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Decomposition of chestnut oak (Quercus prinus) leaves and nitrogen mineralization in an urban environment

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Abstract

We studied soil processes along an urban to rural gradient. To determine the ecosystem response to the urban soil environment, we measured (1) leaf litter decomposition rates using a reference leaf litter, and (2) net N-mineralization and net nitrification rates using paired in situ soil cores. A significant trend toward slower litter decomposition rates toward the urban end of the gradient was observed. In addition, percent ash-free dry mass remaining of the litter was significantly higher during the course of the study but was not statistically significant at the final sampling date. Litter C:N ratio had a complex response with respect to degree of urban land use, and litter % N did not differ between land-use types. Litter decomposition rates were not significantly correlated with observed soil physicochemical and biological characteristics but were influenced by soil moisture and soil organic matter. Net N-mineralization rates were higher in urban soils. Net nitrification rates did not differ with land-use type. Net N-mineralization rates were positively correlated with soil temperature, indicating a response to the urban heat island effect. Net N-mineralization rates were negatively correlated with the numbers of higher trophic level nematodes.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Science Foundation LTER Program at Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory. We thank Miguel Cabrera for assistance with statistical analyses. Thanks to Geoff McCann for grinding and prepping leaf litter samples for analysis. Thanks to the Analytical Chemistry Lab, Institute of Ecology for C and N analyses. Miguel Cabrera, Ted Gragson, Paul Hendrix, and Carl Jordan made constructive comments on earlier drafts of the manuscript. Comments by the editor and three anonymous reviewers also improved the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Ecology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602, USA

    Mitchell A. Pavao-Zuckerman & David C. Coleman

  2. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA

    Mitchell A. Pavao-Zuckerman

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  1. Mitchell A. Pavao-Zuckerman
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  2. David C. Coleman
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Correspondence to Mitchell A. Pavao-Zuckerman.

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Pavao-Zuckerman, M.A., Coleman, D.C. Decomposition of chestnut oak (Quercus prinus) leaves and nitrogen mineralization in an urban environment. Biol Fertil Soils 41, 343–349 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00374-005-0841-z

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