Sugar maple foliage litters from fertilized and unfertilized plots on a base-poor site and from a naturally base-rich site were incubated in litterbags of 1 and 3 mm mesh on fertilized and unfertilized plots at the base-poor site. Mass loss of unfertilized litter was slower in fertilized than unfertilized plots, suggesting a negative effect of fertilization on decomposers. Mass loss of fertilized litter was faster than unfertilized litter in the same plots, indicating that changes in litter quality due to fertilization enhanced microbial decomposition. Mass loss was higher in large mesh than in small mesh size bags, suggesting that larger soil fauna played a significant role in litter decomposition. / Potassium appeared to be rapidly leached, whereas Ca and Mg were released at rates more closely related to litter mass loss. Nitrogen was mineralized from N-rich Arboretum litter only; all other litters immobilized N. Release of Ca and Mg was reduced significantly on fertilized plots. Large soil fauna enhanced Ca release, while they delayed N-mineralization in Arboretum litter.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.68207 |
| Date | January 1993 |
| Creators | Lukumbuzya, T. K. (Tadde Kahana) |
| Contributors | Fyles, J. W. (advisor) |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Master of Science (Department of Natural Resource Sciences.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 001386322, proquestno: AAIMM94465, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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