Litter decomposition in wet and dry ecosystems of the Brazilian Cerrado
Betânia Guedes Souza e Brito
A D E , Maria das Dores Magalhães Veloso A , Judith M. Sarneel B , Luiz Alberto Dolabela Falcão A , Juliana Martins Ribeiro C , Leidivan Almeida Frazão C and Geraldo Wilson Fernandes D
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Departamento de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde, Universidade Estadual de Montes Claros, Montes Claros, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
B Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.
C Instituto de Ciências Agrárias, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Montes Claros, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
D Departamento de Genética, Ecologia & Evolução, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
E Corresponding author. Email: betaniaguedes10@hotmail.com
Soil Research 58(4) 371-378 https://doi.org/10.1071/SR18317
Submitted: 21 October 2018 Accepted: 10 January 2020 Published: 12 February 2020
Abstract
Decomposition of plant litter is a crucial process in carbon and nutrient cycling in all ecosystems, but our understanding of drivers of this process in Brazilian Cerrado (savanna) ecosystems is limited. We determined the decomposition rate and the stabilisation factor in areas of cerrado sensu stricto and palm swamp (vereda) in Bonito de Minas, Minas Gerais, south-eastern Brazil. These two major Cerrado ecosystems differ markedly in environmental conditions, but primarily in water and soil conditions. We used the standardised Tea Bag Index method, characterised soil parameters, and microbial activity to evaluate the decomposition process between these ecosystems. We found higher decomposition rates in the palm swamp compared to cerrado sensu stricto, possibly due to higher soil temperature and humidity conditions and higher microbial biomass.
Additional keywords: decomposition processes, organic matter, savanna, soil biology, soil microbial biomass.
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