Decomposition of litter of three mudflat annual species in a northern prairie marsh during drawdown*

The loss of dry mass, nitrogen and phosphorus from shoot and root litter of mudflat annuals was examined in a series of experimental marshes in the Delta Marsh, Manitoba, Canada. Litter bags containing shoot material of three mudflat annuals (Aster laurentianus Fern., Atriplex patula L., and Chenopodium rubrum L.) were placed on the sediment surface of the marshes under drawdown conditions. In addition, litter bags containing root material of these three species were shallowly buried. Approximately 70% and 50% of both shoot and root litter, respectively, was still present after one year in the field. During the second year when the marshes were flooded, shoot and root litter lost an additional 20% and 0% of their mass, respectively. Except for Chenopodium roots, which accumulated nitrogen and phosphorus during both years, shoot and root litter lost from 0 to 50% of their nitrogen and phosphorus early in the first year, with levels generally remaining constant through the remainder of the study period. Our results indicate that mudflat annual litter decomposed slowly and would provide abundant habitat for aquatic invertebrates when these marshes were reflooded. However, most nutrient loss took place in the first year when the litter was unflooded, with little loss occurring in the second year when flooded.