Nutrient input from the litterfall in the lowland forest of Gunung Gede Pangrango National Park

Abstract

The litterfall dynamic research has been carried out in the lowland forest of Gunung Gede Pangrango National Park aimed to determine the turnover of nutrient in the ecosystem. Plant litterfall production is crucial ecosystem process that defines the nutrient returns through the decomposition process of the forest floor. Litterfall is one of the nutrient input sources of the ecosystem. One year period of litterfall was monitored from the littertraps, and the nutrient contents were analyzed to determine the nutrient return to the ecosystem. The litterfalls that have been classified as leaves, stems, reproductive parts and others were collected every month. The results showed that more nutrient litterfall components i.e. N, K, Ca, Na, Mg (except for P) returned to the soil in rainy season than in dry season. The litterfall nutrient return based on the highest to the lowest can be arranged in the following sequence Ca> N> K> Mg> Na> P; with the total values were 19.18 ± 2.42 (SE) > 18.81 ± 2.08 > 3.1 ± 0.51 > 2.98 ± 0.58 > 1.02 ± 0.24 > 0.53 ± 0.06 kg ha−1, respectively. The pattern of nutrient input in each component corresponds to the component of the litterfall production.