Do soil organisms affect aboveground litter decomposition in the semiarid Patagonian steppe, Argentina?

Surface litter decomposition in arid and semiarid ecosystems is often faster than predicted by climatic parameters such as annual precipitation or evapotranspiration, or based on standard indices of litter quality such as lignin or nitrogen concentrations. Abiotic photodegradation has been demonstra...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor principal: Araujo, Patricia Inés
Otros Autores: Yahdjian, María Laura, Austin, Amy Theresa
Formato: Artículo
Lenguaje:Inglés
Materias:
Acceso en línea:http://ri.agro.uba.ar/files/intranet/articulo/2012Araujo.pdf
LINK AL EDITOR
Aporte de:Registro referencial: Solicitar el recurso aquí
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024 |a 10.1007/s00442-011-2063-4 
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100 1 |9 34499  |a Araujo, Patricia Inés 
245 0 0 |a Do soil organisms affect aboveground litter decomposition in the semiarid Patagonian steppe, Argentina? 
520 |a Surface litter decomposition in arid and semiarid ecosystems is often faster than predicted by climatic parameters such as annual precipitation or evapotranspiration, or based on standard indices of litter quality such as lignin or nitrogen concentrations. Abiotic photodegradation has been demonstrated to be an important factor controlling aboveground litter decomposition in aridland ecosystems, but soil fauna, particularly macrofauna such as termites and ants, have also been identified as key players affecting litter mass loss in warm deserts. Our objective was to quantify the importance of soil organisms on surface litter decomposition in the Patagonian steppe in the absence of photodegradative effects, to establish the relative importance of soil organisms on rates of mass loss and nitrogen release. We estimated the relative contribution of soil fauna and microbes to litter decomposition of a dominant grass using litterboxes with variable mesh sizes that excluded groups of soil fauna based on size class [10, 2, and 0. 01 mm], which were placed beneath shrub canopies. We also employed chemical repellents [naphthalene and fungicide]. The exclusion of macro- and mesofauna had no effect on litter mass loss over 3 years [P = 0. 36], as litter decomposition was similar in all soil fauna exclusions and naphthalene-treated litter. In contrast, reduction of fungal activity significantly inhibited litter decomposition [P less than 0. 001]. Although soil fauna have been mentioned as a key control of litter decomposition in warm deserts, biogeographic legacies and temperature limitation may constrain the importance of these organisms in temperate aridlands, particularly in the southern hemisphere. 
650 |2 Agrovoc  |9 26 
653 0 |a ARIDLANDS 
653 0 |a CARBON TURNOVER 
653 0 |a FUNGI 
653 0 |a MACRO- AND MESOFAUNA 
653 0 |a TERMITES 
653 0 |a FUNGICIDE 
653 0 |a NAPHTHALENE 
653 0 |a NAPHTHALENE DERIVATIVE 
653 0 |a NITROGEN 
653 0 |a ARID ENVIRONMENT 
653 0 |a CANOPY 
653 0 |a CONCENTRATION [COMPOSITION] 
653 0 |a DECOMPOSITION 
653 0 |a EVAPOTRANSPIRATION 
653 0 |a IDENTIFICATION KEY 
653 0 |a LIGNIN 
653 0 |a LIMITING FACTOR 
653 0 |a LITTER 
653 0 |a PHOTODEGRADATION 
653 0 |a PRECIPITATION [CLIMATOLOGY] 
653 0 |a SEMIARID REGION 
653 0 |a SHRUB 
653 0 |a SOIL FAUNA 
653 0 |a SOIL MICROORGANISM 
653 0 |a SOIL NITROGEN 
653 0 |a STEPPE 
653 0 |a DRUG EFFECT 
653 0 |a METABOLISM 
653 0 |a MICROBIOLOGY 
653 0 |a PHYSIOLOGY 
653 0 |a POACEAE 
653 0 |a SOIL 
653 0 |a ANIMALS 
653 0 |a ARGENTINA 
653 0 |a CLIMATE 
653 0 |a FUNGICIDES, INDUSTRIAL 
653 0 |a INSECTS 
653 0 |a NAPHTHALENES 
653 0 |a NITROGEN 
653 0 |a SOIL MICROBIOLOGY 
653 0 |a PATAGONIA 
653 0 |a FORMICIDAE 
653 0 |a FUNGI 
653 0 |a ISOPTERA 
700 1 |a Yahdjian, María Laura  |9 16176 
700 1 |9 48259  |a Austin, Amy Theresa 
773 |t Oecologia  |g Vol.168, no.1 (2012), p.221-230 
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