With almost 90% of terrestrial plant material entering the detrital pool, the processing of this significant carbon source is a critical ecosystem function to understand. Riverine ecosystems are estimated to receive, process and transport nearly 1.9 Pg of terrestrial carbon per year globally, highlighting the focus many freshwater ecologists have on the factors that explain decomposition rates of senesced plant material. Since Webster and Benfield offered the first comprehensive review of these factors in 1986, there has been an explosion of research addressing key questions about the ecological interactions at play. Ecologists have developed field and laboratory techniques, as well as created global scale collaborations to disentangle the many drivers involved in the decomposition process. This book encapsulates these 30+ years of research, describing the state of knowledge on the ecology of plant litter decomposition in stream ecosystems in 22 chapters written by internationally renowned experts on the subject.

The primary objective of this book is to provide students and laboratory instructors at universities and professional ecologists with a broad range of established methods to study plant litter decomposition. Detailed protocols for direct use in the field or laboratory are presented in an easy to follow step-by-step format. A short introduction to each protocol reviews the ecological significance and principles of the technique and points to key references.

When starting our work on this book we intended to summarize and synthesize the new information that had developed in the last 20-30 years in the field of plant lit ter decomposition. It turned out, however, that the main part of more recent work was directed towards boreal and temperate forest systems and therefore, with a fo cus on these ecosystems we finally concluded a synthesis that has a similarity to a case study. Still, we hope that a deeper insight into the behavior of a limited num ber of litter species will be of value for a generalization and also for the identifica tion of process systems that deviate from those presented here. We have written the book focusing on the transfer from newly shed litter to re calcitrant humus, describing and explaining the system of chemical changes taking place in the process both on a mechanistic basis and on a more general and re gionallevel, considering different climates and species. As a synthesis, this book gives some new aspects on decomposition that to some of us may be controversial. Thus, the fact that we emphasize the dominant role of microorganisms in the process may be disturbing to many readers, as well as the strong emphasis we give to the fact that humus layers actually do grow over millennia and that at a considerable rate, and thus really sequester e.g. C and N. This book is based primarily on data and conclusions made from field studies.

The primary objective of this book is to provide students and laboratory instructors at universities and professional ecologists with a broad range of established methods to study plant litter decomposition. Detailed protocols for direct use in the field or laboratory are presented in an easy to follow step-by-step format. A short introduction to each protocol reviews the ecological significance and principles of the technique and points to key references.

Litter Decomposition describes one of the most important processes in the biosphere - the decay of organic matter. It focuses on the decomposition process of foliar litter in the terrestrial systems of boreal and temperate forests due to the greater amount of data from those biomes. The availability of several long-term studies from these forest types allows a more in-depth approach to the later stages of decomposition and humus formation. Differences between the decay of woody matter and foliar litter is discussed in detail and a different pattern for decomposition is introduced. While teachers and students in more general subjects will find the most basic information on decomposition processes in this book, scientists and graduate students working on decomposition processes will be entirely satisfied with the more detailed information and the overview of the latest publications on the topic as well as the methodological chapter where practical information on methods useful in decomposition studies can be found. Abundant data sets will serve as an excellent aid in teaching process and will be also of interest to researchers specializing in this field as no thorough database exists at the moment. Provides over 60 tables and 90 figures Offers a conceptual 3-step model describing the different steps of the decomposition process, demonstrating changes in the organic-chemical structure and nutrient contents Includes a synthesis of the current state of knowledge on foliar litter decomposition in natural systems Integrates more traditional knowledge on organic matter decomposition with current problems of environmental pollution, global change, etc. Details contemporary knowledge on organic matter decomposition

Advances in Ecological Research is one of the most successful series in the highly competitive field of ecology. This thematic volume focuses on large scale ecology, publishing important reviews that contribute to our understanding of the field. Presents the most updated information on the field of large scale ecology, publishing topical and important reviews Provides all information that relates to a thorough understanding of the field Includes data on physiology, populations, and communities of plants and animals