Decomposition of root litter in Pinus sylvestris L. and Pinus nigra standson carboniferous substrates in the Lusatian lignite mining district

Root litter decomposition was studied in a Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) and a Black pine (Pinus nigra Arnold) stand on carboniferous substrates in the Lusatian lignite mining district, using the minicontainer method accor ding to EISENBEIS. The minicontainers were placed vertically into the soil down to a depth of 60 cm. After 10 months, the mass loss of root litter fro m P. sylvestris amounted to 20% in the Of layer and in the mineral soil. Fo r P. nigra, a litter mass loss of 9% at maximum was found at 8 cm soil dept h. The N, P, and K element losses calculated as percent of the initial litt er dry mass (= 100%) were higher For Scots pine than for Black pine, wherea s the Ca and Mg losses were lower fur Scots: pine than for Black pine. The root litter of Scots pine and Black pine was considered by microarthropods down to 55 cm depth. At the end of the experiment in August, 1998, the colo nization of root litter by microarthropods was higher for P. nigra than for P. sylvestris. However, these differences were not significant. (C) 2001 E lsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.