Litter quality and diversity are major factors structuring decomposer communities. However, little is known on the relationship between litter quality and the community structure of soil protists in tropical forests. We analyzed the diversity, density, and community structure of a major group of soil protists of tropical montane rainforests, that is, testate amoebae. Litterbags containing pure ...

Inputs of leaf litter and other organic matter from the catchment exceed autochthonous production and provide an important food ,resource in most streams (WEBSTER & MEYER 1997, ANDERSON & SEDElL 1979). An experimental long-term exclusion of terrestrial litter inputs to a forested headwater stream (WALLACE et al. 1997) provided an opportunity to determine if the food quality of organic matter wo...

Elevated atmospheric CO2 can change foliar tissue chemistry. This alters leaf litter palatability to macroinvertebrate detritivores with consequences for decomposition, nutrient turnover, and food-web structure. Currently there is no consensus on the link between CO2 enrichment, litter chemistry, and macroinvertebrate-mediated leaf decomposition. To identify any unifying mechanisms, we presente...

this research summarizes the data on benthic macro invertebrates collected from 25 points in the urmia lake wetlands during november 2008 to february 2009. the purpose of the study was to assess the effects of elevated salinity and nutrient (nitrogen and phosphorus) levels on macro invertebrate abundance and composition. a total of 32 taxa were collected, and the common taxa, including chirono...

this research summarizes the data on benthic macro invertebrates collected from 25 points in the urmia lake wetlands during november 2008 to february 2009. the purpose of the study was to assess the effects of elevated salinity and nutrient (nitrogen and phosphorus) levels on macro invertebrate abundance and composition. a total of 32 taxa were collected, and the common taxa, including chironom...

While litter decomposition is a fundamental ecological process, previous studies have mainly focused on the decay of single species. In this study, we conducted a litter-mixing experiment to investigate litter diversity effects on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from an alpine steppe soil in Northern Tibet. Significant non-additive effects of litter diversity on GHG dynamics can be detected; the...

Decomposition of litter mixtures generally cannot be predicted from the component species incubated in isolation. Therefore, such non-additive effects of litter mixing on soil C and N dynamics remain poorly understood in terrestrial ecosystems. In this study, litters of Mongolian pine and three dominant understory species and soil were collected from a Mongolian pine plantation in Northeast Chi...