<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><xml><records><record><source-app name="Biblio" version="7.x">Drupal-Biblio</source-app><ref-type>17</ref-type><contributors><authors><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Bonanomi, Giuliano</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Incerti, Guido</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Giannino, Francesco</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Mingo, Antonio</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Lanzotti, Virginia</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Mazzoleni, Stefano</style></author></authors></contributors><titles><title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Litter quality assessed by solid state 13C NMR spectroscopy predicts decay rate better than C/N and Lignin/N ratios</style></title><secondary-title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Soil Biology and Biochemistry</style></secondary-title></titles><keywords><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">C stocks</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">C-cycle</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">decomposition</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">litter quality</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">litterbag</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Principal component regression</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Proximate cellulose and lignin</style></keyword></keywords><dates><year><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">2013</style></year><pub-dates><date><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">2013///</style></date></pub-dates></dates><urls><web-urls><url><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0038071712001046</style></url></web-urls></urls><volume><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">56</style></volume><pages><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">40 - 48</style></pages><language><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">eng</style></language><abstract><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Predictions of litter decomposition rates are critical for modelling biogeochemical cycling in terrestrial ecosystems and forecasting organic carbon and nutrient stock balances. Litter quality, besides climatic conditions, is recognized as a main factor affecting decay rates and it has been traditionally assessed by the C/N and lignin/N ratios of undecomposed materials. Here, solid state 13 C NMR spectroscopy and proximate chemical analysis have been used to characterize litter organic C in a litterbag experiment with 64 different litter types decomposing under controlled conditions of temperature and water content. A statistical comparative analysis provided evidence that C/N and lignin/N ratios, showing different trends of correlation with decay rates at different decomposition stages, can be used to describe the quality of undecomposed litter, but are unable to predict mass loss of already decomposed materials. A principal component regression (PCR) model based on 13 C NMR spectra, ﬁtted and cross-validated by using either two randomly selected sets of litter types, showed highly ﬁtting predictions of observed decay rates throughout the decomposition process. The simple ratio 70e75/52e57 corresponding to Oalkyl C of carbohydrates and methoxyl C of lignin, respectively, showed the highest correlation with decay rate among different tested parameters. These ﬁndings enhance our understanding of litter quality, and improve our ability to predict decomposition dynamics. The 13 C NMR-based 70e75/52e57 ratio is proposed as an alternative to C/N and lignin/N ratios for application in experimental and modelling work</style></abstract><notes><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">The following values have no corresponding Zotero field:&lt;br/&gt;publisher: Elsevier Ltd</style></notes></record><record><source-app name="Biblio" version="7.x">Drupal-Biblio</source-app><ref-type>17</ref-type><contributors><authors><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Castro, Helena</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Fortunel, Claire</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Freitas, Helena</style></author></authors></contributors><titles><title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Effects of land abandonment on plant litter decomposition in a Montado system: relation to litter chemistry and community functional parameters</style></title><secondary-title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Plant and Soil</style></secondary-title></titles><keywords><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">ecosystem processes</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Land use change</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">leaf dry matter content</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Life form</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">litter quality</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Mediterranean</style></keyword></keywords><dates><year><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">2010</style></year><pub-dates><date><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">2010///</style></date></pub-dates></dates><urls><web-urls><url><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">http://www.springerlink.com/index/10.1007/s11104-010-0333-2</style></url></web-urls></urls><volume><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">333</style></volume><pages><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">181 - 190</style></pages><language><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">eng</style></language><abstract><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Changes in land use and subsequent shifts in vegetation can influence decomposition through changes in litter quality (chemistry and structure) and alterations of soil temperature and moisture. Our aim was to study the effects of land abandonment on litter decomposition in a Mediterranean area of Montado, South Portugal. We tested the hypothesis that decomposition tends to slow down with abandonment, as woody species, richer in lignified structures, replace herbaceous species. We assessed the decomposition of community litter in situ using litterbag technique. To test the influence of local conditions, we simultaneously incubated a standard litter in situ. Our results showed that the shift from herbaceous to shrubdominated communities lead to decreased decomposition rates. Changes in litter decomposition were primarily driven by changes in litter quality, even though the uneven pattern of litter mass loss over the experiment might reveal an effect from possible differences in microclimate. Shrub litter had higher nutrient content than herbaceous litter, which seemed to favour higher initial decomposition rates, but lower decomposition rate in the longer term. Shrubs also contribute to woody litter, richer in lignin, and secondary compounds that retard decomposition, and may play a role in increasing pools of slowly decomposing organic matter.</style></abstract><issue><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">1-2</style></issue></record><record><source-app name="Biblio" version="7.x">Drupal-Biblio</source-app><ref-type>17</ref-type><contributors><authors><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Angelis, Paolo De</style></author></authors></contributors><titles><title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Litter quality and decomposition in a CO2-enriched Mediterranean forest ecosystem</style></title><secondary-title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Plant and Soil</style></secondary-title></titles><keywords><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">decomposition rates</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">elevated [CO2]</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">litter quality</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">mediterranean forest</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Quercus ilex</style></keyword></keywords><dates><year><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">2000</style></year></dates><volume><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">224</style></volume><pages><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">31-41</style></pages><language><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">eng</style></language><abstract><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Six large open top chambers were installed to test the effect of atmospheric [CO2] enrichment on clumps of natural Mediterranean vegetation starting from early spring 1992. To study the impact of [CO2] enrichment on litter decomposition, leaves of three woody species (Quercus ilex L., Phillyrea angustifolia L. and Pistacia lentiscus L.) were collected from the forest ﬂoor and subsequently incubated in situ over a two-year period. The initial slope of the exponential function, describing mass loss, indicated that there was a small negative effect of elevated [CO2] on the decomposition rate of all the species. All regressions were signiﬁcant. The decrease of decomposition rate is particularly notable during the initial stages of decomposition, when the differences of quality parameters, lignin/N and C/N were larger. This study points out that a decrease of decomposition rate may occur under elevated [CO2] conditions; if this effect is coupled to an increase of primary production, there will be a net rise of C-storage in the soils of forest ecosystems. Forest soils may, therefore, represent a potentially increasing sink for this excess carbon.</style></abstract></record><record><source-app name="Biblio" version="7.x">Drupal-Biblio</source-app><ref-type>17</ref-type><contributors><authors><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Angelis, Paolo De</style></author></authors></contributors><titles><title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Litter quality and decomposition in a CO2-enriched Mediterranean forest ecosystem</style></title><secondary-title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Plant and Soil</style></secondary-title></titles><keywords><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">decomposition rates</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">elevated [CO2]</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">litter quality</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">mediterranean forest</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Quercus ilex</style></keyword></keywords><dates><year><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">2000</style></year><pub-dates><date><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">2000///</style></date></pub-dates></dates><urls><web-urls><url><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">http://www.springerlink.com/index/G454271653154617.pdf</style></url></web-urls></urls><volume><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">224</style></volume><pages><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">31 - 41</style></pages><language><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">eng</style></language><abstract><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Six large open top chambers were installed to test the effect of atmospheric [CO2] enrichment on clumps of natural Mediterranean vegetation starting from early spring 1992. To study the impact of [CO2] enrichment on litter decomposition, leaves of three woody species (Quercus ilex L., Phillyrea angustifolia L. and Pistacia lentiscus L.) were collected from the forest ﬂoor and subsequently incubated in situ over a two-year period. The initial slope of the exponential function, describing mass loss, indicated that there was a small negative effect of elevated [CO2] on the decomposition rate of all the species. All regressions were signiﬁcant. The decrease of decomposition rate is particularly notable during the initial stages of decomposition, when the differences of quality parameters, lignin/N and C/N were larger. This study points out that a decrease of decomposition rate may occur under elevated [CO2] conditions; if this effect is coupled to an increase of primary production, there will be a net rise of C-storage in the soils of forest ecosystems. Forest soils may, therefore, represent a potentially increasing sink for this excess carbon.</style></abstract></record></records></xml>