Experimental studies of the relative effects of leaf litter from four hardwood trees on protozoan community productivity

Abstract

Leaf litter is an important source of organic matter as nutrients for aquatic and terrestrial microbial communities. Biogenic decomposition of leaf litter contributes substantially to atmospheric CO2, possibly producing global warming, and comprises an important part of the terrestrial carbon cycle. Small‐scale variability in terrestrial protozoan communities may be attributed to localized variations in leaf matter. This study examined the effect of aqueous leaf extracts from four trees (beech, maple, red oak, and white oak) on the abundance and diversity of protozoa in laboratory aquatic and soil cultures. Beech leaf extract was the most productive followed in the descending order by white oak, red oak, and maple in both aquatic and soil microcosm cultures. Dilution experiments indicated that concentration‐related inhibitory substance(s) in the maple and red oak leaves contribute to lower productivity. Removal of tannins by treatment with activated charcoal (Norit®) improved productivity especially for red oak leaf extracts, suggesting that tannins may contribute to the inhibition of protozoan standing stock. To determine if the lower productivity was mainly due to the inhibition of protozoan excystment, aliquots of thoroughly dried soil were inoculated into maple and red oak leaf extracts. A comparable growth of protozoa occurred in these treatments as in aliquots from moist soil indicating that inhibition of excystment is not a likely explanation for reduced productivity of the protozoan communities.