<?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%">Maisto, Giulia</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">De Marco, Anna</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Meola, Angela</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Sessa, Ludovica</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Virzo De Santo, Amalia</style></author></authors></contributors><titles><title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Nutrient dynamics in litter mixtures of four Mediterranean maquis species decomposing in situ</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%">Interactions among litters</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Lignin</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">litter decomposition</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Manganese</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Non-additive effects of litter mixing</style></keyword></keywords><dates><year><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">2011</style></year><pub-dates><date><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">2011///</style></date></pub-dates></dates><urls><web-urls><url><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0038071710004384</style></url></web-urls></urls><volume><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">43</style></volume><pages><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">520 - 530</style></pages><language><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">eng</style></language><abstract><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">In natural conditions, litters shed from different species become mixed with each other, and decompose together. Most studies deal with decomposition of individual species; few studies investigate the inﬂuence of litter mixing on decomposition and nutrient dynamics; the results are contradictory as positive, negative, or no effect, of litter mixing have been observed. In this study we test the hypothesis: i) that litter mixing in the Mediterranean maquis, a nutrient poor, high diversity ecosystem, produces non-additive effects on nutrient dynamics; ii) that the effects vary with the composition in species of the mixture and with the relative amount of the species component the mixture. Two types of 3-species mixtures were set up; one contained three sclerophylls, Phillyrea angustifolia, Pistacia lentiscus and Quercus ilex; the other contained the ﬁrst two species with the mesophyll Cistus. Litterbags, containing monospeciﬁc litters and even and uneven mixtures, were incubated under natural condition in situ; even mixtures had the 3 species in equal proportion, whereas uneven mixtures had one of the species as dominant (50%) and the other two species in equal proportion (25%:25%). Litterbags were retrieved after 92, 188 and 403 days; litters from the mixtures were separately analyzed for mass loss and content of nitrogen (N), potassium (K), sodium (Na), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), manganese (Mn), iron (Fe), copper (Cu), and zinc (Zn). Results indicate that mixing inﬂuences the dynamics of N, Mn, Ca, Mg, Fe, Cu and Zn, but scarcely affects the dynamics of K and Na. The comparison of observed to expected values for changes of nutrients in litterbags indicates the occurrence of non-additive effects of litter mixing on movements of N, Fe, Cu, and Zn to or from the litterbags containing the mixtures. The effects depend on the composition in species of the mixture, whereas the relative amount of the species component the mixture is not relevant.</style></abstract><issue><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">3</style></issue><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></records></xml>