Decomposition Rates and Nutrient Contents of Arthropod Remains in Forest Litter
- 1 February 1981
- Vol. 62 (1) , 13-19
- https://doi.org/10.2307/1936662
Abstract
Decomposition rates and amounts of calcium, magnesium, potassium, and phosphorus were measured for dead millipedes and crickets buried in forest litter in North Carolina and Georgia. An average of 30% of the original mass of millipedes and 14% of the original mass of crickets was recovered after 1 yr in the litter. Elemental losses generally followed the pattern: K @> P > Mg > Ca; however, elemental amounts occasionally stabilized and in one experiment calcium increased in amount over time. Decomposition of arthropod carcasses was described by a two—component, negative exponential decay model. Decay coefficients were used with literature estimates of arthropod standing crops to estimate standing crops of mass and elements of arthropod remains in forest litter and soil. Estimates of standing crops of mass, calcium, and magnesium of arthropod remains were greater than those of living forest floor arthropods.This publication has 2 references indexed in Scilit:
- Effects of microarthropods on the seasonal dynamics of nutrients in forest litterSoil Biology and Biochemistry, 1980
- Energy and Nutrient Dynamics of Spider and Orthopteran Populations in a Grassland EcosystemEcological Monographs, 1971