Articles | Volume 1, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-1-207-2015
https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-1-207-2015
Original research article
 | 
23 Feb 2015
Original research article |  | 23 Feb 2015

Litter decomposition rate and soil organic matter quality in a patchwork heathland of southern Norway

G. Certini, L. S. Vestgarden, C. Forte, and L. Tau Strand

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Cited articles

Austnes, K., Kaste, O., Vestgarden, L. S., and Mulder, J.: Manipulation of snow in small headwater catchments at Storgama, Norway: Effects on leaching of total organic carbon and total organic nitrogen, Ambio, 37, 38–47, 2008.
Ayres, E., Steltzer, H., Simmons, B. L., Simpson, R. T., Steinweg, J. M., Wallenstein, M. D., Mellor, N., Parton, W. J., Moore J. C., and Wall, D. H.: Home-field advantage accelerates leaf litter decomposition in forests, Soil Biol. Biochem., 41, 606–610, 2009.
Baldock, J. A., Oades, J. M., Waters, A. G., Peng, X., Vassallo, A. M., and Wilson, M. A.: Aspects of the chemical structure of soil organic materials as revealed by solid-state 13C NMR spectroscopy, Biogeochemistry, 16, 1–42, 1992.
Ballance, S., Kristiansen, K. A., Skogaker, N. T., Tvedt, K. E., and Christensen, B. E.: The localisation of pectin in Sphagnum moss leaves and its role in preservation, Carbohyd. Polym., 87, 1326–1332, 2012.
Berhe, A. A.: Effect of litterbags on rate of organic substrate decomposition along soil depth and geomorphic gradients, J. Soils Sediments 13, 629–640, 2013.
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Short summary
We studied a heathland area of Norway consisting in a patchwork of Calluna, Molinia or Sphagnum. Such vegetation covers are associated with microtopographic differences, which in turn impose different soil moisture regimes. We found that litter decomposition rate and SOM composition depend much on vegetation cover. Hence, here, monitoring variations in the patchwork of vegetation seems a reliable, cost-effective way to detect climate change induced modifications to SOM and its potential to last.