Advanced search
Publication Cover
Annals of the Association of American Geographers Volume 74, 1984 - Issue 4
Journal homepage
56
Views
82
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Articles

The Geography of Organic Decomposition Rates

Vernon Meentemeyer Department of Geography, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602
Pages 551-560 | Published online: 15 Mar 2010

Citations (82)

Keep up to date with the latest research on this topic with citation updates for this article.

Subscribe to citation updates

Read on this site (6)

Santosh Kumar Pandey, Hema Singh & J. S. Singh. (2014) Effect of environmental conditions on decomposition in eight woody species of a dry tropical forest. Plant Biosystems - An International Journal Dealing with all Aspects of Plant Biology 148:3, pages 410-418.
Read now
Björn Berg, Maj‐Britt Johansson, Vernon Meentemeyer & Werner Kratz. (1998) Decomposition of tree root litter in a climatic transect of coniferous forests in northern Europe: A synthesis. Scandinavian Journal of Forest Research 13:1-4, pages 402-412.
Read now
JosephB. Yavitt, ChristopherJ. Williams & R. Kelman Wieder. (1997) Production of methane and carbon dioxide in peatland ecosystems across North America: Effects of temperature, aeration, and organic chemistry of peat. Geomicrobiology Journal 14:4, pages 299-316.
Read now
Jonathan A. Foley. (1995) An equilibrium model of the terrestrial carbon budget. Tellus B: Chemical and Physical Meteorology 47:3, pages 310-319.
Read now
James M. Dyer. (1994) Implications of Habitat Fragmentation on Climate Change-Induced Forest Migration. The Professional Geographer 46:4, pages 449-459.
Read now
Mary L. Dyer, Vernon Meentemeyer & Björn Berg. (1990) Apparent controls of mass loss rate of leaf litter on a regional scale. Scandinavian Journal of Forest Research 5:1-4, pages 311-323.
Read now

Articles from other publishers (76)

John H. Graham & Rachel Christopher. (2023) Leaf Shape and Self-Mulching by Trees: A Hypothesis. Symmetry 15:6, pages 1198.
Crossref
Hernán Morffi-Mestre, Gregorio Ángeles-Pérez, Jennifer S. Powers, José Luis Andrade, Richard Evan Feldman, Filogonio May-Pat, Francisco Chi-May & Juan Manuel Dupuy-Rada. (2023) Leaf litter decomposition rates: influence of successional age, topography and microenvironment on six dominant tree species in a tropical dry forest. Frontiers in Forests and Global Change 6.
Crossref
Karina Peña-Peña & Ulrich Irmler. (2022) Modelling litter decomposition rates along a geographic, climatic, and land-use gradient in Southern Amazonia and Pará. Pedobiologia 95, pages 150839.
Crossref
Sumit Chakravarty, Prakash Rai, Vineeta, Nazir A. Pala & Gopal Shukla. 2022. Research Anthology on Ecosystem Conservation and Preserving Biodiversity. Research Anthology on Ecosystem Conservation and Preserving Biodiversity 1416 1435 .
Björn Berg & Mikael Lönn. (2022) Long-Term Effects of Climate and Litter Chemistry on Rates and Stable Fractions of Decomposing Scots Pine and Norway Spruce Needle Litter—A Synthesis. Forests 13:1, pages 125.
Crossref
Elgene O. Box & Kazue Fujiwara. 2021. Tools for Landscape-Scale Geobotany and Conservation. Tools for Landscape-Scale Geobotany and Conservation 327 363 .
Pablo García-Palacios, I. Tanya Handa & Stephan Hättenschwiler. 2021. The Ecology of Plant Litter Decomposition in Stream Ecosystems. The Ecology of Plant Litter Decomposition in Stream Ecosystems 101 126 .
Fidel Hernández. (2020) Ecological Discord and the Importance of Scale in Scientific Inquiry. The Journal of Wildlife Management 84:8, pages 1427-1434.
Crossref
Sumit Chakravarty, Prakash Rai, Vineeta, Nazir A. Pala & Gopal Shukla. 2020. Handbook of Research on the Conservation and Restoration of Tropical Dry Forests. Handbook of Research on the Conservation and Restoration of Tropical Dry Forests 193 212 .
Björn Berg & Charles McClaughertyBjörn Berg & Charles McClaugherty. 2020. Plant Litter. Plant Litter 165 187 .
Ping-Chun Lucy Hou, Hao-Chiang Chien, Ren-Tao Liu & Yosef Steinberger. (2019) Litter Spider Communities and their Effects on Invertebrate Fauna and Decomposing Rates in Nanjenshan Rain Forest, Taiwan. Polish Journal of Ecology 67:3, pages 231.
Crossref
Min Yan, Zengyuan Li, Xin Tian, Li Zhang & Yu Zhou. (2019) Improved simulation of carbon and water fluxes by assimilating multi-layer soil temperature and moisture into process-based biogeochemical model. Forest Ecosystems 6:1.
Crossref
Stephanie Law, Paul Eggleton, Hannah Griffiths, Louise Ashton & Catherine Parr. (2019) Suspended Dead Wood Decomposes Slowly in the Tropics, with Microbial Decay Greater than Termite Decay. Ecosystems 22:6, pages 1176-1188.
Crossref
Jae-Seok Lee. (2018) Effect of micro-environment in ridge and southern slope on soil respiration in Quercus mongolica forest. Journal of Ecology and Environment 42:1.
Crossref
Jae-Seok Lee. (2018) Relationship of root biomass and soil respiration in a stand of deciduous broadleaved trees—a case study in a maple tree. Journal of Ecology and Environment 42:1.
Crossref
Seok-Hee Jeong, Ji-Young Eom, Joo-Yeon Park, Jung-Hwa Chun & Jae-Seok Lee. (2018) Effect of precipitation on soil respiration in a temperate broad-leaved forest. Journal of Ecology and Environment 42:1.
Crossref
J. S. Singh & R.K ChaturvediJ. S. Singh & R. K. Chaturvedi. 2017. Tropical Dry Deciduous Forest: Research Trends and Emerging Features. Tropical Dry Deciduous Forest: Research Trends and Emerging Features 111 147 .
Chittaranjan Das & Naba Kumar Mondal. (2016) Litterfall, decomposition and nutrient release of Shorea robusta and Tectona grandis in a sub-tropical forest of West Bengal, Eastern India. Journal of Forestry Research 27:5, pages 1055-1065.
Crossref
Taylor A. McCorkle, Skylar S. Williams, Timothy A. Pfeiffer & Jeffrey B. Basara. (2016) Atmospheric Contributors to Heavy Rainfall Events in the Arkansas-Red River Basin. Advances in Meteorology 2016, pages 1-15.
Crossref
Birgit Koehler & Lars J. Tranvik. (2015) Reactivity continuum modeling of leaf, root, and wood decomposition across biomes. Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences 120:7, pages 1196-1214.
Crossref
Monica G. Turner & Robert H. GardnerMonica G. Turner & Robert H. Gardner. 2015. Landscape Ecology in Theory and Practice. Landscape Ecology in Theory and Practice 1 32 .
Landry Cizungu, Jeroen Staelens, Dries Huygens, Jean Walangululu, Daniel Muhindo, Oswald Van Cleemput & Pascal Boeckx. (2014) Litterfall and leaf litter decomposition in a central African tropical mountain forest and Eucalyptus plantation. Forest Ecology and Management 326, pages 109-116.
Crossref
Vikrant Jaryan, Sanjay Kr. Uniyal, R. C. Gupta & R. D. Singh. (2014) Litter Fall and Its Decomposition in Sapium sebiferum Roxb.: An Invasive Tree Species in Western Himalaya . International Journal of Ecology 2014, pages 1-7.
Crossref
Rosa M. Cuevas, Claudia Hidalgo, Fidel Payán, Jorge D. Etchevers & Julio Campo. (2013) Precipitation influences on active fractions of soil organic matter in seasonally dry tropical forests of the Yucatan: regional and seasonal patterns. European Journal of Forest Research 132:5-6, pages 667-677.
Crossref
M. Giese, H. Brueck, Y. Z. Gao, S. Lin, M. Steffens, I. Kögel-Knabner, T. Glindemann, A. Susenbeth, F. Taube, K. Butterbach-Bahl, X. H. Zheng, C. Hoffmann, Y. F. Bai & X. G. Han. (2013) N balance and cycling of Inner Mongolia typical steppe: a comprehensive case study of grazing effects. Ecological Monographs 83:2, pages 195-219.
Crossref
Y. Fukasawa, O. Tateno, Y. Hagiwara, D. Hirose & T. Osono. (2012) Fungal succession and decomposition of beech cupule litter. Ecological Research 27:4, pages 735-743.
Crossref
Kelvin S.-H. Peh, Bonaventure Sonké, Hermann Taedoung, Oliver Séné, Jon Lloyd & Simon L. Lewis. (2012) Investigating diversity dependence of tropical forest litter decomposition: experiments and observations from Central Africa. Journal of Vegetation Science 23:2, pages 223-235.
Crossref
Lei XIA, Fu-Zhong WU & Wan-Qin YANG. (2011) Contribution of soil fauna to mass loss of <I>Abies faxoniana</I> leaf litter during the freeze-thaw season. Chinese Journal of Plant Ecology 35:11, pages 1127-1135.
Crossref
Yu-Hui Huang, Yue-Lin Li, Yin Xiao, Katherine O. Wenigmann, Guo-Yi Zhou, De-Qiang Zhang, Mike Wenigmann, Xu-Li Tang & Ju-Xiu Liu. (2011) Controls of litter quality on the carbon sink in soils through partitioning the products of decomposing litter in a forest succession series in South China. Forest Ecology and Management 261:7, pages 1170-1177.
Crossref
Namyi Chae. (2011) Annual Variation of Soil Respiration and Precipitation in a Temperate Forest (Quercus serrata and Carpinus laxiflora) Under East Asian Monsoon Climate. Journal of Plant Biology 54:2, pages 101-111.
Crossref
Wallace M. MeyerIIIIII, Rebecca Ostertag & Robert H. Cowie. (2011) Macro-invertebrates accelerate litter decomposition and nutrient release in a Hawaiian rainforest. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 43:1, pages 206-211.
Crossref
Yasin M.S. Salah & Mary C. Scholes. (2011) Effect of temperature and litter quality on decomposition rate of Pinus patula needle litter. Procedia Environmental Sciences 6, pages 180-193.
Crossref
Ping Liu, Jianhui Huang, Osbert Jianxin Sun & Xingguo Han. (2009) Litter decomposition and nutrient release as affected by soil nitrogen availability and litter quality in a semiarid grassland ecosystem. Oecologia 162:3, pages 771-780.
Crossref
Xuhui Zhou, Melissa Talley & Yiqi Luo. (2009) Biomass, Litter, and Soil Respiration Along a Precipitation Gradient in Southern Great Plains, USA. Ecosystems 12:8, pages 1369-1380.
Crossref
Scott D. Tiegs, Philips O. Akinwole & Mark O. Gessner. (2009) Litter decomposition across multiple spatial scales in stream networks. Oecologia 161:2, pages 343-351.
Crossref
Jennifer S. Powers, Rebecca A. Montgomery, E. Carol Adair, Francis Q. Brearley, Saara J. DeWalt, Camila T. Castanho, Jerome Chave, Erika Deinert, Jörg U. Ganzhorn, Matthew E. Gilbert, José Antonio González-Iturbe, Sarayudh Bunyavejchewin, H. Ricardo Grau, Kyle E. Harms, Ankila Hiremath, Silvia Iriarte-Vivar, Eric Manzane, Alexandre A. de Oliveira, Lourens Poorter, Jean-Baptiste Ramanamanjato, Carl Salk, Amanda Varela, George D. Weiblen & Manuel T. Lerdau. (2009) Decomposition in tropical forests: a pan-tropical study of the effects of litter type, litter placement and mesofaunal exclusion across a precipitation gradient. Journal of Ecology 97:4, pages 801-811.
Crossref
HAIBIN WU, JOËL GUIOT, CHANGHUI PENG & ZHENGTANG GUO. (2009) New coupled model used inversely for reconstructing past terrestrial carbon storage from pollen data: validation of model using modern data. Global Change Biology 15:1, pages 82-96.
Crossref
Guoyi Zhou, Lili Guan, Xiaohua Wei, Xuli Tang, Shuguang Liu, Juxiu Liu, Deqiang Zhang & Junhua Yan. (2008) Factors influencing leaf litter decomposition: an intersite decomposition experiment across China. Plant and Soil 311:1-2, pages 61-72.
Crossref
F. Sangiorgio, A. Basset, M. Pinna, L. Sabetta, M. Abbiati, M. Ponti, M. Minocci, S. Orfanidis, A. Nicolaidou, S. Moncheva, A. Trayanova, L. Georgescu, S. Dragan, S. Beqiraj, D. Koutsoubas, A. Evagelopoulos & S. Reizopoulou. (2008) Environmental factors affecting Phragmites australis litter decomposition in Mediterranean and Black Sea transitional waters. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 18:S1, pages S16-S26.
Crossref
G. Darrel Jenerette & Rattan Lal. (2005) Hydrologic sources of carbon cycling uncertainty throughout the terrestrial-aquatic continuum. Global Change Biology 0:0, pages 051115033519002-???.
Crossref
J.L. Campbell & B.E. Law. (2005) Forest soil respiration across three climatically distinct chronosequences in Oregon. Biogeochemistry 73:1, pages 109-125.
Crossref
Björn Berg & Ryszard Laskowski. 2005. Litter Decomposition: A Guide to Carbon and Nutrient Turnover. Litter Decomposition: A Guide to Carbon and Nutrient Turnover 377 405 .
J. L. Campbell, O. J. Sun & B. E. Law. (2004) Supply-side controls on soil respiration among Oregon forests. Global Change Biology 10:11, pages 1857-1869.
Crossref
Markus Egli, Christian Hitz, Peter Fitze & Aldo Mirabella. (2004) Experimental determination of climate‐change effects on above‐ground and below‐ground organic matter in alpine grasslands by translocation of soil cores. Journal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science 167:4, pages 457-470.
Crossref
Ole Hendrickson. (2003) Influences of global change on carbon sequestration by agricultural and forest soils. Environmental Reviews 11:3, pages 161-192.
Crossref
Kevin B. McTiernan, Marie-Madeleine Coûteaux, Björn Berg, Matty P. Berg, Rosa Calvo de Anta, Antonio Gallardo, Werner Kratz, Pietro Piussi, Jean Remacle & Amalia Virzo De Santo. (2003) Changes in chemical composition of Pinus sylvestris needle litter during decomposition along a European coniferous forest climatic transect. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 35:6, pages 801-812.
Crossref
Liu Chun-jiang, Hannu Ilvesniemi, Björn Berg, Werner Kutsch, Yang Yu-sheng, Ma Xiang-qing & Carl J. Westman. (2003) Aboveground litterfall in Eurasian forests. Journal of Forestry Research 14:1, pages 27-34.
Crossref
J.E. Barrett, R.L. McCulley, D.R. Lane, I.C. Burke & W.K. Lauenroth. (2002) Influence of climate variability on plant production and N‐mineralization in Central US grasslands. Journal of Vegetation Science 13:3, pages 383-394.
Crossref
Howard E. Epstein, Ingrid C. Burke & William K. Lauenroth. (2002) REGIONAL PATTERNS OF DECOMPOSITION AND PRIMARY PRODUCTION RATES IN THE U.S. GREAT PLAINS * . Ecology 83:2, pages 320-327.
Crossref
Sari C. Saunders, Jiquan Chen, Thomas D. Drummer, Thomas R. Crow, Kimberley D. Brosofske & Eric J. Gustafson. (2002) The patch mosaic and ecological decomposition across spatial scales in a managed landscape of northern Wisconsin, USA. Basic and Applied Ecology 3:1, pages 49-64.
Crossref
B Berg & V Meentemeyer. (2001) Litter fall in some European coniferous forests as dependent on climate: a synthesis. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 31:2, pages 292-301.
Crossref
Henry L. Gholz, David A. Wedin, Stephen M. Smitherman, Mark E. Harmon & William J. Parton. (2000) Long-term dynamics of pine and hardwood litter in contrasting environments: toward a global model of decomposition. Global Change Biology 6:7, pages 751-765.
Crossref
Cathy Kurz, Marie-Madeleine Coûteaux & Jean M. Thiéry. (2000) Residence time and decomposition rate of Pinus pinaster needles in a forest floor from direct field measurements under a Mediterranean climate. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 32:8-9, pages 1197-1206.
Crossref
Björn Berg, Maj-Britt Johansson & Vernon Meentemeyer. (2000) Litter decomposition in a transect of Norway spruce forests: substrate quality and climate control. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 30:7, pages 1136-1147.
Crossref
GAIUS R. SHAVER, JOSEP CANADELL, F. S. CHAPIN, JESSICA GUREVITCH, JOHN HARTE, GREG HENRY, PHIL INESON, SVEN JONASSON, JERRY MELILLO, LOUIS PITELKA & LLINDSEY RUSTAD. (2000) Global Warming and Terrestrial Ecosystems: A Conceptual Framework for Analysis. BioScience 50:10, pages 871.
Crossref
Ingrid C. Burke. 2000. Methods in Ecosystem Science. Methods in Ecosystem Science 277 288 .
T. R. MooreJ. A. TrofymowB. TaylorC. PrescottC. CamiréL. DuscheneJ. FylesL. KozakM. KranabetterI. MorrisonM. SiltanenS. SmithB. TitusS. VisserR. Wein & S. Zoltai. (2001) Litter decomposition rates in Canadian forests. Global Change Biology 5:1, pages 75-82.
Crossref
Weihong Fan, J. C. Randolph & Jeffrey L. Ehman. (1998) REGIONAL ESTIMATION OF NITROGEN MINERALIZATION IN FOREST ECOSYSTEMS USING GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS. Ecological Applications 8:3, pages 734-747.
Crossref
Ingrid C. Burke, William K. Lauenroth & Carol A. Wessman. 1998. Successes, Limitations, and Frontiers in Ecosystem Science. Successes, Limitations, and Frontiers in Ecosystem Science 165 194 .
Ingrid C. Burke, William K. Lauenroth & William J. Parton. (1997) REGIONAL AND TEMPORAL VARIATION IN NET PRIMARY PRODUCTION AND NITROGEN MINERALIZATION IN GRASSLANDS. Ecology 78:5, pages 1330-1340.
Crossref
. (1995) Vegetation/Ecosystem Modeling and Analysis Project:Comparing biogeography and biogeochemistry models in a continental-scale study of terrestrial ecosystem responses to climate change and CO 2 doubling . Global Biogeochemical Cycles 9:4, pages 407-437.
Crossref
Maj-Britt Johansson, Björn Berg & Vernon Meentemeyer. (1995) Litter mass-loss rates in late stages of decomposition in a climatic transect of pine forests. Long-term decomposition in a Scots pine forest. IX.. Canadian Journal of Botany 73:10, pages 1509-1521.
Crossref
B. Berg, M.-B. Johansson, R. Calvo de Anta, A. Escudero, A. Gärdenäs, R. Laskowski, M. Madeira, E. Mälkönen, C. McClaugherty, V. Meentemeyer & A. Virzo De Santo. (1995) The chemical composition of newly shed needle litter of Scots pine and some other pine species in a climatic transect. X Long-term decomposition in a Scots pine forest. Canadian Journal of Botany 73:9, pages 1423-1435.
Crossref
Jukka Laine, Harri Vasander & Tapani Sallantaus. (1995) Ecological effects of peatland drainage for forestry. Environmental Reviews 3:3-4, pages 286-303.
Crossref
P. Bottner, M. M. Coûteaux & V. R. Vallejo. 1995. Global Change and Mediterranean-Type Ecosystems. Global Change and Mediterranean-Type Ecosystems 306 325 .
Jonathan A. Foley. (1994) The sensitivity of the terrestrial biosphere to climatic change: A simulation of the Middle Holocene. Global Biogeochemical Cycles 8:4, pages 505-525.
Crossref
B. Berg, M. P. Berg, P. Bottner, E. Box, A. Breymeyer, R. Ca de Anta, M. Couteaux, A. Escudero, A. Gallardo, W. Kratz, M. Madeira, E. Mälkönen, C. McClaugherty, V. Meentemeyer, F. Muñoz, P. Piussi, J. Remacle & A. Vi de Santo. (1993) Litter mass loss rates in pine forests of Europe and Eastern United States: some relationships with climate and litter quality. Biogeochemistry 20:3, pages 127-159.
Crossref
Steven W. Running & E. Raymond HuntJr.Jr.. 1993. Scaling Physiological Processes. Scaling Physiological Processes 141 158 .
Alan R. Townsend, Peter M. Vitousek & Elisabeth A. Holland. (1992) Tropical soils could dominate the short-term carbon cycle feedbacks to increased global temperatures. Climatic Change 22:4, pages 293-303.
Crossref
E.O. BOX & V. MEENTEMEYER. 1991. Modern Ecology. Modern Ecology 773 804 .
A.I. BREYMEYER. 1991. Modern Ecology. Modern Ecology 751 771 .
Monica G. Turner, Virginia H. Dale & Robert H. Gardner. (1989) Predicting across scales: Theory development and testing. Landscape Ecology 3:3-4, pages 245-252.
Crossref
Vernon Meentemeyer. (1989) Geographical perspectives of space, time, and scale. Landscape Ecology 3:3-4, pages 163-173.
Crossref
Guy N. Cameron & Stephen R. Spencer. (1989) Rapid leaf decay and nutrient release in a chinese tallow forest. Oecologia 80:2, pages 222-228.
Crossref
Steven W. Running & Joseph C. Coughlan. (1988) A general model of forest ecosystem processes for regional applications I. Hydrologic balance, canopy gas exchange and primary production processes. Ecological Modelling 42:2, pages 125-154.
Crossref
Vernon Meentemeyer & Elgene O. Box. 1987. Landscape Heterogeneity and Disturbance. Landscape Heterogeneity and Disturbance 15 34 .

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Order Reprints Request Corporate Permissions

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

Request Academic Permissions

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.

Related research

People also read lists articles that other readers of this article have read.

Recommended articles lists articles that we recommend and is powered by our AI driven recommendation engine.

Cited by lists all citing articles based on Crossref citations.
Articles with the Crossref icon will open in a new tab.