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Litter decomposition in wet and dry ecosystems of the Brazilian Cerrado

2020; CSIRO Publishing; Volume: 58; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1071/sr18317

1838-675X

Betânia Guedes Souza e Brito, Maria das Dores Magalhães Veloso, Judith M. Sarneel, Luiz Alberto Dolabela Falcão, Juliana Martins Ribeiro, Leidivan Almeida Frazão, Geraldo Wilson Fernandes,

Soil Management and Crop Yield

Decomposition of plant litter is a crucial process in carbon and nutrient cycling in all ecosystems, but our understanding of drivers of this process in Brazilian Cerrado (savanna) ecosystems is limited. We determined the decomposition rate and the stabilisation factor in areas of cerrado sensu stricto and palm swamp (vereda) in Bonito de Minas, Minas Gerais, south-eastern Brazil. These two major Cerrado ecosystems differ markedly in environmental conditions, but primarily in water and soil conditions. We used the standardised Tea Bag Index method, characterised soil parameters, and microbial activity to evaluate the decomposition process between these ecosystems. We found higher decomposition rates in the palm swamp compared to cerrado sensu stricto, possibly due to higher soil temperature and humidity conditions and higher microbial biomass.