Abstract
The evaluation of leaf detritus processing (decomposition and breakdown) is one of the most simple and cost-effective method to assess the functional characteristics of freshwater ecosystems. However, in comparison with other freshwater habitats, information on leaf litter breakdown in spring ecosystems is still scarce and fragmentary. In this paper, we present results of the first application of a variant of the leaf-bags method to assess structure of macroinvertebrate assemblages and leaf-litter breakdown in a Central Apennines (Italy) cold spring which was investigated from July 2016 to October 2016. Notwithstanding the stable conditions of almost all hydrological and physico-chemical parameters, we found significant temporal differences in (i) % of mass loss of poplar leaves (ii) number of Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and Trichoptera taxa, (iii) shredder and predator densities. We demonstrate that detritus processing in cold springs may be faster than or as fast as in warmer streams/rivers. Shredders activity and biocoenotic interactions, rather than temperature and nutrients load, were the main drivers of the process. A routine application of the modified leaf-bags may contribute to expand our knowledge on detritus processing in cold springs and may help to predict impacts of climate warming on freshwater ecosystem functioning.
Highlights
Recent studies have highlighted the importance of structural and functional parameters to assess the ecological integrity of freshwater ecosystems (Young, Matthaei & Townsend, 2008; Woodward et al, 2012)
There was a significant difference in dry mass loss among the four sampling periods (ANOVA, F3,23 = 8.311, p = 0.001); leaf litter breakdown gradually decreased from a peak of 68% ± 2% in July to 52% ± 4% in October (Fig. 2)
In accordance with our results, Lehosmaa et al (2017) found that detritus breakdown of Alnus incana leaves in Finnish cold springs was twofold higher than that of a mountain stream in southern Poland (Galas, 1995), while no substantial differences were found in the breakdown rate of American elm leaves between cold springs and first/second order streams in North America (Gazzera, Cummins & Salmoiraghi, 1991; Sangiorgio et al, 2010)
Summary
Recent studies have highlighted the importance of structural and functional parameters to assess the ecological integrity of freshwater ecosystems (Young, Matthaei & Townsend, 2008; Woodward et al, 2012). The evaluation of leaf detritus processing (decomposition and breakdown) is one of the simplest and most cost-effective method to assess the functional characteristics of lotic and lentic systems and has been successfully. Data on the relative importance of biotic and abiotic factors in affecting plant litter decomposition are essential to predict impacts of climate warming on freshwater ecosystem functioning and global carbon fluxes (Boyero et al, 2011, 2014, 2016; Jyväsjärvi et al, 2015; Follstad Shah et al, 2017). Compared to other freshwater habitats, data on leaf-litter breakdown in spring/springbrook habitats are still scarce and fragmentary (Bartodziej & Perry, 1990; Robinson & Gessner, 2000; Sangiorgio et al, 2010; Benstead & Huryn, 2011; Lehosmaa et al, 2017), mostly because of the lack of standardized methodologies
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