Climatic drivers of litterfall production and its components in two subtropical forests in South China: A 14-year observation

Abstract

Understanding the climatic triggers of litterfall production is essential for simulating nutrient cycling in forest ecosystems. However, the mechanisms underlying litterfall dynamics in subtropical forests remain unclear because of the complex canopy phenological strategies. Herein, we explored this by investigating a unique litterfall dataset (including components such as leaves, branches, flowers and fruits, and miscellaneous, etc.) spanning a 14-year observation period (2005–2018) in two typical subtropical evergreen forest ecosystems in South China: a mixed conifer-broadleaf forest (MF) and a monsoon evergreen broadleaved forest (MEBF). We found that the annual total litterfall production, often dominated by leaf litterfall, was significantly higher in MF (10.21 ± 2.09 t∙hm−2) than in MEBF (7.74 ± 2.21 t∙hm−2) (P < 0.01). Generally, forest litterfall production occurred mostly during the wet season and was profoundly correlated with the monthly maximum wind speed (rMF = 0.70, rMEBF = 0.71, P < 0.01), it contributed exceeded 80% to the total litterfall and the leaf and branch components. Whereas during the dry season, the forest litterfall process was dramatically weakened, showing a significant correlation with the mean temperature (rMF = 0.48, rMEBF = 0.68, P < 0.01). Further analysis showed that during the dry season, the cumulative contribution rates of temperature factors to the total litterfall and the leaf and branch components exceeded 60%, indicating a leading role of temperature in triggering forest litterfall processes. Notably, when excluding the typhoon disturbances, it is observed that temperature, alongside wind speed, emerges as a significant determinant of forest litterfall production during the wet season. Those two factors collectively account for almost 60% of the total litterfall and the leaf and branch components. Our findings have potential significance in improving our understanding of carbon and nutrient cycling in subtropical forest ecosystems under climate change conditions.