Seasonal litterfall and nutrients in an Atlantic Forest fragment

  • Diêgo Gomes Júnior Gerência Local de Alegre. Instituto de Defesa Agropecuária e Florestal do Espírito Santo (IDAF-ES), Rua Olívio Correia Pedrosa, n° 566, CEP: 29500-000, Alegre, ES, Brazil.
  • Marcos Vinicius Winckler Caldeira Departamento de Ciências Florestais e da Madeira. Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo (UFES), Avenida Governador Lindemberg, n° 316, CEP: 29550-000, Jerônimo Monteiro, ES, Brazil.
  • Sustanis Horn Kunz Departamento de Ciências Florestais e da Madeira. Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo (UFES), Avenida Governador Lindemberg, n° 316, CEP: 29550-000, Jerônimo Monteiro, ES, Brazil.
  • William Macedo Delarmelina Técnico em Florestas. Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia do Espírito Santo (IFES), Campus Ibatiba, Avenida 7 de Novembro, n° 40, CEP: 29395-000, Ibatiba, ES, Brazil.
  • Dione Richer Momolli Departamento de Engenharia Florestal. Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM), Avenida Roraima, n° 1000, CEP: 97105-900, Santa Maria, RS, Brazil.
  • Elzimar de Oliveira Gonçalves Departamento de Ciências Florestais e da Madeira. Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo (UFES), Avenida Governador Lindemberg, n° 316, CEP: 29550-000, Jerônimo Monteiro, ES, Brazil.
  • Julia Siqueira Moreau Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia do Pará (IFPA), Campus Breves, Rua Antônio Fulgêncio da Silva, s/n, CEP: 68800-000, Breves, PA, Brazil.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4136/ambi-agua.2775

Abstract

Litter dynamics is one of the fundamental processes for the growth and maintenance of native forest fragments, being considered the main pathway for nutrient cycling in forests. Studies on litter production and nutrient content therefore provide insights that provide a better understanding of nutrient dynamics. This study identifies the seasonality and meteorological conditions that influence the quantity and return of nutrients through litter in an Atlantic Forest fragment. Litter sampling was carried out monthly in 12 permanent plots. Each plot contained 5 littertraps distributed systematically. The litter was classified, and the dry mass and nutrients in the leaves and branches and miscellaneous fractions was quantified. Seasonal behavior was observed, with the highest depositions in the winter season. The average annual production was 6.78 Mg ha-1, with 64.9% being composed of leaves. The mean annual nutrient intake was 135.1, 115.7, 39.7, 23.5, 17.6 and 4.6 kg ha-1 for Ca, N, K, Mg, S and P, respectively. The meteorological variable precipitation influenced the deposition pattern. The increase in nutrient-use efficiency in the second year compared to the first indicates that plants strategically may be re-translocating relative amounts of their nutrients under water stress conditions.

Keywords: ecosystem functions, nutrient cycling, secondary succession.


Published
03/02/2022
Issue
Vol. 17 No. 1 (2022)
Section
Papers

Authors maintain the copyrights for their work. However, they grant rights of first publication to Ambiente e Agua - An Interdisciplinary Journal of Applied Science. In compensation, the journal can transfer the copyrights, allowing non-commercial use of the article including the right of sending the article to other data bases or publication media. The journal uses the CC BY 4.0 license"