Quantification of litter and nutrients on an Atlantic Rain Forest

Abstract

No matter what kind of forest it is, the litter production represents the first stage of nutrients and energy transfer from the vegetation to the soil, because most of the nutrients absorbed by the plants comes back to the forest ground through the fall of the litter or leaves wash. The aim of this study was to quantify the production of accumulated litter and nutrient contents on three successional stages of Atlantic Rain Forest, Blumenau/SC - Brazil. For the collections of the accumulated litter five rectangular samples units (SU) of 10 m x 20 m were used in each successional stage, in a total of 15 SUs. In each SU the collections of material in an aleatory way was made with the aid of a metal frame of 0.25 m x 0.25 m, with five replications per SU every 30 days (75 samples/month, that is to say, 25 samples/successional stage). The average production of accumulated litter in twenty two months in the collected data was, in a decreasing order, stage III (5.28 Mg ha-1) > stage II (5.02 Mg ha-1) > stage I (4.47 Mg ha-1). The total macronutrient contents on accumulated litter of successional stages I and II, in decreasing order were: N > Ca > Mg > K > S > P, and on stage III: N > Ca > Mg > S > K > P. The forest presented total content of micronutrients on accumulated litter of three successional stages in the following decreasing order: Fe > Mn > Zn > B > Cu. For the total organic carbon content on accumulated litter, the sequence was: stage II (1.65 Mg ha-1) > stage III (1.50 Mg ha-1) > stage I (1.47 Mg ha-1).