Litter decomposition in a Cerrado savannah stream is retarded by leaf toughness, low dissolved nutrients and a low density of shredders

1. To assess whether the reported slow breakdown of litter in tropical Cerrado streams is due to local environmental conditions or to the intrinsic leaf characteristics of local plant species, we compared the breakdown of leaves from Protium brasiliense, a riparian species of Cerrado (Brazilian savannah), in a local and a temperate stream. The experiment was carried out at the time of the highest litter fall in the two locations. An additional summer experiment was conducted in the temperate stream to provide for similar temperature conditions. 2. The breakdown rates (k) of P. brasiliense leaves in the tropical Cerrado stream ranged from 0.0001 to 0.0008 day⁻¹ and are among the slowest reported. They were significantly (F = 20.12, P < 0.05) lower than in the temperate stream (0.0046–0.0055). The maximum ergosterol content in decomposing leaves in the tropical Cerrado stream was 106 μg g⁻¹, (1.9% of leaf mass) measured by day 75, which was lower than in the temperate stream where maximum ergosterol content of 522 μg g⁻¹ (9.5% of leaf mass) was achieved by day 30. The ATP content, as an indicator of total microbial biomass, was up to four times higher in the tropical Cerrado than in the temperate stream (194.0 versus 49.4 nmoles g⁻¹). 3. Unlike in the temperate stream, leaves in the tropical Cerrado were not colonised by shredder invertebrates. However, in none of the experiments did leaves exposed (coarse mesh bags) and unexposed (fine mesh bags) to invertebrates differ in breakdown rates (F = 1.15, P > 0.05), indicating that invertebrates were unable to feed on decomposing P. brasiliense leaves. 4. We conclude that the slow breakdown of P. brasiliense leaves in the tropical Cerrado stream was because of the low nutrient content in the water, particularly nitrate (0.05 mgN L⁻¹), which slows down fungal activity and to the low density of invertebrates capable of using these hard leaves as an energy source.