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Fungal decomposition of attached angiosperm twigs
Author(s) -
GRIFFITH G. S.,
BODDY LYNNE
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
new phytologist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.742
H-Index - 244
eISSN - 1469-8137
pISSN - 0028-646X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1469-8137.1991.tb04906.x
Subject(s) - sorption , water content , moisture , bark (sound) , chemistry , botany , evaporation , fraxinus , decomposition , horticulture , biology , adsorption , ecology , geology , organic chemistry , physics , geotechnical engineering , thermodynamics
summary Experimental investigations indicated that over wet periods the moisture content of dead attached ash twigs was very variable. Frequently they were subject to very rapid and large changes in moisture content, of the order of ± 40% in 24 h. Over wet periods drying of twigs was apparently due mainly to drainage, the rate of which was determined by a number of interrelated factors including density, diameter and degree of bark loss. Over dry periods the moisture content of twigs was less variable and drying was due mainly to evaporation. Water sorption isotherms were determined for twigs and the form of these isotherms was essentially similar to that recorded for sapwood of various trees by other authors. The form of the sorption isotherm was affected by density, a factor related to their state of decay. The sorption isotherms indicated that the pore size distribution within twigs was markedly different from that in typical branch sapwoods. The isotherms were used to estimate water potential variation in dead attached twigs in the field.