Shredder abundance and leaf breakdown in an Appalachian Mountain stream

1365-2427

Blackwell Publishing Journal Backfiles 1879-2005

Biology

SUMMARY. 〈list xml:id="l1" style="custom"〉1Breakdown rates of dogwood (Cornus florida L.), red maple (Acer rubrum L.) and white oak (Quercus alba L.) leaves were investigated at two first-order and two second-order sites in an Appalachian Mountain stream.2Leaves exposed in mesh bags were sampled on eight occasions over a 207 day period and breakdown rates were compared using an exponential decay model.3There was a consistent ranking in leaf breakdown rate within each site, i.e. dogwood 〉 red maple 〉 white oak, and all species broke down faster at second-than at first-order sites.4Our data suggest that differences in species-specific leaf breakdown rates were largely a function of shredder abundance on the leaves.

Electronic Resource