Surface litter breakdown in a Chihuahuan Desert ecosystem

In a study of distribution patterns of litter and microarthropods we (Santos et al. 1978) found that microarthropod density was highly correlated with amount of surface litter in a Chihuahuan desert creosotebush community. Based on that relationship we hypothesized that the rate of litter decomposition would vary directly with the amount of surface litter present. This paper reports on experiments designed to test that hypothesis and to examine the relationship between quantity of surface litter, microarthropod density and plant growth.