Large Rainfall Pulses Control Litter Decomposition in a Tropical Dry Forest: Evidence from an 8-Year Study |
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Authors: | Carlos A Anaya Víctor J Jaramillo Angelina Martínez-Yrízar Felipe García-Oliva |
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Institution: | 1.Centro de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas,Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México,Morelia,Mexico;2.Centro de Investigaciones en Geografía Ambiental,Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México,Morelia,Mexico;3.Instituto de Ecología,Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México,Hermosillo,Mexico |
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Abstract: | We investigated the influence of rainfall attributes on litter decomposition over an 8-year period in a well-preserved tropical
dry forest ecosystem in western Mexico. We examined the relationship between the size and number of rainfall events and rainy-season
litter decomposition rates and determined if this relationship varied along a landscape gradient. A mass balance approach
was used to estimate decomposition rate in four permanent 2,400 m2 plots located in two small watersheds. Watershed I included three plots in different landscape positions (upper, middle,
and lower) in the elevation gradient, whereas Watershed IV included one plot in the middle position. Surface litter C mass
was lower in the rainy than in the dry season in all plots in response to seasonal fluctuations in rainfall. The frequency
of small (≤5 mm) and medium (5.1–9.9 mm) size rainfall events largely did not correlate with litter decomposition, but the
frequency of large events (≥10 mm) had a positive correlation with decomposition rates (P < 0.05), except in plot IV (P < 0.1). Decomposition rates were similar among plots at the different landscape positions within Watershed I (P > 0.05). The relevance of large rainfall events (≥10 mm) in rainy-season litter decomposition suggests that changes in the
precipitation regime which alter the frequency of these rainfall pulses or increase their variability would affect the vulnerability
of the litter C and nutrient pools to extreme events. |
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