• Proceedings of the PSK Conference
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• 2000.10a
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• pp.228.2-229
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• 2000

• The Korean Journal of Ecology
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.563-573
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• 1996

Macroinvertebrate contribution to the leaf litter breakdown of Carpinus cordata was estimated at headwater streams at Mt. Jumbong (38°03'N, 128°25'E) during spring and winter spring by using two types of litter bag. Coarse-mesh bags with 10 g of leaf letter were placed in a 1st-order stream in April (the spring experiment) and December 1995 (the winter-spring experiment). Fine-mesh bags with 5 g of leaf letter were placed in a nearby 3ed-order steam. The breakdown of Carpinus in coarse-mesh bags was rapid, and, in terms of season, leaf litter processed rapidly during spring. daily mass loss rates of leaf litter (-k±1 SE) were highest for coarse-mesh bags in the spring experiment (-0.0429±0.0048), followed by coarse-mesh bags in the winter-spring (-0.0146±0.0014), fine-mesh bags in the spring (-0.0078±0.0004), fine-mesh bags in the winter-spring experiment (-0.0054±0.0005). Macroinvertebrate contribution to the litter breakdown was estimated by the difference of % leaf letter remaining between coarse -mesh bage and fine-mesh bags. Although shredders were more abundant during the winter-spring, their contribution was greater during the spring (50%) than the winter-spring (22∼33%). This result appeared to be due to the change in the chemical composition of leaf letter during processing, and to the seasonal growth patterns of major shredder taxa.