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COMMUNITY RESPIRATION OF DECOMPOSING PLANTS IN OREGON ESTUARINE MARSHES
Citation:
Gallagher, J., H. Kibby, AND K. Skirvin. COMMUNITY RESPIRATION OF DECOMPOSING PLANTS IN OREGON ESTUARINE MARSHES. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/J-84/216 (NTIS PB85157352).
Description:
Community respiration rates in air and water were measured as indicators of the decomposition rate of dead plant tissue from nine stands of plants in two Oregon estuarine marshes. Respiration rates were low and relatively constant from November to February; during warmer periods several patterns emerged. The highest respiration rates for the most and least active communities differed up to one order of magnitude. The moisture, nitrogen, and crude fibre content, as well as plant shoot and canopy structure, appeared to be important determinants of the respiration rate. Comparisons of aerial and aquatic respiration rates for a single date may be useful for determining the recent moisture history of the tissue. Rates of dead plant community respiration in Pacific North-west marshes equalled and, in one case, exceeded those in the Atlantic South-east. (Copyright (c) Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 1984.)