Rates of litter decomposition, nutrient release, and total forest floor turnover were measured on two replicates of three ecosystem types in the Coastal Western Hemlock Zone of British Columbia, in an attempt to establish whether or not ecosystem types could be differentiated on the basis of functional parameters. Litter bags of two mesh sizes and leaf tethering were used to compare weight losses and nutrient dynamics of specific litter components. The dry weight losses of conifer needles confined in 1 mm mesh bags ranged from 30 to 40 % after one year. There was no significant difference between sites, Weight loss of salal leaves on xeric sites ranged from 20 % after one year for samples confined in 1 mm mesh bags to 45 % for tethered leaf samples. Big-leaf maple weight loss ranged from 15% for samples confined in 1 mm mesh bags to 60 % for tethered samples. Twig samples lost 7 to 21 % of their weight on all sites after six months, with slightly higher values occurring on the hygric sites, Cellulose strips in 4 mm mesh bags lost an average of 23 % of their weight on the-xeric, 21 % on the mesic, and 40 % on the hygric sites. Nutrient mass and concentration changes over one year varied somewhat between different types of foliage litter. The total mass of K, Mg, and Ca decreased in all litter types on all sites, N and P mass changes were more variable, The relative mobility of nutrients released from decomposing conifer litter was Ca> Mg?P>K>N, and from broad-leaf litter was Ca>Mg>K>P>N. The low mobility of K was concluded to be due to leaching of this element from the litter prior to its collection for the study. Numbers of fauna in the forest floor were compared on one replicate of each of the ecosystem types at six week intervals throughout the year. Micro-fauna were more abundant on the xeric and mesic sites, while macro- and meso-fauna were more numerous on the hygric sites. Numbers were lowest on all sites when forest floor moisture was lowest in August. At other times of the year population fluctuations were different for different fauna groups. Forest floor biomass was also measured on one replicate of each ecosystem type. It averaged 45,05 tonnes • ha⁻¹ on the xeric sites, 45.68 tonnes • ha⁻¹ on the mesic sites, and 25,20 tonnes • ha⁻¹ on the hygric site. Annual forest floor turnover rates were calculated to be .015 for the xeric, ,017 for the-mesic, and ,040 for the hygric sates, Differences in turnover rates between sites were attributed more to differences in the quantities- of wood and herbaceous foliage on the three sites than to differences in the decomposition rates of individual substrates. / Forestry, Faculty of / Unknown

Thesis (M.S.)--Oregon State University, 2009. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 99-104). Also available on the World Wide Web.

Thesis (M.S.)--Oregon State University, 1999. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 96-102). Also available on the World Wide Web.

Thesis (M.S.)--Oregon State University, 2006. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 52-57). Also available on the World Wide Web.

Cheng Suet Ha. / Bibliography: leaves 179-195. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Kentucky, 2006. / Title from document title page (viewed on August 22, 2006). Document formatted into pages; contains: vi, 79 p. : ill. Includes abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 71-78).

Thesis (M.S.)--Humboldt State University, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 67-72). Also available via Humboldt Digital Scholar.

Litterfall in the UBG Research Forest was collected from traps randomly-placed in each of five half-acre plots of twelve year old Coastal Douglas fir of spacings ranging from 3 x 3 to 15 x 15 feet. Collections were also made from a half-acre plot of 3 x 3 feet spaced eleven year old western hemlock, and from an older, thinned natural stand of western red cedar and western hemlock. Forest floor accumulations and soil samples from each plot were also collected and analysed. The amount of litterfall in the Douglas fir spacing plots showed that the denser the stand the greater was the litterfall. The percentage of litter from broadleaved species present was in increasing order from the 3 x 3 to the 15 x 15 feet Douglas fir plots. The amount of litterfall in the Douglas fir was about 3,000 kg/ha more than that in the western hemlock plot of the same spacing. The litterfall in the cedar-hemlock stand showed a large amount of cones and twigs, but was not greater than the litterfall collected from the denser plantations of Douglas fir. It should be noted that the 3x3 and 6x6 feet Douglas fir plots of this study gave a much greater litterfall than the values reported by other authors for this species. However, judging from the literature, comparable data for stands of this age and density are not available. Since the variation of litterfall within a plot was very great, the number of traps needed will have to be increased to attain a precision of ± 10 gm at 5% probability level for an annual collection. The amount of forest floor decreased as spacing widened. It was shown statistically that two groups of plots existed: one with associated vegetation (12 x 12 and 15 x 15 feet) and the other without (3x3 and 6x6 feet plots). The weight of forest floor of western hemlock was less than that of Douglas fir of the same spacing. The weights of forest floor obtained in this study were well below the figures given by other authors in this field. The index of forest floor turnover, calculated from the ratio of litter-fall/forest floor showed that the closer-spaced plantations had a higher ratio than the wider-spaced. This suggests that faster circulation of nutrient elements is going on in the stand with a full canopy than in a more widely spaced stand. The chemical contents of the litterfall and forest floor were determined on composite samples from each plot. Nutrient concentration in litterfall and forest floor did not vary with spacing in the Douglas fir plots. The ground vegetation layer found only under the wider Douglas fir spacings showed greater concentration of phosphorus and potassium than the litter or forest floor of all the spacings. The calcium concentration in the western hemlock and cedar-hemlock plots was higher than that found in the Douglas fir plots, but phosphorus was found to be lower. However, the total amount of nutrients in litterfall and in forest floor under differently spaced Douglas fir plantations followed a distinct pattern: a higher content was present in the denser and lower in the wider plots. No clear relationship between litterfall or forest floor accumulations and growth as measured so far was observed. The importance of soil physical properties in affecting growth should be considered more closely, because the plots were different in soil texture and probably in other physical characteristics. / Forestry, Faculty of / Graduate

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Oregon State University, 1982. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 87-92). Also available on the World Wide Web.

Thesis (M.S.)--Oregon State University, 2003. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the World Wide Web.