CLIMATE AND LITTER DECOMPOSITION IN NAIMAN, INNER-MONGOLIA, CHINA

Long-term daily means, minimum and maximum temperatures, precipitation , evaporation and windspeed were calculated from standard meteorologic al data for a semiarid, sandy rangeland in Naiman, Inner Mongolia, Chi na. Soil temperature and soil moisture were measured at an experimenta l site, where nylon mesh litter-bags with barley straw were buried 10 cm deep on 19 August 1988. On five occasions during the following year litter-bags were sampled, dried, weighed and analyzed to determine th eir nutrient contents. A decomposition model assuming exponential deca y and no activity below 0-degrees-C was fitted to the data. The predic ted mass loss rate was 0.33% per frost-free day, corresponding to a fi rst-year mass loss of 54%, which is similar to that of barley in centr al Sweden.The model explained 84% of the variance in organic-matter ma ss loss, and it was concluded that the remaining error could be reduce d by including soil-water dynamics in the model.