Litter Controls Earthworm-Mediated Carbon and Nitrogen Transformations in Soil from Temperate Riparian Buffers

Table 1

Characteristics of litter added to microcosms containing riparian soil from along the Pike River in southern Québec.

Litter type	Organic C	N	C-to-N ratio	AIS^2-to-N ratio^3	Quality class^4
	(g kg^−1)^1	(g kg^−1)^1
Soybean	406	13	31	4.3	Intermediate
Reed canarygrass	451	10	45	12.9	Intermediate
Deciduous mix	475	14	34	8.3	Low

¹Determined with a Flash EA 1112 CN analyzer (Carlo Erba, Milan, Italy).
²Acid insoluble substances.
³Fiber was analyzed using the gravimetric method [25], using an Ankom Fiber Analyzer (Ankom Technology, Fairport, NY).
⁴Organic residue quality classification based on Palm et al. [26].