Total and ester sulfate sulfur in leaf-blades and petioles of the yellow water-lily, Nuphar advena
Abstract
The total and ester sulfate sulfur content was measured for living and decomposing leaf-blades and petioles of the yellow water-lily, Nuphar advena Ait. Total sulfur in leaf and petiole samples is 232 and 122 μmoles S g-1 dry wt., respectively. Ester sulfate sulfur is 48 and 39 μmoles S g-1 dry wt. in leaf-blades and petioles respectively. Studies of the sulfur content of decomposing leaf and petiole tissues show that both total and ester sulfate are degraded but that the degradation of sulfur-containing compounds is in general slower than that of other organic compounds. Our measurements of total and ester sulfate sulfur also reveal the potential significance of macrophyte sulfur to the quantitative and qualitative nature of sulfur in fossil fuels. © 1982.