Leaf Litter Decomposition, Abiotic Factors and Population of Micro- arthropods in a Sub-tropical Forest Ecosystem, Manipur, North East India

摘要

Microclimatic variation can influence litter decomposition rates directly, or indirectly through changes in microarthropod population. This study examines the rates of leaf litter decomposition of two dominant species viz., Quercus serrata and Castanea sativa at two elevational plots which have varied microclimatic in sub-tropical forest ecosystem. One year litter bag experiment was performed to determine the rate of leaf litter decomposition and microarthropod population. The remaining mass for leaf litter in the litterbags was found more for Q. serrata -33.2% at lower elevation and 3 7.6% at upper elevation. The population of microarthropods ranges from 12.8 to 68.4 per g of leaf litter at upper elevation and 16.3 to 71.2 per g of leaf litter at lower elevation. The moisture content and litter accumulation were comparatively higher at the lower elevation. In both sites, the rate of decomposition and microarthropods population were found positively correlated with moisture content and rainfall.