Publications [#260079] of James F. Reynolds

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Papers Published

  1. Moorhead, DL; Reynolds, JF, The contribution of abiotic processes to buried litter decomposition in the northern Chihuahuan desert., Oecologia, vol. 79 no. 1 (April, 1989), pp. 133-135, Springer Nature [doi] .
    (last updated on 2023/06/01)

    Abstract:
    Creosobebush (Larrea tridentata) fine litter was treated with either the general biocide HgCl2 and CuSO4 or water (controls) and buried 5 cm beneath the soil surface in the northern Chihuahuan Desert. The treated litter showed significantly less mass loss than controls during the three month summer-autumn field study; controls lost about 20% of the original mass while treated litter lost less than 2%. In addition, the total nitrogen content of the control litter increased from an initial concentration of about 14.08 g kg-1 to 17.62 g kg-1 dry weight by the end of the study, while treated litter nitrogen content decreased to 13.30 g kg-1. Results suggest abiotic processes other than leaching have little effect on the decomposition of buried litter in this environment.