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Decomposition rates of four litter types along coastal gradients in Everglades National Park (FCE LTER), Florida, USA: 2020-2021


At a Glance


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Authors: Kenneth Anderson, John Kominoski
Time period: 2020-01-01 to 2021-12-31
Package id: knb-lter-fce.1239.1

How to cite:
Anderson, K., J. Kominoski. 2022. Decomposition rates of four litter types along coastal gradients in Everglades National Park (FCE LTER), Florida, USA: 2020-2021. Environmental Data Initiative. https://doi.org/10.6073/pasta/913c2e48833bd96849a4a7eb5f0571a8. Dataset accessed 2024-04-27.

Geographic Coverage


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Detailed Metadata


  • Dataset Abstract
    Leaf litter, of variable quality, was deployed along freshwater-to-marine gradients to investigate the drivers of litter breakdown in the Florida Coastal Everglades. Sea-level rise provides both stressors and subsidies to microbial communities that break down litter, and is also causing shifts in the vegetation producing litter, changing the initial quality of litter being deposited in coastal wetlands. The goal of this project was to understand the complex relationship between marine stressors and subsidies, by performing a reciprocal transplant of litter. Litter from each major vegetation species along the freshwater to marine gradient were deployed at sites in freshwater, the ecotone, mangrove forest, and in Florida Bay. This reciprocal transplant of different qualities of leaf litter into novel environments across a gradient of salinity and phosphorus will give insights into the effects of litter carbon quality, littery chemistry, microbial productivity of decomposers, and environmental chemistry as drivers of the breakdown of leaf litter.
  • Geographic Coverage
    Bounding Coordinates
    SRS2
    N: 25.54972811, S: 25.54972811, E: -80.78520692, W: -80.78520692

    SRS4
    N: 25.40976421, S: 25.40976421, E: -80.96431016, W: -80.96431016

    SRS6
    N: 25.36462994, S: 25.36462994, E: -81.07794623, W: -81.07794623

    TS/Ph2
    N: 25.40357188, S: 25.40357188, E: -80.60690341, W: -80.60690341

    TS/Ph3
    N: 25.25240534, S: 25.25240534, E: -80.66271768, W: -80.66271768

    TS/Ph7a
    N: 25.19080491, S: 25.19080491, E: -80.63910514, W: -80.63910514

    TS/Ph10
    N: 25.02476744, S: 25.02476744, E: -80.68097374, W: -80.68097374

  • Attributes
    • Data Table:   Litter decomposition rates for 4 species of litter across two freshwater to marine gradients.
      Attribute Name:
      Date_Deployed
      Attribute Label:
      Date_Deployed
      Attribute Definition:
      Date Litterbag was first deployed
      Storage Type:
      DateTime
      Measurement Scale:
      Missing Value Code:
       

      Attribute Name:
      Date_Collected
      Attribute Label:
      Date_Collected
      Attribute Definition:
      Date Litterbag was collected
      Storage Type:
      dateTime
      Measurement Scale:
      Missing Value Code:
       

      Attribute Name:
      Species
      Attribute Label:
      Species
      Attribute Definition:
      Species of leaf litter deployed in the litterbag
      Storage Type:
      string
      Measurement Scale:
      Cladium jamaicense= Litter from species: Cladium jamaicense
      Eleocharis cellulosa= Litter from species: Eleocharis cellulosa
      Rhizophora mangle= Litter from species: Rhizophora mangle
      Thalassia testudinum= Litter from species: Thalassia testudinum
      Missing Value Code:
       

      Attribute Name:
      Site
      Attribute Label:
      Site
      Attribute Definition:
      LTER Site Designation
      Storage Type:
      string
      Measurement Scale:
      SRS2= LTER Site: SRS-2
      SRS4= LTER Site: SRS-4
      SRS6= LTER Site: SRS-6
      TS/Ph10= LTER Site: TS/Ph-10
      TS/Ph2= LTER Site: TS/Ph-2
      TS/Ph3= LTER Site: TS/Ph-3
      TS/Ph7= LTER Site: TS/Ph-7
      Missing Value Code:
       

      Attribute Name:
      Tag
      Attribute Label:
      Tag
      Attribute Definition:
      Tag for individual litterbag
      Storage Type:
      float
      Measurement Scale:
      Units: Tag Number
      Number Type: real
      Missing Value Code:
      -9999 (Missing Sample)

      Attribute Name:
      Fine_initial_mass
      Attribute Label:
      Fine_initial_mass
      Attribute Definition:
      Initial mass for the fine mesh (1mm) bag
      Storage Type:
      float
      Measurement Scale:
      Units: gram
      Number Type: real
      Missing Value Code:
       

      Attribute Name:
      Coarse_initial_mass
      Attribute Label:
      Coarse_initial_mass
      Attribute Definition:
      Initial mass for coarse mesh (7mm) bag
      Storage Type:
      float
      Measurement Scale:
      Units: gram
      Number Type: real
      Missing Value Code:
       

      Attribute Name:
      Dried_Fine_mass
      Attribute Label:
      Dried_Fine_mass
      Attribute Definition:
      Dry litter mass after collection
      Storage Type:
      float
      Measurement Scale:
      Units: gram
      Number Type: real
      Missing Value Code:
      -9999 (Missing value, due to lost sample)

      Attribute Name:
      Dried_Coarse_mass
      Attribute Label:
      Dried_Coarse_mass
      Attribute Definition:
      Dry litter mass after collection for litter from the coarse mesh bag
      Storage Type:
      string
      Measurement Scale:
      Units: gram
      Number Type: real
      Missing Value Code:
      -9999 (Missing value, due to lost sample)

      Attribute Name:
      AFDM_Coarse
      Attribute Label:
      AFDM_Coarse
      Attribute Definition:
      Ash Free Dry Mass for litter from the coarse mesh (7mm) bags
      Storage Type:
      float
      Measurement Scale:
      Units: gram
      Number Type: real
      Missing Value Code:
      -9999 (Missing sample, or unable to calculate with no mass remaining)

      Attribute Name:
      AFDM_Fine
      Attribute Label:
      AFDM_Fine
      Attribute Definition:
      Ash Free Dry Mass for litter from the fine mesh (1mm) bags
      Storage Type:
      float
      Measurement Scale:
      Units: gram
      Number Type: real
      Missing Value Code:
      -9999 (Missing sample, or unable to calculate with no mass remaining)

      Attribute Name:
      Mass_Loss_Coarse_g
      Attribute Label:
      Mass_Loss_Coarse_g
      Attribute Definition:
      Mass lost before collection for the coarse mesh (7mm) bag
      Storage Type:
      float
      Measurement Scale:
      Units: gram
      Number Type: real
      Missing Value Code:
      -9999 (Missing sample, or unable to calculate with no mass remaining)

      Attribute Name:
      Mass_Loss_Fine_g
      Attribute Label:
      Mass_Loss_Fine_g
      Attribute Definition:
      Mass lost before collection for the fine mesh (1mm) bag
      Storage Type:
      float
      Measurement Scale:
      Units: gram
      Number Type: real
      Missing Value Code:
      -9999 (Missing sample, or unable to calculate with no mass remaining)

      Attribute Name:
      Days_Deployed
      Attribute Label:
      Days_Deployed
      Attribute Definition:
      Number of days before the litterbag was collected and processed
      Storage Type:
      float
      Measurement Scale:
      Units: Days
      Number Type: integer
      Missing Value Code:
       

      Attribute Name:
      k_Coarse
      Attribute Label:
      k_Coarse
      Attribute Definition:
      Breakdown rate for the course (7mm) mesh bag
      Storage Type:
      string
      Measurement Scale:
      Units: k
      Number Type: real
      Missing Value Code:
      -9999 (Missing sample, or unable to calculate with no mass remaining)

      Attribute Name:
      k_fine
      Attribute Label:
      k_fine
      Attribute Definition:
      Breakdown rate for the fine (1mm) mesh bag
      Storage Type:
      string
      Measurement Scale:
      Units: k
      Number Type: real
      Missing Value Code:
       


  • Methods
    Method Step

    Description
    Initial Litter Collection and Deployment Litter of C. jamaicense and E. cellulosa were collected at SRS 2. Litter of R. mangle was collected at SRS6. Litter of T. testudinum was collected at TS/Ph10. Collected litter of C. jamaicense, E. cellulosa, and R. mangle were air fried for 2 weeks before being subset into litter bags. Three (3) grams of dry litter was sealed in each coarse (3mm) and fine (1mm) mesh litter bag. Fine mesh litter bags were further sealed inside a corresponding coarse mesh bag. Each bag was marked with a metal tag to identify the specific bag. The exact mass of litter in each coarse and fine mesh bag was recorded before sealing the bags. Collected T. testudinum litter was weighed wet and was collected, weighed, and deployed within 3 days of initial collection, and was maintained at 7 C until being deployed. A subset of T. testudinum litter was weighed and dried and the ratio of wet to dry mass was used to calculate the initial dry mass of each T. testudinum sample. Six (6) grams of wet T. testudinum litter was sealed in each coarse and fine mesh litter bag. Fine mesh litter bags were further sealed inside a corresponding coarse mesh bag. Each bag was marked with a metal tag to identify the specific bag. The exact wet mass of litter in each coarse and fine mesh bag was recorded before sealing the bags.


    Method Step

    Description
    Litterbag Deployment Litter of C. jamaicense, E. cellulosa, and R. mangle were deployed to all sites (SRS2, SRS4, SRS6, TS/Ph2, TS/Ph3, TS/Ph7, TS/Ph10). Litter of T. testudinum was deployed at SRS6, TS/Ph7, and TS/Ph10.


    Method Step

    Description
    Litter Retrieval Litterbag replicates were retrieved at 1, 3, and 10 months after deployment. Litter was dried, weighed and combusted to calculate the ash-free dry mass (AFDM) of the remaining litter. The AFDM was used to calculate the total mass loss, and days deployed were used to calculate the breakdown rate k for each litter sample.


  • Distribution and Intellectual Rights
    Online distribution
    https://pasta.lternet.edu/package/data/eml/knb-lter-fce/1239/1/8257272c7a84b6b590e655f7b59c58d0
    Intellectual Rights
    This information is released under the Creative Commons license - Attribution - CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The consumer of these data ("Data User" herein) is required to cite it appropriately in any publication that results from its use. The Data User should realize that these data may be actively used by others for ongoing research and that coordination may be necessary to prevent duplicate publication. The Data User is urged to contact the authors of these data if any questions about methodology or results occur. Where appropriate, the Data User is encouraged to consider collaboration or co-authorship with the authors. The Data User should realize that misinterpretation of data may occur if used out of context of the original study. While substantial efforts are made to ensure the accuracy of data and associated documentation, complete accuracy of data sets cannot be guaranteed. All data are made available "as is." The Data User should be aware, however, that data are updated periodically and it is the responsibility of the Data User to check for new versions of the data. The data authors and the repository where these data were obtained shall not be liable for damages resulting from any use or misinterpretation of the data. Thank you.

  • Keywords
    litter, decomposition, leaf decomposition, leaf litter, litterbags, FCE, Florida Coastal Everglades LTER, breakdown
  • Data Table and Format
    Data Table:  Litter decomposition rates for 4 species of litter across two freshwater to marine gradients.

    Entity Name:
    Final Litter Mass Dataset
    Entity Description:
    Litter decomposition rates for 4 species of litter across two freshwater to marine gradients.
    Object Name:
    Final Litter Mass Dataset.csv
    Number of Header Lines:
    1
    Attribute Orientation:
    column
    Field Delimiter:
    ,
    Number of Records:
    280