Input, retention, and invertebrate colonization of allochthonous litter in streams bordered by deciduous broadleaved forest, a conifer plantation, and a clear-cut site in southwestern Japan

In headwater streams, conifer plantation forestry may affect stream communities through the quantity and quality of basal resources (allochthonous litter). We compared (1) the seasonal patterns of litter input from the riparian canopy, (2) those for the abundance of benthic and drifting litter in streams, and (3) the density of litter-associated invertebrates among streams bordered by deciduous broadleaved forest, a plantation of Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica), and a clear-cut site, to extract the characteristics of conifer-plantation streams in terms of litter dynamics and benthic invertebrates. The results illustrate differences in litter input and in-stream processes between the broadleaved and plantation sites, although the total annual inputs from canopy were similar. In the broadleaved site, high litter storage was limited to winter, probably because pulsed inputs of litter in autumn were retained on the streambed but rapidly processed. In contrast, litter input was more constant at the plantation site, and litter was stored throughout the year. Although the litter-patch-specific density of total invertebrates was similar between the broadleaved and plantation sites, estimates of the reach-scale, habitat-weighted density considering differences in the coverage area of litter patches revealed considerable differences. Although the habitat-weighted density of total invertebrates was lower at the plantation site than at the broadleaved site in winter, it was noticeably higher at the plantation site in summer, owing to the seasonal stability of benthic litter abundance. Our results emphasized the importance of considering the spatiotemporal availability of benthic litter when assessing the effects of conifer plantations on stream ecosystems.