Premium
Decomposition of litter from three major plant species of jarrah (Eucalyptus marginata Donn ex Sm.) forest in relation to site fire history and soil type
Author(s) -
O'CONNELL A.M.,
MENAGE P.
Publication year - 1983
Publication title -
australian journal of ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1442-9993
pISSN - 0307-692X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1442-9993.1983.tb01325.x
Subject(s) - litter , myrtaceae , plant litter , nutrient , botany , dry weight , banksia , eucalyptus , biology , horticulture , agronomy , ecology , woodland
Rates of weight loss and release of N, P, K, S, Ca, Mg, Na, and Cl from litter of several species in jarrah ( E. marginata Donn ex Sm.) forest were measured in relation to site fire history and soil type. Weight loss from leaf litter decreased in the order jarrah > marri ( E. calophylla R. Br. ex Lindl.) > Banksia grandis Willd. After 18 months on the forest floor senesced leaves of jarrah, marri and Banksia had lost 45%, 42% and 19%, respectively, of their original weight. Although greatest rates of decomposition occurred on a site burnt 3 y previously by an intense autumn fire and slowest rates on a site which had not been burnt for 8 y, the differences between burn sites were small in comparison with the total weight loss from decomposing litter. The order of release of nutrients from decomposing eucalypt litter was P dark sandy duplex soil > yellow gravels. These differences may be related to the higher nutrient status of the reddish gravel soils.