Litter Fall and Mineralization in a Teak Tectona grandis Stand

Abstract

Litter fall was measured at monthly intervals for three years in a young monoculture of Tectona grandis L. raised by the taungya system, in the dry forest zone of Western Nigeria. Although litter fell throughout the year, a considerable amount of the annual total (70.3 %, 74.7 %, and 63.3 %) fell between December and March. There was an increase in the annual litter fall as the plantation grew older. The mean annual litter fall (leaves, seeds plus flowers, twigs) amounted to 9024 ? 882 kg ha-', 90 % of which was leaf litter. The litter was analysed for major nutrients, and the mean annual litter fall contained the following amounts of plant nutrients: N 90.9, P 10, K 71, Ca 188. Mg 21.6 and Na 2.1 kg ha. Over 90 % of these nutrients were contained in the leaf litter. Observation on litter disappearance shows that, as in natural forests in the same zone, the annual litter fall is completely mineralized in less than six months.