either Eucalyptus or Banksia litter (low nutrient content).