Decomposition Rates of Purple Loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) and Lyngbyei's Sedge (Carex lyngbyei) in the Fraser River Estuary

Using litter bag experiments in the Fraser River estuary in British Columbia, we tested for differences in the relative decomposition rates between leaves of purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria), an introduced exotic and a native sedge (Carex lyngbyei). The difference in the mean decay rate coeffi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Estuaries Vol. 20; no. 1; pp. 96 - 102
Main Authors:	Grout, Jeff A., Levings, Colin D., Richardson, John S.
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Lawrence, KS Estuarine Research Federation 01-03-1997 Springer Nature B.V
Subjects:	Animal and plant ecology Animal, plant and microbial ecology Aquatic plants Biological and medical sciences Brackish Carex lyngbyei Coefficients Decay Decay rate Decomposition Detritus Estuaries Estuarine dynamics Fisheries science Flowers & plants Food chains Food webs Fresh water ecosystems Freshwater Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology Invertebrates Juveniles Leaves Lotic systems Lysimachia Lythrum salicaria Nonnative species Ocean fisheries Oncorhynchus keta Plant litter River ecology Rivers Salmon Salmonidae Sedges Synecology Vegetation Canada British Columbia North America America Fraser River Canada, British Columbia INE, Canada, British Columbia, Fraser Estuary Canada, British Columbia, Fraser R Monocotyledones Litter Interspecific comparison Estuaries Decomposition Plant leaf Freshwater environment Lythraceae Dicotyledones Angiospermae Cyperaceae Spermatophyta Stream
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Summary:	Using litter bag experiments in the Fraser River estuary in British Columbia, we tested for differences in the relative decomposition rates between leaves of purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria), an introduced exotic and a native sedge (Carex lyngbyei). The difference in the mean decay rate coefficient for the two species was significantly different (p < 0.01) and the coefficient for purple loosestrife (0.0110 d-1) was nearly four times higher than for Lyngbyei's sedge (0.0028 d-1). This is the first estimate of the decay rate coefficient for purple loosestrife from an estuary. The rapid decay rate of loosestrife leaves suggests that they supply detritus to the ecosystem in autumn whereas the much slower decay rate of sedge implies that it supplies detritus throughout the winter and early spring. Consumer organisms important in juvenile salmon food webs appear to be adapted to take advantage of the detritus provided in these seasons. The findings have implications for habitat management because purple loosestrife has recently invaded estuaries of the northeast Pacific and may be outcompeting native sedges important in detrital-based food webs.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-2 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-1 content type line 23 ObjectType-Article-1 ObjectType-Feature-2
ISSN:	0160-8347 1559-2723 1559-2758 1559-2731
DOI:	10.2307/1352723