Aerobiological behaviour of Platanus L. pollen in Catalonia (North-East Spain)

The aim of this paper is to characterise theairborne behaviour of an allergenic andabundant pollen type, Platanus, in sevensites of the Aerobiological Network ofCatalonia (Xarxa Aerobiològica deCatalunya, XAC). In Catalonia, the mostextended Platanus species is Platanus × hybrida Brot., widely planted inforestry and as ornamental tree in streets andgardens. Naturalised specimens can also befound along river banks.The pollen records analysed are from differentperiods comprised between 1994 and 2000 inBarcelona, Bellaterra, Cambrils, Girona,Lleida, Manresa and Tarragona. All data wereobtained using seven-day volumetric spore Hirsttraps.Platanus pollination is concentrated in afew weeks, between March and April. Platanus pollen is present in all theatmospheric pollen spectra for the sitesmentioned above. In Barcelona, Platanuspollen attained the highest concentrations,with an extreme annual index (sum of the meandaily concentrations) of 25790 in 1997, and amaximum daily concentration of 2567 P/m³on 15th March 2000. The lowest annual index(647) corresponds to Cambrils, 2000, and thelowest maximum daily concentration (74P/m³) was registered on 7th April1996, in Manresa.The interannual variation of Platanuspollen values can be explained not only bymeteorological parameters and the endogenousfactors of the tree, but also by human activitysuch as elimination, pruning and watering.     

蓝桉凋落叶分解对菠菜生长及光合特性的影响

通过盆栽试验,模拟蓝桉(Eucalyptus globulus)凋落叶在土壤中分解对受体植物菠菜(Spinacia oleracea)生长及光合特性的影响,设置L30(30 g/盆)、L60(60 g/盆)、L90(90 g/盆)和L120(120 g/盆)4个凋落叶施用水平,对照(CK)不加凋落叶。结果表明:(1)在分解30 d时,低量的凋落叶(L30)未抑制菠菜生物量的积累,而中量和高量处理(L60、L90和L120)下其生物量显著降低(P0.05);在凋落叶分解50 d后,蓝桉凋落叶的化感抑制效应已经减弱,仅L120仍然抑制菠菜生物量的积累;(2)一定量的凋落叶(L30和L60)对菠菜叶绿素的合成有促进作用,而凋落叶超过一定量时(L120)转为抑制作用,在凋落叶分解28 d时相对不明显,40 d后逐渐显现;(3)经凋落叶处理的菠菜叶片胞间CO2浓度(Ci)、气孔导度(Gs)及蒸腾速率(Tr)均显著高于对照(CK)(P0.05),而净光合速率(Pn)在L30处理下最高,L60和L90处理与CK差异不显著,仅L120处理显著低于CK(P0.05);(4)光响应与CO2响应曲线的特征参数表观量子效率(AQY)、最大净光合速率(Pmax)、光饱和点(Lsp)、光补偿点(Lcp)、暗呼吸速率(Rd)、Ru BP表观羧化效率(CE)和光呼吸速率(Rp)在L30处理下高于CK,其余凋落叶处理均低于CK,而CO2饱和点(Csp)、CO2补偿点(Ccp)随凋落叶量的增加而升高。综合各指标可见,少量的蓝桉凋落叶分解(L30)可通过增加叶绿素含量,提高对光和CO2的利用能力促进菠菜的光合作用,进而促进其生长,而凋落叶超过一定量时(L90—L120)则起到相反的作用。     

Influence of leaf litter type on the chemical evolution of a soil parent material (sandstone)

The influence of leaves of Quercus suber L. and Eucalyptus globulus Labill. and needles of Pinus pinaster Ait. on a sandstone substrate was assessed through lysimetric studies during a ten-year period at a site in Central Portugal. The decomposition rate of Q. suber leaf litter was similar to that of E. globulus and higher than that of P. pinaster needle litter. The proportion of nitrogen released from the Q. suber leaf litter was higher than that lost from the other organic species. Such a release was proportional to the initial nitrogen content in the substrates. The concentrations of both NH₄-N and NO₃-N were much higher in leachates collected under Q. suber leaf litter than in those collected under the other organic substrates. A similar trend was found in the leachates collected under the mineral substrate influenced by the studied organic substrates. The leachate concentrations of mineral N (especially NO₃-N) were higher from the mineral substrate under Q. suber leaf litter than from this organic substrate itself. The mineral substrate under leaf litter of E. globulus or needle litter of P. pinaster showed an increase in exchangeable base cations and pH values, and a decrease in extractable Al. Conversely, in the substrate with Q. suber leaf litter there was only a slight increase in exchangeable base cations and pH values, and a decrease in extractable Al. These results combined with those obtained in soils under E. globulus plantations indicate that changes found in these soils are due to soil and forest management practices rather than to the decomposition process of the respective of leaf litter.     

中国毛茛科翠雀属的分类学研究(七):岩瓦翠雀花的名实订正

通过标本室和野外观察,发现根据云南西北部维西标本描述的毛茛科岩瓦翠雀花(Delphinium yanwaense W. T. Wang)与云南西北部颇为常见的中甸翠雀花(D. yuanum Chen)没有本质区别,故将前者处理为后者的异名。中甸翠雀花在叶的分裂程度上变异颇大。     

美洲黑杨凋落叶分解初期对小白菜生长的影响

采用盆栽试验,研究了美洲黑杨(Populus deltoides)凋落叶分解初期对受体植物小白菜(Brassica chinensis)生长和生理的影响。试验设置0、30、60和90 g/盆4个凋落叶施用水平(分别记作CK、L30、L60和L90)。同时,为检验凋落叶施入是否对土壤通气透水性产生明显影响进而影响受体植物的生长,用蒸煮后的凋落叶设置平行空白试验,即30、60、90 g/盆3个蒸著后的凋落叶处理(分别记作Z30、Z60和Z90)。将各处理的凋落叶分别与7 kg土壤混合,播种小白菜。在播种后50、80 d测定小白菜株高和生理指标。结果表明:1)高量(L90)凋落叶下小白菜的高生长和鲜重于50 d时被显著抑制,80 d时长势恢复正常;2)80 d时各处理净光合速率(Pn)与CK水平相当,色素含量略低于CK;3)50、80 d时,低(L30)、中(L60)量处理的超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)活性无明显变化,高量处理下SOD活性升高;4)各处理丙二醛(MDA)含量在50、80 d时与CK均无显著差异。总的来看,杨树各凋落叶量处理对小白菜的影响表现为:低、中量促进,高量抑制,而经蒸煮后的凋落叶处理间差异不显著。表明,低、中量杨树凋落叶在土壤中分解对小白菜生长及生理代谢的影响主要表现为促进作用,而施入高量凋落叶的初期,化感抑制作用明显。     

The new species Ettingshausenia sarbaensis (Angiospermae) from the Cenomanian-Turonian of Western Kazakhstan in light of the problem of classification of dispersed cretaceous Platanus-like leaves

Based on morphological and epidermal characters of the leaf, a new species, Ettingshausenia sarbaensis sp. nov., from the Cenomanian-Turonian of western Kazakhstan is described. In fossil Platanus-like leaves, the unique epidermal structure, with the combination of encyclocytic, laterocytic, and paracytic stomata and the presence of trichomes on one or from two to seven epidermal cells, is shown for the first time. Based on variations in morphological and epidermal characters, two morphotypes corresponding to groups of sun and shade leaves are recognized. The expediency of consideration of dispersed Cretaceous Platanus-like leaves within the framework of morphological classification of leaves is discussed.     

3种作物(莴笋、茄子、小白菜)对香樟凋落叶化感作用的生理响应

为了解香樟(Cinnammum camphora)凋落叶对作物的生长和土壤微生物生物量碳、氮的影响,采用盆栽试验,施用不同添加量的香樟凋落叶,对3种作物莴笋(Lactuca sativa)、茄子(Solanum melongena)和小白菜(Brassica chinensis)的形态指标、生理指标和土壤微生物量C、N...     

Plant palatability to leaf‐cutter ants (Atta laevigata) and litter decomposability in a Neotropical woodland savanna

Although leaf‐cutter ants have been recognized as the dominant herbivore in many Neotropical ecosystems, their role in nutrient cycling remains poorly understood. Here we evaluated the relationship between plant palatability to leaf‐cutter ants and litter decomposability. Our rationale was that if preference and decomposability are related, and if ant consumption changes the abundance of litter with different quality, then ant herbivory could affect litter decomposition by affecting the quality of litter entering the soil. The study was conducted in a woodland savanna (cerrado denso) area in Minas Gerais, Brazil. We compared the decomposition rate of litter produced by trees whose fresh leaves have different degrees of palatability to the leaf‐cutter ant Atta laevigata. Our experiments did not indicate the existence of a significant relationship between leaf palatability to A. laevigata and leaf‐litter decomposability. Although the litter mixture composed of highly palatable plant species showed, initially, a faster decay rate than the mixture of poorly palatable species, this difference was no longer visible after about 6 months. Results were consistent regardless of whether litter invertebrates were excluded or not from litter bags. Similarly, experiments comparing the decomposition rate of litter from pairs of related plant species also showed no association between plant palatability and decomposition. Decomposition rate of the more palatable species was faster, slower or similar to that of the less palatable species depending upon the particular pair of species being compared. We suggest that the traits that mostly influence the decomposition rate of litter produced by cerrado trees may not be the same as those that influence plant palatability to leaf‐cutter ants. Atta laevigata select leaves of different species based – at least in part – on their nitrogen content, but N content was a poor predictor of the decomposition rates of the species we studied.     

杉木和米槠凋落叶DOM对土壤碳矿化的影响

DOM(Dissolved organic matter)是土壤微生物呼吸的重要底物,凋落物淋溶的DOM对土壤碳矿化具有重要影响。选择中亚热带地区具有代表性的杉木(Cunninghamia lanceolata)和米槠(Castanopsis carlesii)凋落叶作为研究对象,通过两个月的短期室内培养,把不同凋落叶浸提出的DOM添加到培养瓶中,定期测定土壤碳矿化速率,计算土壤碳累积矿化量,探讨两种等浓度等量DOM添加对土壤碳矿化的影响,并分析DOM化学性质在土壤碳矿化过程中的重要性。结果表明:米槠凋落叶浸提得到的DOC(Dissolved organic carbon)和DON(Dissolved organic nitrogen)浓度均显著高于杉木凋落叶的(P0.05),而杉木凋落叶浸提得到的DOM的UV吸收值(SUVA_(254))和HIX(Humification index)均显著低于米槠凋落叶的(P0.01)。添加等浓度等量杉木和米槠凋落叶DOM到土壤中均显著增加了土壤碳矿化速率,在第1天内分别比对照高198%和168%,3d后下降到61.8%和44.1%,14d后基本处于平稳状态,表明外源有机物添加对土壤碳矿化的前期影响较大。培养过程中,添加杉木和米槠凋落叶DOM的土壤碳矿化累积量均能采用双因素指数模型进行拟合(r~2=0.99),但添加两者凋落叶DOM后土壤碳矿化累积量没有显著差异。     

The occurrence of the freshwater isopod Heterias (Fritzianira) exul in the Lakes Region of Chile,with notes on the genus Heterias (Asellota: Janiridae)

Heterais exul, previously known from Brazil and Argentina, was collected from a number of lakes and streams in the Lakes Region of Chile (between Valdivia and Puerto Montt). It was found in a wide variety of habitats: on leaf litter, detritus, algae, rotting wood, emergent vegetation, and clean sandy bottoms. Heterias, Pseudasellus, and Fritzianira are placed in synonymy, but Fritzianira is maintained as a subgenus of Heterias because of its lack of an antenna) scale. The 3 Australian species of Heterias and H. exul are believed to have evolved from a common freshwater Gondwanaland ancestor.     

Nutrients and mass in litter and top soil of ten tropical tree plantations

The importance of litter to nutrient and organic matter storage and the possible influence of species selection on soil fertility in ten stands each consisting of a separate tree species were examined in this study. The plantations had been grown under similar conditions in an arboretum in the Luquillo Experimental Forest, Puerto Rico. The species involved were: Anthocephalus chinensis, Eucalyptus × patentinervis, E. saligna, Hernandia sonora, Hibiscus elatus, Khaya nyasica, Pinus caribaea var. hondurensis, P. elliottii var. densa, Swietenia macrophylla, and Terminalia ivorensis. After 26 yr, litter mass ranged from 5 mg ha^-1 in the H. sonora stand to 27.2 Mg ha^-1 in the P. caribaea stand. Nutrients in the litter (N, P, K, Ca, and Mg) also varied widely, but stands were ranked in different order when ranked by nutrients in the litter than then ranked according to accumulation of mass. Only E. saligna and A. chinensis stands were ranked similarly in accumulation of both nutrients and mass, and the stand of H. elatus was ranked higher with respect to nutrient accumulation than to accumulation of mass. The nutrient concentration in standing leaf litter generally increased in the order of recently fallen <old intact< fragmented. Nutrient concentration of standing leaf litter appears to increase with age and depth in the litter layer. The amount of nutrients stored in the litter compartment of these plantations was in the same order of magnitude as the quantity of available nutrients in the top 10-cm of mineral soil. Total litter mass was negatively correlated with the mass-weighted concentration of N, K, and Mg. The same relationship was found for Ca in the leaf litter and N in the fine wood litter compartments. In some stands (notably P. caribaea, P. elliottii, and E. saligna), leaf litter derived from species other than the species planted in that particular stand had higher nutrient concentration than leaf litter from the planted species. Soils of the 10 stands were classified in the same soil series and had similar texture (clay soils). However, significantly different chemical characteristics were found. Results obtained by analysis of covariance and by limiting comparisons to adjacent stands with similar soil texture, indicate that different species have had different influences on the concentration of available nutrients in soil.     

An invasive frog, Eleutherodactylus coqui, increases new leaf production and leaf litter decomposition rates through nutrient cycling in Hawaii

A frog endemic to Puerto Rico, Eleutherodactylus coqui, invaded Hawaii in the late 1980s, where it can reach densities of 50,000 individuals ha⁻¹. Effects of this introduced insectivore on invertebrate communities and ecosystem processes, such as nutrient cycling, are largely unknown. In two study sites on the Island of Hawaii, we studied the top-down effects of E. coqui on aerial, herbivorous, and leaf litter invertebrates; herbivory, plant growth, and leaf litter decomposition rates; and leaf litter and throughfall chemistry over 6 months. We found that E. coqui reduced all invertebrate communities at one of the two study sites. Across sites, E. coqui lowered herbivory rates, increased NH₄⁺ and P concentrations in throughfall, increased Mg, N, P, and K in decomposing leaf litter, increased new leaf production of Psidium cattleianum, and increased leaf litter decomposition rates of Metrosideros polymorpha. In summary, E. coqui effects on invertebrates differed by site, but E. coqui effects on ecosystem processes were similar across sites. Path analyses suggest that E. coqui increased the number of new P. cattleianum leaves and leaf litter decomposition rates of M. polymorpha by making nutrients more available to plants and microbes rather than through changes in the invertebrate community. Results suggest that E. coqui in Hawaii has the potential to reduce endemic invertebrates and increase nutrient cycling rates, which may confer a competitive advantage to invasive plants in an ecosystem where native species have evolved in nutrient-poor conditions.     

核桃凋落叶分解对莴笋抗氧化系统及光合特性的影响

为探讨核桃对农作物的化感作用,该试验采用盆栽法,设置4个凋落叶施用量水平(0、30、60、90g/盆),研究了核桃凋落叶在土壤中自然分解过程中对莴笋(播种后80、100、120和140d)抗氧化系统、光合生理特征及其生长的影响。结果显示:(1)核桃凋落叶处理的莴笋叶片超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)、过氧化物酶(POD)、过氧化氢酶(CAT)活性在播种80d时得到促进,在100d时受到抑制,而在120d之后基本恢复至正常水平,并以SOD表现最为敏感。(2)核桃凋落叶处理100和120d时,莴笋叶片可溶性蛋白(SP)含量显著降低,而可溶性糖(SS)含量显著增加。(3)核桃凋落叶处理100、120d时,莴笋叶片净光合速率(Pn)受到显著抑制,各处理气孔导度(Gs)和蒸腾速率(Tr)显著低于对照。(4)核桃凋落叶处理的莴笋株高、地上部分生物量及地上部分占总生物量比重在处理120d时均显著低于对照,在140d时基本恢复正常。研究表明,核桃凋落叶在土壤中分解对莴笋产生的化感作用强度随分解时间延长呈现出逐渐增强后再减弱的变化趋势;莴笋可以通过调控自身的保护酶活性和渗透调节物质含量在一定程度上缓解化感物质伤害,对核桃凋落叶的化感作用有较强的耐受能力,生产中可以在核桃林下进行间作或者套作莴笋。     

Inhibition of Ageratina riparia (Asteraceae) by native Australian flora and fauna

We investigated the influence of native flora and fauna on the establishment and persistence of the exotic weed Ageratina riparia (Asteraceae) in disturbed and regenerating rainforests on the Springbrook plateau of south‐eastern Queensland. The height and ground cover of A. riparia was positively associated with light availability beneath the rainforest canopy and negatively associated with forest leaf litter biomass. Regenerating rainforest with the associated increases in litter and decrease in light availability could therefore inhibit the establishment and density of A. riparia. The red‐necked pademelon, Thylogale thetis, browsed extensively on A. riparia, but the pattern of browsing was not associated with light availability, forest leaf litter biomass or density of A. riparia. Browsing and incidental damage by T. thetis breaks up the broad stands of A. riparia. The physical damage caused by T. thetis, and the inhibition to establishment and density of A. riparia by native plant species, combine to reduce the environmental threat associated with A. riparia.     

Invasive litter, not an invasive insectivore, determines invertebrate communities in Hawaiian forests

In Hawaii, invasive plants have the ability to alter litter-based food chains because they often have litter traits that differ from native species. Additionally, abundant invasive predators, especially those representing new trophic levels, can reduce prey. The relative importance of these two processes on the litter invertebrate community in Hawaii is important, because they could affect the large number of endemic and endangered invertebrates. We determined the relative importance of litter resources, represented by leaf litter of two trees, an invasive nitrogen-fixer, Falcataria moluccana, and a native tree, Metrosideros polymorpha, and predation of an invasive terrestrial frog, Eleutherodactylus coqui, on leaf litter invertebrate abundance and composition. Principle component analysis revealed that F. moluccana litter creates an invertebrate community that greatly differs from that found in M. polymorpha litter. We found that F. moluccana increased the abundance of non-native fragmenters (Amphipoda and Isopoda) by 400% and non-native predaceous ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) by 200%. E. coqui had less effect on the litter invertebrate community; it reduced microbivores by 40% in F. moluccana and non-native ants by 30% across litter types. E. coqui stomach contents were similar in abundance and composition in both litter treatments, despite dramatic differences in the invertebrate community. Additionally, our results suggest that invertebrate community differences between litter types did not cascade to influence E. coqui growth or survivorship. In conclusion, it appears that an invasive nitrogen-fixing tree species has a greater influence on litter invertebrate community abundance and composition than the invasive predator, E. coqui.     

Impacts of Falcataria moluccana Invasion on Decomposition in Hawaiian Lowland Wet Forests: The Importance of Stand-level Controls

Invasive species have the capacity to substantially alter soil processes, including rates of litter decomposition. Currently, the few remaining native-dominated lowland wet forests in Hawai’i are being invaded by Falcataria moluccana, a large, fast-growing, N₂-fixing tree. In this study, we sought to determine the extent to which Falcataria invasion alters decomposition in these lowland wet forests, and whether changes resulted from differences in litter substrate type, lava flow age and type, forest stand type and associated soil biota, or some combination of these factors. We measured decomposition rates and nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) dynamics of Metrosideros polymorpha and Falcataria leaf litter in native-dominated and Falcataria-invaded stands on 48- and 300-year-old a’a lava flows and a 213-year-old pāhoehoe flow in the Puna district of eastern Hawai’i. Despite significant differences in the initial quality of Metrosideros and Falcataria litter, in nearly all cases mass remaining of the two litter types did not differ within a given forest stand, whether native-dominated or invaded. Instead, stand type accounted for large differences in the decomposition of both litter types, and litter decomposed two to 10 times faster in Falcataria-invaded stands than it did in their native-dominated counterparts on each lava flow. Dynamics of N (that is, immobilization or release) during decomposition were affected by stand, litter, and lava flow type; P dynamics were affected by stand and flow type, but not litter type. Although not definitive proof of causality, the decay rates of both species were positively correlated to previously measured inputs of N mass and P mass via litterfall as well as availability of soil N and P, characteristics that all increased substantially with Falcataria invasion. Given the degree of change to a host of ecosystem processes, including decomposition, after invasion by Falcataria, these transformed forest ecosystems may best be viewed as fundamentally new and different, in both structure and function, from the native ecosystems they have replaced.     

The taxonomic relationships within the genus Excoecaria L. (Euphorbiaceae) based on leaf morphology and rDNA sequence data

The tropical Indo-Pacific genus Excoecaria L. (Euphorbiaceae) has several closely related species in Australia whose taxonomic relationships are unclear. The most widely reported species in Australia is the mangrove species Excoecaria agallocha L. (type species), whose taxonomic and geographic limits are difficult to define from its closely related species or sub-species. Two additional taxa have also been described but not clearly differentiated from the type species: Excoecaria dallachyana Baillon and Excoecaria ovalis Endl. This project aimed to determine the taxonomic relationships of the Australian Excoecaria species using both leaf morphological data and DNA sequence data from the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of ribosomal genes. The nucleotide differences in the examined ITS1 region show that E. agallocha from eastern Australia and E. ovalis from Western Australia respectively, are genetically uniform within species but differ from each other consistently, thus supporting species status. The leaf morphological data also support this view: single factor analysis of variance consistently separated E. ovalis from E. agallocha on the basis of leaf width, leaf length and length of petiole. In contrast, E. ovalis from the Gulf of Carpentaria differs only slightly from E. ovalis in Western Australia, but no evidence was found to suggest any leaf morphological differentiation within this species. The analysis also suggests that E. dallachyana is not closely related to either mangrove species E. agallocha or E. ovalis, despite superficial morphological similarities.     

Browsing-induced Effects on Leaf Litter Quality and Decomposition in a Southern African Savanna

We investigated the linkages between leaf litter quality and decomposability in a savanna plant community dominated by palatable-spinescent tree species. We measured: (1) leaf litter decomposability across five woody species that differ in leaf chemistry; (2) mass decomposition, nitrogen (N); and carbon (C) dynamics in leaf litter of a staple browse species (Acacia nigrescens) as well as (3) variation in litter composition across six sites that experienced very different histories of attack from large herbivores. All decomposition trials included litter bags filled with chopped straw to control for variation in site effects. We found a positive relationship between litter quality and decomposability, but we also found that Acacia and straw litter mass remaining did not significantly vary between heavily and lightly browsed sites. This is despite the fact that both the quality and composition of litter returned to the soil were significantly different across sites. We observed greater N resorption from senescing Acacia leaves at heavily browsed sites, which in turn contributed to increase the C:N ratio of leaf litter and caused greater litter N immobilization over time. This, together with the significantly lower tree- and herb-leaf litter mass beneath heavily browsed trees, should negatively affect decomposition rates. However, estimated dung and urine N deposition from both browsers and grazers was significantly greater at high- than at low-herbivory sites. We hypothesize that N inputs from dung and urine boost litter N mineralization and decomposition (especially following seasonal rainfall events), and thereby offset the effects of poor leaf litter quality at chronically browsed sites. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Litterfall,leaf decomposition and litter colonization of Tessaria integrifolia (compositae) in the Parana river floodplain

Litterfall and leaf decomposition rates were measured in Choui Island, 45 km downstream from the confluence of the Paraná and Paraguay rivers. The material was collected biweekly from April 1985 through September 1986. Decomposition was measured in situ by the litter bag technique.Annual litterfall of Tessaria integrifolia gallery forest measured in the period April 1985 to March 1986 was 8.15 t ha^-1. Leaf litterfall was seasonal, i.e. significantly less leaf litter was shed during the high water phase than during the low water phase. The half life of the T. integrifolia litter over 38 days of decomposition was 20 days. At the beginning of the experiment, 15 and 38 days subsamples of remaining detritus were analyzed in order to determine changes in the nutrient content. After 38 days of incubation, the order of nutrient disappearance was Ca > K > N > Mg > Na > P.The number of invertebrates per g remaining litter of Tessaria integrifolia increased between incubations days 7 and 31. Collector-gatherers were more abundant after 38 days incubation; there were no shredders colonizing the leaf litter bags.     

Leaf decomposition in an experimentally acidified stream channel

Decomposition of Alnus rugosa and Myrica Gale leaves immersed in artificial stream channels fed by a small headwater creek was followed over a three month period. At the end of experiment, remaining weights of both leaf types confined in litter bags were significantly higher after immersion in experimentally acidified water (pH 4.0) than when immersed in control water (pH 6.2–7.0). For both types of leaves and for all sampling times, there was generally no difference in the C:N ratios between leaves in acidified and those in control water. In control water, oxygen uptake by microorganism on A. rugosa leaves was significantly higher after 46 days of immersion, whereas differences between treatments appeared only after 69 days for M. Gale leaves. Transfer of A. rugosa leaves from acid to control water led to a rapid increase in microbial activity; this increased activity was reflected in a fast weight loss of the leaves. For both leaf types, total numbers of macroinvertebrates were usually higher in litter bags immersed in control water. Macroinvertebrates colonizing the litter bags were mainly collector-gatherers: Chironomidae were numerically dominant in control leaf packs whereas Oligochaeta dominated in acid leaf packs. Macroinvertebrate biomass in M. Gale litter was higher in control than in acidified water, which contrasted with macroinvertebrate biomass in A. rugosa leaf packs which was not significantly different between treatments. Macroinvertebrate contribution to the breakdown of leaf litter was thus considered less important than the microbial contribution. This study demonstrated that decomposition of leaf litter in acidic headwater streams can be seriously reduced, mainly as a result of a lower microbial activity.