REDUCTION IN MICROBIAL ACTIVITY IN BIRCH LITTER DUE TO DRYING AND REWETTING EVENTS

Birch leaf litter was dried to two different moisture contents for 5 varying lengths of time. Litter was remoistened, and microbial respiration was measured. An initial flush in respiration rate was followed by several days of oscillations in respiration rate after the rewetting event. After 60 days, the respiration rate of the treated litter was significantly lower than the control litter kept moist. The control litter respired significantly more C throughout the incubation than litter exposed to even a 1-day drying event. This may have resulted from the loss of critical litter decomposing organisms or enzymes during drying.