My team has been collecting leaf litter annually over the past 10 years for quantification of the leaf primary productivity of our study site. We put aside dried samples of the litter every year, stored them in a cool and dry place (in closed plastic tube), but we are just about to analyze their elemental composition.
I would like to know whether there is a possibility that the elemental content modified over time due to decomposition of the litter. I would say "mostly no" because the biological activity must have been very low in these dry samples, but I cannot find papers documenting this.
Could anyone help on this aspect? Thanks in advance.
The nutrient content of dry leaves might be changed over time naturally. We have to take in mind that everything is changeable over time. It may be happened due to weather (temperature, rainfall, humidity, etc.) fluctuation from hour to hour, day to day, month to month ......... That is why nutrient content would be fixed for a long time even in dried leaves.
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