DOI: 10.5061/dryad.bt502
title: Data from: Leaf litter nutrient uptake in an intermittent blackwater river: influence of tree species and associated biotic and abiotic drivers

description: 1. Organic matter may sequester nutrients as it decomposes, increasing in
 total N and P mass via multiple uptake pathways. During leaf litter
 decomposition, microbial biomass and accumulated inorganic materials
 immobilize and retain nutrients, and therefore, both biotic and abiotic
 drivers may influence detrital nutrient content. We examined the relative
 importance of these types of nutrient immobilization and compared patterns
 of nutrient retention in recalcitrant and labile leaf litter. 2. Leaf
 packs of water oak (Quercus nigra), red maple (Acer rubrum) and Ogeechee
 tupelo (Nyssa ogeche) were incubated for 431 days in an intermittent
 blackwater stream and periodically analysed for mass loss, nutrient and
 metal content, and microbial biomass. These data informed regression
 models explaining temporal changes in detrital nutrient content. Informal
 exploratory models compared estimated biologically associated nutrient
 stocks (fungal, bacterial, leaf tissue) to observed total detrital
 nutrient stocks. We predicted that (i) labile and recalcitrant leaf litter
 would act as sinks at different points in the breakdown process, (ii)
 plant and microbial biomass would not account for the entire mass of
 retained nutrients, and (iii) total N content would be more closely
 approximated than total P content solely from nutrients stored in leaf
 tissue and microbial biomass, due to stronger binding of P to inorganic
 matter. 3. Labile litter had higher nutrient concentrations throughout the
 study. However, lower mass loss of recalcitrant litter facilitated greater
 nutrient retention over longer incubations, suggesting that it may be an
 important long-term sink. N and P content were significantly related to
 both microbial biomass and metal content, with slightly stronger
 correlation with metal content over longer incubations. 4. Exploratory
 models demonstrated that a substantial portion of detrital nutrients was
 not accounted for by living or dead plant and microbial biomass,
 especially in the case of N. This suggests increased importance of both N
 and P sorption to inorganic matter over time, with possible additional
 storage of N complexed with lignin. A better understanding of the
 influence of these mechanisms may improve our understanding of detrital
 nutrient uptake, basal resource quality and retention and transport of
 nutrients in aquatic ecosystems.
description: multiple regression
 datasetThis file contains the
 sampling date, stream incubation time (days), block (1-5), tree species
 (ar = Acer rubrum, no = Nyssa ogeche, qn = Quercus nigra), leaf litter
 AFDM remaining (grams), phosphorus (mg/g litter AFDM), nitrogen (mg/g
 litter AFDM), ergosterol (μg/g litter AFDM), bacterial C (mg/g litter
 AFDM), aluminum (mg/g litter AFDM), iron (mg/g litter AFDM), manganese
 (mg/g litter AFDM), inorganic matter (% litter AFDM), and glucosamine
 (μg/g litter AFDM) content of decaying leaf litter in the study
 stream.respirationThis file contains the sampling date, stream incubation time (days), tree species (ar = Acer rubrum, no = Nyssa ogeche, qn = Quercus nigra), block (1-5), and microbial respiration (mg O2/hour/g leaf AFDM) associated with decaying leaf litter in the study stream.Fiber analysisThis file contains the sampling date, stream incubation time (days), block (1-5), tree species (ar = Acer rubrum, no = Nyssa ogeche, qn = Quercus nigra), and hemicellulose, cellulose, and lignin content (% leaf litter AFDM) of decaying leaf litter in the study stream.fiber analysis final.xls