SREL Reprint
#2563
Changes
in fatty acid and hydrocarbon composition of leaves during decomposition
in a southeastern blackwater stream
Gary
L. Mills, J. Vaun McArthur, Charlotte Wolfe1, John M.
Aho2 and Russell B. Rader3
Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, University of Georgia, Drawer
E, Aiken, South Carolina 29802, USA
With 2 figures and 3
tables
Abstract: Fatty acid and hydrocarbon composition were determined
in decomposing leaf packets of sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua)
and water oak (Quercus nigra) from a snag habitat in a southeastern
blackwater stream. The initial total fatty acid and hydrocarbon
concentrations in sweetgum leaves were significantly greater than
in the oak species. Higher concentrations of unsaturated fatty acids
and dicyclic diterpenoid hydrocarbons accounted for most of this
difference. Both of these biochemical subgroups are preferentially
degraded relative to the bulk leaf material and other compounds
within their respective lipid classes. No significant differences
remained after 70 days of decomposition. Cuticular fatty acids are
selectively preserved and thus, increased relative to noncuticular
components during decomposition. The bacterially derived iso- and
anteiso-branched-chain fatty acids increased markedly after 23 days.
The results of this study suggest that qualitative differences in
lipid composition may contribute to the observed difference in overall
decomposition rate of leaves between these species.
Key words: Decomposition,
oak leaves, sweetgum leaves, biochemical composition.
SREL Reprint #2563
Mills, G. L., J. Vaun
McArthur, C. Wolfe, J. M. Aho, and R. B. Rader. 2001. Changes in
fatty acid and hydrocarbon composition of leaves during decomposition
in a southeastern blackwater stream. Arch. Hydrobiol. 152:315-328.
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