Subsurface hydrology and degree of burial affect mass loss and invertebrate colonisation of leaves in a woodland stream

1. In deciduous forest streams, fallen leaves form a large component of the total organic matter budget, and many leaves become buried within stream sediments. We examined the processing of buried leaves as compared with those at the surface, and the influence of subsurface hydrology on processing rates. 2. Leaf packs were secured on the streambed surface or buried 10 cm deep in upwelling and downwelling reaches of a second-order stream in Michigan, U. S. A. Mass loss and invertebrate colonisation were measured from October to February. 3. Leaves buried in upwelling reaches lost mass more slowly ( exponential decay coefficient, k = -0.0097) than did leaves from the other treatments (buried downwelling:) 0.017; surface upwelling:) 0.022; surface downwelling: -0.021). 4. Initially, more invertebrates colonised surface leaf packs than buried packs. During the remainder of the study, however, hydrology had a greater effect on invertebrate abundance than did burial, as more invertebrates were found in packs in downwelling reaches than in upwelling reaches. 5. Local subsurface hydrology and degree of burial, factors rarely considered in studies of detritus processing, can significantly influence mass loss and invertebrate colonisation of fallen leaves in streams. Furthermore, because of slower processing, subsurface zones may function as organic matter reservoirs that gradually 'spiral' carbon to downstream subsurface and surface habitats.