Nutritional Contribution Model of Litterfall for Adjacent Areas According to the Distance of Forest

Abstract

Abstract:The goal of this study is to evaluate the drift of litterfall from forest to adjacent areas, validate a method to estimate the drift with water balance, direction and speed of winds and quantify the nutrients of litterfall in nearby area of the forest patch as function of distance. This phenomenon can be considered an ecosystem service to improve soil quality of the agriculture crops around the forests by nutrient input coming from the litterfall. The experiment was installed in adjacent areas of the tropical forest at central region of the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The branches, reproductive material and leaves which fell were measured for three years into the forest and adjacents areas. The sampled nets were located on edge and equal distances from the edge. It's analyzed and estimated the contribution of the litterfall components to adjacent areas by air. The quantity of litterfall by distance had large variation between adjacent areas. And it was confirmed that model estimated the leaf drift by distance with good precision.