Sentences with phrase «plant litter decompose»

This research helps bridge the gap between studies of how leaves and other plant litter decompose and soil organic matter, which contains decomposed litter and other bio-based materials.

«We found the composition of the vegetation, and in particular the heather, had a greater effect on how fast plant litter decomposes than the 1 °C warming.

Not exact matches

Also within the soil is organic matter — decomposed plant litter, soil microbes, other organisms, and root systems.

The team used stable isotope labels to trace plant litter - derived carbon and nitrogen as the litter decomposed and formed soil, specifically the fraction of soil called organic matter, which comes from plant inputs and microscopic animals.

According to her, the research included four of the five functionally distinct carbon pools whose study is recommended by the United Nations (UN) Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC): aboveground biomass (live plants), dead organic matter, leaf litter (layer that contains a combination of fragments of leaves, branches and other decomposing organic matter) and soil (up to 30 centimeters (cm) in depth).

They set out to assess the rate at which plant material decomposed as a function of background radiation, placing hundreds of samples of uncontaminated leaf litter (pine needles and oak, maple and birch leaves) in mesh bags throughout the area.