The dry mass of reed mesh bags was monitored daily for 40 days at two sites in an Italian lagoon. The original daily-collected data set was manipulated by increasing inter-sampling time intervals to assess the effect of varying the sampling lag on the detection of inter-sites differences in decomposition patterns. At daily intervals, differences between sites were significant, although non-random, short-term mass fluctuations were observed. However, for linear interval increments, there were no between-site differences for lags ≥7 days; in addition, for geometrical interval increments significant differences were never observed. Our study suggests that the temporal resolution chosen for a decomposition study may affect the detection of inter-site differences, emphasizing a previously-unexplored time dependency for leaf detritus decay patterns
Titolo: | On the influence of temporal resolution in mesh bag decomposition studies |
Autori: | |
Data di pubblicazione: | 2007 |
Rivista: | |
Abstract: | The dry mass of reed mesh bags was monitored daily for 40 days at two sites in an Italian lagoon. The original daily-collected data set was manipulated by increasing inter-sampling time intervals to assess the effect of varying the sampling lag on the detection of inter-sites differences in decomposition patterns. At daily intervals, differences between sites were significant, although non-random, short-term mass fluctuations were observed. However, for linear interval increments, there were no between-site differences for lags ≥7 days; in addition, for geometrical interval increments significant differences were never observed. Our study suggests that the temporal resolution chosen for a decomposition study may affect the detection of inter-site differences, emphasizing a previously-unexplored time dependency for leaf detritus decay patterns |
Handle: | http://hdl.handle.net/11587/106414 |
Appare nelle tipologie: | Articolo pubblicato su Rivista |