Litter decomposition, nitrogen dynamics and litter microarthropods in a southern Appalachian hardwood forest 8 years following clearcutting.
Abstract
Litterbags (of Cornus florida, Acer rubrum and Quercus prinus) were used as experimental substrates on a clear-felled xeric catchment and an adjacent control catchment at the Coweeta Hydrological Laboratory, North Carolina. Compared with the control site, decomposition rates, net immobilization of N, and mean densities of microarthropods were reduced on the clear-felled site. These results differ from those at northern broadleaved sites where clear-felling increased litter decomposition rates.