On the incomplete breakdown of submerged leaves

Summary

After initial loss of total weight and carbon during the first six months, leaf breakdown practically ceased in an oxbow lake. Similar breakdown curves were found in the laboratory under anaerobic conditions, and in the literature. Such an accumulation of unprocessed organic matter accounts for the gradual disappearance of fluvial backwaters. It makes the prediction of breakdown rates from temperature and leaf species invalid in conditions of limited oxygen availability and in high order streams.