Article
Aboveground Litter Production of Three Temperate Semidesert Shrubs
The American Midland Naturalist
(1985)
Abstract
Litter production by Artemisia tridentata, Atriplex confertifolia and Ceratoides lanata plants was monitored from 1970 to 1974 in Curlew Valley, Utah. Chemical analysis of litter collected in 1971 was combined with data on total phytomass and net primary production collected in previous studies in the same area to estimate turnover rates of tissues and minerals. Litter production averaged 128.5, 175.6 and 191.9 g m-2 year-1 for the Ceratoides, Atriplex and Artemisia communities, respectively. This is much higher than would be predicted from a recently published model stressing evapotranspiration as the major driving variable. The percentages of aboveground phytomass that become litter, ranked in order, were Ceratoides > Atriplex > Artemisia. Identical rankings were obtained for estimates of litter decomposition and turnover of most minerals. Atriplex, however, returned significantly more N, Na and Ca than the other two shrub species. Distinct seasonal patterns of litterfall were evident for all three species and related to their phenologies as influenced by climatic variations.
Disciplines
Publication Date
1985
DOI
significantly more N, Na and Ca than the other two shrub species. Distinct seasonal patterns of litterfall were evident for all three species and related to their phenologies as influenced by climatic variations.
Citation Information
Neil E. West. "Aboveground Litter Production of Three Temperate Semidesert Shrubs" The American Midland Naturalist Vol. 113 Iss. 1 (1985) p. 158 - 169 Available at: http://works.bepress.com/neil_west/144/