TIDE Project Database

http://ecosystems.mbl.edu/tide

Acceptance and utilization of TIDE project data requires that:

· The Project Principal Investigator, Linda Deegan, be sent a notice stating reasons for acquiring any data and a description of the publication intentions.

· The Project PI and the Principal Investigator of the data set be sent a copy of the report or manuscript prior to submission and be adequately cited in any resultant publications.

· A copy of any resultant publications should be sent to:

Linda Deegan
Ecosystems Center
Marine Biological Laboratory
Woods Hole, MA 02543

TIDE PROJECT DATABASE

DATA FILE: CH-WE-DECOMP-2004.xls

CH-WE-DECOMP-2004.txt

DOCUMENTATION FILE: CH-WE-DECOMP-2004.doc

YEAR: 2004

PI: Chuck Hopkinson

OTHERS: Linda Deegan, Mike Johnson, Christian Picard

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DATA FILE: Decomposition data for Spartina alterniflora and Spartina patens on both branches of West Creek.

KEYWORDS: Decomposition, Spartina alterniflora, Spartina patens, litter bags

RESEARCH LOCATION:

Creek	Branch	Transect	Habitat
SW	R, L	T1, T2	TSA, SP, SSA

EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN AND METHODS: Litter bags with approximately 50 g of dried Spartina alterniflora were deployed in the TSA and SSA zones of the above mentioned branch/transect of West Creek on 19-May-04. Litter bags with approximately 50 g of dried Spartina patens were also deployed in the SP zone of the above mentioned branch/transect on 19-May-04. At 2 week, 1 month, 2 month, 3 month and 4 month intervals, 2 litter bags were recovered from both the TSA and SSA zones. At these intervals, 3 litter bags were also recovered from the SP zone. Recovered litter was washed, oven dried and weighed to calculate % weight loss. Approximately 1 g of the recovered material was muffled and weighed to calculate the ash free dry weight.

NOTES AND COMMENTS:

VARIABLE DESCRIPTION:

Name	Description	Unit	Precision
Creek
Branch
Transect
Habitat
Substrate	Type of litter in litter bag	NA	NA
Date of Deployment	Date litter bags were deployed in the field	dd-mmm-yyyy	1
Date of Recovery	Date litter bags were recovered from the field	dd-mmm-yyyy	1
Days Elapsed	Amount of time litter bag was in the field	Days	1
% Weight Loss	% weight loss due to decomposition	Percent	0.01
% Mass Remaining	% mass of litter remaining in litter bag at each time interval	Percent	0.01
Ash Free Dry Weight	Weight of organic material in a sample	Grams	0.0001
Comments	Comments about specific data

CALCULATIONS: % Weight Loss = [(Initial Weight–Final Weight)/Initial Weight] * 100

% Mass Remaining = 100 - % Weight Loss

Ash Free Dry Weight = Dry Weight – Weight of Ash

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:

Mike Johnson

7 MBL St.

Woods Hole, MA 02543

OTHER DATA FILES TO REFERENCE:

REFERENCE CITATIONS:

ARCHIVE INFORMATION:

Date of entry: 18-Jan-2004

Data entered by: Christian Picard

Comments: