Date of Award

Spring 1988

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Biological Sciences

Program/Concentration

Biology

Committee Director

Frank P. Day, Jr.

Committee Member

James F. Matta

Committee Member

Gerald F. Levy

Call Number for Print

Special Collections LD4331.B46 T86

Abstract

The decomposition rates of roots to a depth of 40 cm were estimated by two methods in four plant communities in the periodically flooded Great Dismal Swamp. Modified litter bags and a core method were simultaneously employed on three flooded sites and an unflooded mixed hardwood site. Reciprocal samples (litter from each of the other sites) were placed on each site to examine the effects of litter composition.

For the litter bags, the cedar and maple - gum sites displayed the lowest mean decay rate. However, reciprocal samples showed that roots from the cedar and mixed hardwood sites decayed the slowest on all sites. For the core method, the maple – gum site, followed by cedar, had the highest rates of decay while the mixed hardwood site had the lowest. The core method exhibited higher mean decay rates than the litter bags on the cedar and maple - gum sites. The litter bag and core methods exhibited slower rates with increasing depth below the soil surface. The core method was ineffective in estimating decay rates for the > 5 mm roots and was most reliable for the smallest roots (< 2 mm).

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DOI

10.25777/y0ng-y693

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