Litterfall from two forest exhibits different decomposition dynamics, as reveale

Question

Litterfall from two forest exhibits different decomposition dynamics, as revealed by an experiment: Litter bags all starting with 100 g of dy leaf litter in each forest are left to decompose over 36 months. Every 3 months, you collec litterbags and dry and weigh their contents. The average daily mass loss of Forest #1's leaf litter is .2%. The average for Forest #2's leaf litter is .3%.

a) How many g of Forest #1 and Forest #2's leaf litter are left, on average, in each litter bag after 1 year?

b) How many g of Fores #1 and Forest #2's leaf litter are left, on average, in each litter bag after 2 years?

Explanation / Answer

a)Forest #1

Amount of leaf litter lost after 1 year=365x0.2=73g

Litter left after 1 year=100-73=27 g

Forest #2

Amount of leaf litter lost after 1 year=365x0.3=109.5g

Litter left after 1 year=0 g

b) Nothing will be left, as the remaining 27 g dry leaves from Forest #1 are also emptied within 135 days and from Forest # 2 nothing is left to decompose.

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