Abstract
Litterfall has a strong influence on biodiversity and on the chemical and physical characteristics of the soil. Its production can be quite variable over time and space, and can be influenced by both natural and anthropogenic factors. We evaluated litterfall production and its relationship with rainfall, species richness, and the densities of the arboreal vegetation. Thirty litter traps were constructed with 1.0 m2 nylon mesh (1.0 mm) and randomly installed within a 2000 m × 500 m area of arboreal/shrub Caatinga (dryland) vegetation. Litter samples were collected monthly from November/2010 to June/2012, and the collected material was classified, dried, and weighted. Species richness and tree densities were determined by conducting phytosociological surveys in 20 m × 20 m plots surrounding each of the litter traps. The litterfall accumulation rate was 3.673 Mgha-1yr-1, similar to values from other seasonally dry tropical forests. Litterfall production was continuous, and principally accompanied the rainfall rate, but with a time interval of 2 to 3 months, with the greatest accumulation at the beginning of the dry season and the least during the rainy season. The different fractions of materials demonstrated distinct accumulation rates, with leaves being the principal category. Litterfall production was found to be related to tree density, but no link was found to species richness. The observed temporal heterogeneity of litterfall production demonstrated a strong link between rainfall and the dynamics of nutrient cycling in the semiarid region of Brazil.
Highlights
Litterfall constitutes the most superficial layer of the soil and it is composed of leaves, stems, branches, fruits, flowers, and other plant parts, as well as animal remains and fecal material – constituting a reserve of mineral elements and organic material that strongly influences the dynamics of ecosystem nutrient cycling
Leaves constituted the predominant fraction of the litterfall, Litterfall production in a semiarid ecosystem, Brazil
The total litterfall production recorded in the present study was within the range observed for seasonally dry tropical forests in Latin America, which varies between 2.8 and 8.5 Mgha–1yr–1 (Jaramillo et al, 2011), but greater than litterfall values reported for other Caatinga areas (Alves et al, 2006; Souto, 2006; Costa et al, 2007; Santana and Souto 2011)
Summary
Litterfall constitutes the most superficial layer of the soil and it is composed of leaves, stems, branches, fruits, flowers, and other plant parts, as well as animal remains and fecal material – constituting a reserve of mineral elements and organic material that strongly influences the dynamics of ecosystem nutrient cyclingBraz. Litterfall constitutes the most superficial layer of the soil and it is composed of leaves, stems, branches, fruits, flowers, and other plant parts, as well as animal remains and fecal material – constituting a reserve of mineral elements and organic material that strongly influences the dynamics of ecosystem nutrient cycling. (Coleman et al, 2004). The importance of litterfall goes beyond protecting and fertilizing the soil, as it directly affects local biodiversity conservation (Coleman et al, 2004). Studies focusing on the dynamics of litterfall are important to our understanding of nutrient cycling, forest growth, successional patterns, carbon cycling, ecological disturbances, and the interactions of environmental variables (Vasconcelos and Luizão, 2004; Zhou et al, 2007; González-Rodríguez et al, 2011)
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