Table 3.
Results of the broken line analysis for nutrient release rates (N) of decomposing biodeposits during the three experimental periods
| Experimental period | Variable (N) | A | S | B | F | p |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March | CO2 | 276.9 ± 13.0 | 17.5 ± 1.4 | 17.3 ± 1.1 | 125.7 | <0.0001 |
| TAN | 16.4 ± 1.2 | 1.1 ± 0.1 | 19.3 ± 7.1 | 90.0 | <0.0001 | |
| PO4 | 6.4 ± 1.1 | 0.4 ± 0.1 | 18.5 ± 2.9 | 25.1 | <0.0001 | |
| Si(OH)4 | 900.0 ± 80.6 | 66.1 ± 8.8 | 17.3 ± 1.8 | 46.7 | <0.0001 | |
| August | CO2 | 466.1 ± 21.2 | 94.7 ± 44.0 | 6.0 ± 1.5 | 20.2 | <0.0001 |
| TAN | 19.6 ± 1.7 | 2.7 ± 1.0 | 9.7 ± 2.1 | 13.4 | <0.0001 | |
| PO4 | 8.5 ± 0.7 | 1.1 ± 0.4 | 9.6 ± 2.0 | 13.9 | <0.0001 | |
| Si(OH)4 | 14.7 ± 1.1 | 1.8 ± 0.7 | 10.0 ± 2.1 | 17.5 | <0.0001 | |
| November | CO2 | 184.5 ± 8.2 | 29.9 ± 8.2 | 7.4 ± 1.1 | 27.4 | <0.0001 |
| TAN | 10.6 ± 1.3 | 0.6 ± 0.1 | 20.2 ± 2.6 | 40.3 | <0.0001 | |
| PO4 | 1.0 ± 0.1 | 0.1 ± 0.1 | 9.2 ± 2.4 | 7.6 | <0.01 | |
| Si(OH)4 | 16.7 ± 1.1 | 1.4 ± 0.2 | 14.7 ± 1.5 | 40.5 | <0.0001 |
Estimates (±SE) of the asymptote (A), slope (S) and inflection point (B), and F and p statistics for the diphasic function
N = A − S * Z (with Z = (day < B) − (B − day))