Phosphorus cycling in an alluvial swamp forest in the North Carolina coastal plain / Russell N. Holmes.
| Author/creator | Holmes, Russell N. author. |
| Other author | Brinson, Mark M., degree supervisor. |
| Other author | East Carolina University. Department of Biology. |
| Format | Theses and dissertations |
| Production | 1977. |
| Description | 92 leaves : illustrations ; 28 cm |
| Supplemental Content | Access via ScholarShip |
| Subjects |
| Summary | This research examines the Internal cycling of phosphorus in an alluvial swamp forest adjacent to the Tar River in the North Carolina Coastal Plain. Inputs of phosphorus to the forest floor were measured in litterfall, throughfall, and stemflow. Canopy leaching was estimated by subtracting the input of phosphorus to the forest ecosystem by precipitation from the sum of throughfall and stemflow. Litterfall at 5.40 kg/ha/yr represented of the annual phosphorus recycled from the canopy as opposed to 1.05 kg/ha/yr or 16% by canopy leaching. Studies that omit stemflow measurement tend to report lower phosphorus recycling in the aqueous phase suggesting that phosphorus in stemflow is an important fl . Phosphorus within the components of the forest floor was determined as surface water total phosphorus, interstitial ortho-phosphate, and biologically available phosphorus. Total phosphorus associated with the sediments (biologically available phosphorus plus interstitial ortho-phosphate) was two orders of magnitude higher than surface water. Annual means of total phosphorus in the sediment were 25.1 kg/ha at 0-5 cm and 43.0 kg/ha at 6-10 cm as compared to 0.216 kg/ha total phosphorus in surface water. In situ radiophosphorus tracer experiments were conducted seasonally to measure sediment absorption of phosphorus and the rate of phosphorus transfer from the overlying water to the sediment in addition to separating the biological and physical factors affecting this movement. Rates of transfer between overlying water and sediments and turnover times of surface water were very rapid. Transfer rates were 1.90, 0.77, and 0.53 kg/ha/day for spring, fall, and winter, respectively. Turnover times for surface water phosphorus respective to these same dates were 2.7, 6.7, and 9.6 h. Biological activity significantly affected the removal of phosphorus from overlying water in the spring and fall but not in winter. |
| General note | "A thesis presented to the faculty of the Department of Biology ... in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Science in Biology." |
| General note | Advisor: Mark M. Brinson |
| Dissertation note | M.S. East Carolina University 1977 |
| Bibliography note | Includes bibliographical references (leaves 66-70). |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
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