Litterfall and Decomposition in Relation to Soil Carbon Pools Along a Secondary Forest Chronosequence in Puerto Rico

Ostertag, Rebecca; Marín-Spiotta, E.; Silver, Whendee L.; Schulten, Jodie R.

doi:10.1007/s10021-008-9152-1

Cited by 143 publications

(123 citation statements)

References 71 publications

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“…This work reported higher production of leaves among the litter fractions, followed by twigs, reproductive parts and miscellaneous. These results are consistent with the pattern observed for tropical forests (BARBOSA;FARIA, 2006;OSTERTAG et al, 2008, PAULA et al, 2009ABREU et al, 2010;SOUSA-NETO et al, 2011, DICKOW et al, 2012. The specific separation of leaf fraction is of great importance as it can provide data on phenology, nutrition and patterns of nutrient cycling system (MORAES; DOMINGOS, 1997).…”

Section: Figura 4 -Curvas De Decomposição De Serapilheira No Parque Esupporting

confidence: 90%

“…These forests usually have poor soil (POGGIANI, 1982), supporting the plant community through the process of decomposing organic matter and returning the elements to the root systems. According to Ostertag et al (2008) secondary forest are a dominant lad-cover type in the tropics, but there are fewer studies on its functioning, and even less investigations in forests greater than 20 years. Thus, it is crucial to understand the dynamics of forest ecosystems, especially secondary forests, once there is a currently discussion about reforestation policy in disturbed and abandoned areas.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Litter fall production and decomposition in a fragment of secondary Atlantic Forest of São Paulo, sp, southeastern Brazil

et al. 2014

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Litter fall consists of all organic material deposited on the forest floor, being of extremely important for the structure and maintenance of the ecosystem through nutrient cycling. This study aimed to evaluate the production and decomposition of litter fall in a secondary Atlantic forest fragment of secondary Atlantic Forest, at the Guarapiranga Ecological Park, in São Paulo, SP. The litter samples were taken monthly from May 2012 to May 2013. To assess the contribution of litter fall forty collectors were installed randomly within an area of 0.5 ha. The collected material was sent to the laboratory to be dried at 65 °C for 72 hours, being subsequently separated into fractions of leaves, twigs, reproductive parts and miscellaneous, and weighed to obtain the dry biomass. Litterbags were placed and tied close to the collectors to estimate the decomposition rate in order to evaluate the loss of dry biomass at 30, 60, 90, 120 and 150 days. After collection, the material was sent to the laboratory to be dried and weighed again. Total litter fall throughout the year reached 5.7 Mg.ha-1.yr-1 and the major amount of the material was collected from September till March. Leaves had the major contribution for total litter fall (72%), followed by twigs (14%), reproductive parts (11%) and miscellaneous (3%). Reproductive parts had a peak during the wet season. Positive correlation was observed between total litter and precipitation, temperature and radiation (r = 0.66, p<0.05; r = 0.76, p<0.05; r = 0.58, p<0.05, respectively). The multiple regression showed that precipitation and radiation contributed significantly to litter fall production. Decomposition rate was in the interval expected for secondary tropical forest and was correlated to rainfall. It was concluded that this fragment of secondary forest showed a seasonality effect driven mainly by precipitation and radiation, both important components of foliage renewal for the plant community and that decomposition was in an intermediate rate.

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Section: Figura 4 -Curvas De Decomposição De Serapilheira No Parque Esupporting

confidence: 90%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Litter fall production and decomposition in a fragment of secondary Atlantic Forest of São Paulo, sp, southeastern Brazil

et al. 2014

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“…Besides, Höfer et al (2001) have found similarities in nutrient cycling efficiency by macrofauna communities between disturbed areas (agricultural fields and secondary forests) and mature forests in the central Amazon even though each area had different species. Additionally, studies of decomposition rates with natural litter comparing chronosequences have found a pattern similar to this study (Ostertag et al 2008, Gießelmann et al 2011). According to Gießelmann et al (2011), the absence of difference in the decomposition rates between forests at different successional phases may be related to the ability of the microorganisms to quickly adjust their community structure to environmental variations through rapid population growth or growth of hyphae.…”

Section: Litter Decomposition Experimentssupporting

confidence: 86%

“…12,no. 3 on ecosystem processes are still poorly understood (Vasconcelos & Luizão 2004, Vidal et al 2007, Ostertag et al 2008. Thereby, this study aimed to evaluate how litterfall and nutrient cycling are affected by the structure of forest fragments at different successional phases under similar climatic conditions on the Atlantic Plateau of the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Produção de serrapilheira e decomposição foliar em fragmentos florestais de diferentes fases sucessionais no Planalto Atlântico do estado de São Paulo, Brasil

et al. 2012

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Litterfall and litter decomposition are vital processes in tropical forests because they regulate nutrient cycling. Nutrient cycling can be altered by forest fragmentation. The Atlantic Forest is one of the most threatened biomes in the world due to human occupation over the last 500 years. This scenario has resulted in fragments of different size, age and regeneration phase. To investigate differences in litterfall and leaf decomposition between forest successional phases, we compared six forest fragments at three different successional phases and an area of mature forest on the Atlantic Plateau of Sao Paulo, Brazil. We sampled litter monthly from November 2008 to October 2009. We used litterbags to calculate leaf decomposition rate of an exotic species, Tipuana tipu (Fabaceae), over the same period litter sampling was performed. Litterfall was higher in the earliest successional area. This pattern may be related to the structural properties of the forest fragments, especially the higher abundance of pioneer species, which have higher productivity and are typical of early successional areas. However, we have not found significant differences in the decomposition rates between the studied areas, which may be caused by rapid stabilization of the decomposition environment (combined effect of microclimatic conditions and the decomposers activities). This result indicates that the leaf decomposition process have already been restored to levels observed in mature forests after a few decades of regeneration, although litterfall has not been entirely restored. This study emphasizes the importance of secondary forests for restoration of ecosystem processes on a regional scale.

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“…Litterfall quantification and net nutrient returns has been the subject of many researches (e.g. Swamy and Proctor, 1994;Edmonds and Murray, 2002;Clark et al, 2001;Odiwe and Moughalu, 2003;Perez et al, 2003;Wood et al, 2006;Ostertag et al, 2008) but these studies focuses on contribution of heterogenous litter collection, in forest ecosystems or mixed plantations, rather than the nutrient return from a particular species. The present study relates the litter biomass in Daniellia oliveri to tree characters and climatic variables within the study location (Ilorin), and monthly variation of nutrients in the litter was also considered.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of Tree Characters and Climate on Litter Characteristics in <i>Daniellia oliveri</i> (Rolfe) Hutch. & Dalziel

Oyedeji¹,

Animasaun²,

Ogunkunle³

et al. 2014

Journal of Applied Sciences and Environmental Management

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ABSTRACT:Litter production and decomposition rates have great importance in maintaining the fertility of the soil. The study was carried out to determine the relationship tree characters (girth size, canopy radius, tree height, leaf area and number of primary branches), litter production and quality, and climatic variables among stands of Daniellia oliveri (Rolfe) Hutch. & Dalziel growing in University of Ilorin campus. Twelve trees of different girth sizes were selected and their physiognomic characters measured. Litter samples (leaves and twigs) were collected from the stands on monthly basis (January to May) using 1 m 2 traps. The collected litters were air-dried, ground and analysed for carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium and magnesium using standard methods. Rainfall and temperature data were collected during the sampling months. Girth size range was 0.32 -0.67 m. Tree height range was 13.90 -31.81 m. Primary branches range was 3 -16, crown radii was 2.5 -5.2 m and leaflet area between 24.62 cm 2 and 90.90 cm 2 . Higher leaf litter was recorded in January and February, but twigs were more in the other months. Leaf and twig litters positively correlated with girth size (r = 0.572 and 0.614 respectively), but the former also correlated with crown radii (r = 0.834). Carbon, calcium and magnesium contents in leaves and twigs were lower in May compared to January, but reverse trend were observed for nitrogen and phosphorus. The number of rain (rainy days) negatively correlated with total monthly litter (r = -0.291). The study concluded that climatic conditions influence tree characters, which in turn affect litterfall and nutrient returns to the soil. ©JASEM

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Litterfall and Decomposition in Relation to Soil Carbon Pools Along a Secondary Forest Chronosequence in Puerto Rico

Cited by 143 publications

References 71 publications

Litter fall production and decomposition in a fragment of secondary Atlantic Forest of São Paulo, sp, southeastern Brazil

Litter fall production and decomposition in a fragment of secondary Atlantic Forest of São Paulo, sp, southeastern Brazil

Produção de serrapilheira e decomposição foliar em fragmentos florestais de diferentes fases sucessionais no Planalto Atlântico do estado de São Paulo, Brasil

Influence of Tree Characters and Climate on Litter Characteristics in <i>Daniellia oliveri</i> (Rolfe) Hutch. & Dalziel

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