New Zealand Journal of Botany
abstracts
Productivity-decomposition
dynamics of Typha orientalis at
Kaitoke Swamp, Great Barrier Island, New Zealand
Andrew P. McK.
Pegman*
J. Ogden†
School of Geography and
Environmental Sciences
University of Auckland
Private Bag 92019
Auckland, New Zealand
* Present address: 21 Victory
Road, Laingholm, Auckland, New Zealand.
†Author
for correspondence. j.ogden@auckland.ac.nz
Abstract
The
productivity and
decomposition of Typha
orientalis at Kaitoke Swamp on
Great Barrier Island, New Zealand, were measured to determine the
annual dynamics of its biomass. These interactions, including peat
accumulation under nutrient-rich conditions, are often poorly
understood. Annual productivity and maximum “standing” above-surface
and below-surface biomass were measured using sequential harvest plots.
Decomposition was determined using recently dead T.
orientalis leaves in mesh
litter bags placed on, above, and below the swamp surface.
The annual
productivity of T. orientalis
(c. 3 kg m-2)
is within world-wide estimates for swamp wetland species. The order of
decomposition of leaf litter at Kaitoke Swamp is: below surface
> surface > above surface. Litter bag mesh size did not
affect decomposition processes, indicating that larger decomposer
animals probably do not have a significant influence on biomass loss in
the site. Peat accumulation was estimated based on observations and
measurements of the entrainment process. T.
orientalis had low estimated
peat accumulation, with 6.5% (0.19kg m-2
yr-1)
of the annual production remaining after all components had been
underground for 5 years. Consequently a large amount of the annual
production of biomass is lost from the site. The ratio of maximum
biomass to annual productivity was 2.2, also indicating low biomass
accumulation.
Keywords annual
production; biomass components; decomposition; entrainment process;
growth cycle; peat accumulation; Typha
orientalis; Great Barrier Island
B05016; Received 2 May 2005;
accepted 26 July 2005; Online publication date 16 September 2005
New Zealand Journal of Botany,
2005, Vol. 43: 779–789
0028–825X/05/4304–0779 © The Royal Society of New Zealand 2005
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