Resources

By Amy Nelson

Publications/Studies

Life in the Leaf Litter, American Museum of Natural History

Life on a Little Known Planet: A Biologist’s View of Insects and their World, by Howard Ensign Evans [Recommended by Kefyn Catley, who informed us that in this book, author and entomologist Howard Ensign Evans refers to leaf litter as “the poor man’s rainforest.”

Burghardt, K.T., Schmitz, O.J. & Bradford, M.A. (2018) Data from: Acceleration or deceleration of litter decomposition by herbivory depends on nutrient availability through intraspecific differences in induced plant resistance traits. Journal of Ecology. doi:10.5061/dryad.st104qv.

Keller, A.B. and Handler, S. 2024. Non-native invasive earthworms in the Midwest and Eastern United States: a primer. Technology Transfer. Houghton, MI: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Northern Forests Climate Hub. 6 p.https://doi.org/10.32747/2024.8633529.ch

Mustafa, Asmaa N., Khedre, A.M., El-masry, S.M. (2025) Microplastics accumulation in leaf litter: Field evidence for microplastic ingestion and transfer through prey-predatory relationships.”Chemosphere, Volume 376, 144295, ISSN 0045-6535.

Ferlauto, M., Burghardt, Karin T. (2025) Removing autumn leaves in residential yards reduces the spring emergence of overwintering insects,
Science of The Total Environment, Volume 970, 178821, ISSN 0048-9697, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.178821.

Ferlauto, M., Schmitt, L., & Burghardt, K. (2024). Legacy effects of long-term autumn leaf litter removal slow decomposition rates and reduce soil carbon in suburban yards. Plants, People, Planet, 6(4), 875–884. https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp3.10499

Zeng, J., Li, X., Jian, J., Liheng X., Yu L., Wang, X, Zhang, Q, Ren, C., Yang, G., Han, X. (2024) Differences in the regulation of soil carbon pool quality and stability by leaf-litter and root-litter decomposition, Environmental Research,Volume 263, Part 3, 2024,120285,ISSN 0013-9351, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2024.120285.

Schmitt, L., McGurrin, K., and Burghardt, K., “Managing City and Suburban Yards and Gardens to Sustain Insect Communities.” University of Maryland Extension FS-2022-0633; 2023.

Schwartz, S.S., Smith, B. (2021) Cultivating stormwater services with soil Decompaction and Amendment, Journal of Hydrologic Engineering. 26(1): p. 04020059. , DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE) HE.1943-5584.0002031

Schwartz, S.S., Smith, B. (2016) Restoring hydrologic function in urban landscapes with suburban subsoiling,
Journal of Hydrology, Volume 543, Part B, Pages 770-781, ISSN 0022-1694, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2016.10.051.

Singh, P., Ghosh, A.K., Kumar, S., Kumar, Manoj, Sinha, P.K. (2022). Influence of input litter quality and quantity on carbon storage in post-mining forest soil after 14 years of reclamation, Ecological Engineering, Volume 178, 2022, 106575, ISSN 0925-8574, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoleng.2022.106575.

S.B. Caron, Bailey, A., Cleavitt, N.L., Driscoll, C.T., Fahey, T., Groffman, P., Leonardi, B., Rustad, L., Wilson, G. and Templer, P.H. (2025). Links between litter quality and nitrogen oligotrophication in a northern hardwood forest. Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 55, 1-13.