Journal
HYDROBIOLOGIA
Volume 519, Issue 1-3, Pages 207-210Publisher
SPRINGER
DOI: 10.1023/B:HYDR.0000026592.50734.ea
Keywords
detritus breakdown; k-values; Syzygium; Vanguera; Rhus; Dombeya; Pittosporum
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Mass loss of leaf litter from five common riparian trees in Kenya was determined using mesh bags over a 70-day period. The study was carried out in a river which previous research has shown to be apparently devoid of invertebrate shredders. There was a five fold difference between the most rapid and slowest decay rates, but all were within the fast range identified from temperate zone trees, demonstrating high rates of microbial activity. We conclude, therefore, that the low biomass of invertebrate shredders in Kenyan highland streams cannot be explained by poor quality of the leaf litter that enters them.
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