Nutrient input in litters and soil of Bambusa vulgaris stands in a secondary rainforest, Ile-Ife, Nigeria

Abstract

Nutrient contents in litter and soil were assessed in four 0.06 ha plots of Bambusa vulgaris stands in a secondary rainforest at Ile-Ife, Nigeria, with a view to providing information on nutrient availability that was generally lacking in the forest ecosystem. The collected litter were sorted into leaves and twigs, oven-dried at 70 °C to a constant weight, ground and analysed for nutrients. Leaf litter had higher concentration of Ca, K, Na, P, Mn, Zn and Cu, while C, Mg, Fe and N were higher in twig litter fall fraction. Exchangeable cations, pH, sand content and organic C were significantly lower (p < 0.05), while total N, available P, silt and clay contents were higher in the soil dominated by bamboo stands. Bambusa vulgaris is a better conserver of C, N and P compared to areas dominated by trees and shrubs species in the secondary forest.

Nitrogen input by bamboos in neotropical forest: a new perspective

“…Despite the N input of bamboo, N demand is high in the system studied here (Table 3) and as a result, litterfall decomposition plays an important role in nutrition budgeting (Vitousek & Sanford, 1986; Kuruvilla, Jijeesh & Seethalakshmi, 2014; Borisade & Odiwe, 2018). The annual litter production of M. neesii (540 kg ha −1 y −1 ) is lower than that of several tropical and subtropical bamboo species, except for Dendrocalamus strictus (580 kg ha −1 —Joshi, Sundriyal & Baluni, 1991) and Sasa senanensis (600 kg ha −1 y −1 —Watanabe & Fukuzawa, 2013).…”

“…Bamboo is important in the recovery of soil physiochemical properties (Christanty, Kimmins & Mailly, 1997; Embaye et al, 2005; Shiau et al, 2017), soil redevelopment (Singh & Singh, 1999) and soil nutrients, especially N (Fukuzawa et al, 2006; Watanabe & Fukuzawa, 2013; Shiau et al, 2017; Borisade & Odiwe, 2018). Its rapid growth and abundance (Yang et al, 2014) may contribute to nutrient pumping, whereby nutrients leached deep into the soil are deposited at the surface as bamboo litterfall (Christanty, Kimmins & Mailly, 1997).…”

“…Bamboo density effects the dynamics and structure of forests (Tabarelli & Mantovani, 2000; Griscom & Ashton, 2003; Giordano, Sánchez & Austin, 2009; Rother, Rodrigues & Pizo, 2009; Lima et al, 2012), serving as a resource for different animals (Reid et al, 2004; Areta, Bodrati & Cockle, 2009; Hilário & Ferrari, 2010; Cestari & Bernardi, 2011). Although it is unclear whether they influence ecosystem function, studies in this regard have increased and demonstrate the role of bamboo in recovering soil fertility (Christanty, Kimmins & Mailly, 1997), especially nitrogen (Singh & Singh, 1999; Embaye et al, 2005; Fukuzawa et al, 2006; Watanabe & Fukuzawa, 2013; Shiau et al, 2017; Borisade & Odiwe, 2018). …”

“…Nitrogen (N) controls the productivity and composition of plant species (Townsend et al, 2011) and is a limiting factor in many tropical forests (Tanner, Vitousek & Cuevas, 1998), making N recycling via litter decomposition a key resource in these forests (Vitousek & Sanford, 1986; Kuruvilla, Jijeesh & Seethalakshmi, 2014; Borisade & Odiwe, 2018). The rapid growth of bamboo, its overabundance and biomass (Yang et al, 2014) contribute to nutrient pumping, that is, nutrients leached into the soil are deposited at the surface as bamboo litterfall (Christanty, Kimmins & Mailly, 1997).…”

“…Nevertheless, these figures pale in comparison to the 115 kg N ha −1 recorded for Yushania alpina in Ethiopia (Embaye et al, 2005). Although there are exceptions (Singh & Singh, 1999; Tripathi et al, 2006), bamboo litter typically exhibits a high N concentration (Joshi, Sundriyal & Baluni, 1991; Embaye et al, 2005; Watanabe & Fukuzawa, 2013; Kuruvilla, Jijeesh & Seethalakshmi, 2014; Kuruvilla, Jijeesh & Seethalakshmi, 2016; Borisade & Odiwe, 2018), but may also contain high lignin and silicate levels, meaning the N in its litter tends to be released gradually over an extended period (Tripathi et al, 2006; Watanabe & Fukuzawa, 2013; Borisade & Odiwe, 2018). …”