Study Number: 

1091

Project Title:

Litter decomposition rates and litter nutrient content in Coweeta white pine watershed 1.

Investigator(s):

Brian D. Kloeppel E-Mail | Tel. 828.524.2128x127 | Biographical Sketch
Lisa Mazzarelli E-Mail | Tel. 828.524.2128 x128
Affiliated Institution(s): University of Georgia
Address: Brian Kloeppel, Lisa Mazzarelli
University of Georgia
Institute of Ecology
Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory
3160 Coweeta Lab Road
Otto, NC 28763
Study Category: Terrestrial
Project Type: Coweeta Core Research.
Study Period:

05/2001 - 03/2004
Date Type:

Type 1
Funding Source(s):

National Science Foundation, DEB-9632854 (Text Version) and DEB-0218001 (Text Version) to Coweeta LTER; North Carolina State University.
Abstract: Litterbag mass remaining in litterbags and rate of decay were compared between 4 beetle-infested and 4 non-beetle-infested white pine plots in watershed 1.
Location(s), Described: Watershed 1 permanent plots: 14, 15, 70, 90 (beetle infested), and 22, 28, 62, 74 (control).

(GPS antenna hgt. 3.15m) Watershed 1 permanent plots:
 
Plot UTM X | UTM Y Aspect Slope (degrees) Elev (m) Elev (ft)
14 278026 | 3883482 160 40 976 3202
15 278072 | 3883496 180 35 980 3215
22 277909 | 3883447 220 28 932 3058
28 277952 | 3883426 240 35 936 3071
62 278037 | 3883015 150 35 793 2602
70 278204 | 3883019 245 30 826 2710
74 278001 | 3882998 160 40 801 2628
90 278108 | 3882891 230 30 785 2575

Location(s), Download GPS: ArcView Shape Files (shp.):  UTM, NAD83, Zone 17/Lat/Lon
Location(s), Online Map(s): Online Map
Methods/Experimental Design: Litterbags measuring 10 cm by 20 cm were constructed from fiberglass window screening of mesh size 0.7 mm; their sides were sealed with an iron. White pine needle litter was collected from a beetle-kill area of watershed 1 and oven-dried at 65 degrees C. Approximately 3 grams of this litter was placed in each litter bag and the bags were sealed with an aluminum identification tag. The litter-filled bags were oven-dried at 65 degrees C again immediately before being deployed in the field. On 13-14 March 2002, fifty litterbags were placed along the 40-m centerline of each of the 8 experimental plots, for a total of 400 bags. Five bags from each plot were carried along and taken back for weighing to determine any effects of handling. A correction factor was calculated and total initial bag weights were adjusted accordingly. Litterbags were retrieved on or near the 14th day of each collection month in April 2002, May 2002, June 2002, and July 2002 to capture the initial pulse of decomposition, and then continued in November 2002, March 2003, July 2003, November 2003, and March 2004. Bags were collected in a stratified random fashion and samples were oven-dried at 65 degrees C, weighed, ground and analyzed for C, H, and N using a Perkin Elmer 2400 CHN analyzer. Nitrogen concentration, or percent N, was determined from the CHN analysis, and N content was calculated by multiplying the percent N by the mass (g) of the field sample. A single exponential decay function was used to characterize and compare the loss of litter mass. After CHN analysis was done on ground litterbag samples, we selected 2 vials from each plot to be ashed. This subset of 96 samples was placed in the muffle furnace for 4 hours at 550 degrees C. Separate ash corrections were applied to beetle and non-beetle plots for each sampling date. Analyses were performed on dry-ash corrected mass values.
Sampling Frequency: Monthly from March 2002 to July 2002, quarterly from July 2002 to March 2004.
Data Columns:

Year - Sampling year
Julday - Collection date in Julian days
Month - Collection month
Plot - Permanent plot number
Litterbag - Litter bag ID number
Grams_remaining - Litter mass remaining in litterbag; grams (g)
Percent_remaining - Percent of initial litter remaining in litterbag
Decay_constant - Plot mean decay constant, determined using the following formula: X/Xo = exp(-kt), where X/Xo = percent mass remaining at time t, t = time lapsed in years, k = annual decay constant
Percent_C - Percent carbon (carbon concentration)
Percent_H - Percent hydrogen (hydrogen concentration)
Percent_N - Percent nitrogen (nitrogen concentration)
N_content - Nitrogen content (grams remaining x percent N)
Pre-ash_mass - Mass of ground litterbag litter before ashing procedure; grams (g)
Post-ash_mass - Mass of ground litterbag litter after ashing procedure; grams (g)
Ash_percent - Ash percent of litter

Missing Data Codes: . (Period)
Publications:

Litter Composition and Decomposition in Response to Southern Pine Beetle Impacts in a White Pine Watershed. Kloeppel, Mazzarelli, Swank, Vose, Wentworth, Elliott (in preparation).
Data Restrictions: Users must adhere to the Coweeta LTER Data Policy.
Metadata: EML Format (XML Schema) | Information about EML
Data Downloads: Microsoft® Excel (.xls)
 Text Comma Delimited (.csv)
 DBase (.dbf)