Loss of weight and concentration of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus during decomposition of Eichhornia azurea in the floodplain of the upper Paraná river, Brazil
Leaf packs of the aquatic macrophyte Eichhornia azurea were used to experimentally evaluate changes in mass, carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus concentrations, and C:N ratios during initial stages of decomposition in two different environments, the Paraná River and Garças Lake. Analysis of weight loss showed relatively slow decomposition rates in both environments (0.0047 d-1 and 0.0048 d-1 respectively). Over a 45-day period we observed significant changes (p < 0.05) in concentrations of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus, but only carbon differed between the environments (F = 10.479; p = 0.03). Therefore we concluded that detritus behaved similarly during decomposition, since intrinsic characteristics of the environments affected only the carbon concentrations.
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Digital revista |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Instituto Internacional de Ecologia
1998
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| Online Access: | http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0034-71081998000400007 |
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