Abstract
Litterfall plays an important role in carbon and nutrient cycling of a forest ecosystem which is generally affected by climate, vegetation, forest type and age. The majority of the subtropical forests of China are occurring in nutrient poor environment, and thus there is a need to understand the role of litterfall on the recycling of C and nutrients in these forests for their proper management. We measured litter production, and carbon and nutrient return in an evergreen broad-leaved primary forest (Mt. Ailao, SW China) and a deciduous broad-leaved secondary forest (Mt. Damei, East China). The annual litterfall productions were 1124 and 490 g m−2 at the primary evergreen forest and secondary deciduous forest, respectively. Carbon return in primary evergreen forest was approximately three times greater than that in secondary deciduous forest. Litter N concentrations in the secondary deciduous forest were higher than that of the primary evergreen forest and consequently, the use efficiency of N of the secondary deciduous forest was lower than the primary evergreen forest. This reflects a stronger nutrient conservation mechanism in the primary evergreen forest than in the secondary forest.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ataka M, Kominami Y, Jomura M, Yoshimura K, Uematsu C (2014) CO2 efflux from leaf litter focused on spatial and temporal heterogeneity of moisture. J For Res 19:295–300
Augusto L, Ranger J, Ponette Q, Rapp M (2000) Relationships between forest tree species, stand production and stand nutrient amount. Ann For Sci 57(4):313–324
Berg B, Meentemeyer VM (2001) Litter fall in some european coniferous forests as dependent on climate: a synthesis. Can J For Res 31(2):292–301
Binkley D (1996) The influence of tree species on forest soils: processes and patterns. In: Mead DJ, Cornforth IS (eds) Proceedings of tree species and soil workshop. Agronomy Society of New Zealand Special Publication #10. Canterbury, NZ: Lincoln University Press, pp 1–33
Blanco JA, Imbert JB, Castillo FJ (2008) Nutrient return via litterfall in two contrasting Pinussylvestris forests in the Pyrenees under different thinning intensities. For Ecol Manag 256:1840–1852
Blanco JA, Wei X, Jiang H, Jie CY, **n ZH (2012) Impacts of enhanced nitrogen deposition and soil acidification on biomass production and nitrogen leaching in Chinese fir plantations. Can J For Res 42:437–450
Diaz-Maroto IJ, Vila-Lameiro P (2005) Seasonal evolution soil chemical properties and macronutrients in natural forests of Quercus robur L. in Galicia. Spain-Agrochim 49:201–211
Duchesne L, Ouimet R, Camiré C, Houle D (2001) Seasonal nutrient transfers by foliar resorption, leaching, and litter fall in a northern hardwood forest at Lake Clair Watershed, Quebec, Canada. Can J For Res 31(2):333–344
Facelli JM, Pickett STA (1991) Plant litter: its dynamics and effects on plant community structure. Bot Rev 57:1–32
Fife DN, Nambiar EKS, Saur E (2008) Retranslocation of foliar nutrients in evergreen tree species planted in a Mediterranean environment. Tree Physiol 28:187–196
Gonzalez-Rodriguez H, Dominguez-Gomez TG, Cantu-Silva I, Gomez-Meza MV, Ramirez-Lozano RG, Pando-Moreno M, Fernandez CJ (2011) Litterfall deposition and leaf litter nutrient return in different locations at Northeastern Mexico. Plant Ecol 212:1747–1757
Gonzalez-Rodriguez H, Ramirez-Lozano RG, Cantu-Silva I, Gomez-Meza MV, Cotera-Correa M, Carrillo-Parra A, Marroquin-Castillo JJ (2013) Litter fall production and nutrient returns through leaves in a microphyllus desert scrub, northeastern mexico. Rev Cha**o Ser Ciencia 19:249–262
Gower ST, Son Y (1992) Differences in soil and leaf litterfall nitrogen dynamics for five forest plantations. Soil Sci Soc Am J 56:1959–1966
Guo J, **e J, Lu H, Liu D, Yang Y, Chen G (2004) Carbon return and dynamics of litterfall in natural forest and monoculture plantation of Castanopsis kawakamiiin subtropical China. For Stud China 61:33–36
Hansen H, Vesterdal L, Schmidt IK, Gundersen P, Sevel L, Bastrup-Birk A, Pedersen LB, Bille-Hansen J (2009) Litterfall and nutrient in five tree species in a common garden experiment. For Ecol Manag 257:2133–2144
Houghton JT, Ding Y, Griggs DJ et al (2001) Climate change 2001: the scientific basis. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Killingbeck KT (1996) Nutrients in senesced leaves: keys to the search for potential resorption and resorption proficiency. Ecology 77:1716–1727
Li X, Li Z, Wang F, Zou B, Chen Y, Zhao J, Mo Q, Li Y, Li X, **a H (2015) Effects of nitrogen and phosphorus addition on soil microbial community in a secondary tropical forest of China. Biol Fertil Soils 51:207–215
Liu Q, Boukabara S (2014) Community radiative transfer model (CRTM) applications in supporting the Suomi National polar-orbiting partnership (SNPP) mission validation and verification. Remote Sens Environ 140:744–754
Liu W, Fox JED, Xu Z (2002) Litterfall and nutrient dynamics in a montane moist evergreen broad-leaved forest in Ailao Mountains, SW China. Plant Ecol 164:157–170
Liu WY, Fox JED, Xu ZF (2003) Litterfall and nutrient dynamics in a montane moist evergreen broad-leaved forest in Ailao Mountains, SW China. Plant Ecol 164:157–170
Lu WL, Liu CP (2012) Patterns of litterfall and nutrient return at different altitudes in evergreen hardwood forests of central Taiwan. Ann For Sci 69:877–886
Maass JM, Martínez-Yrízar A, Patińo C, Sarukhán J (2002) Distribution and annual net accumulation of above-ground dead phytomass and its influence on throughfall quality in a Mexican tropical deciduous forest ecosystem. J Trop Ecol 18:821–834
Martínez-Alonso C, Valladares F, Camarero JJ, Arias ML, Serrano M (2007) The uncoupling of secondary growth, cone and litter production by intradecadal climatic variability in a Mediterranean Scots pine forest. For Ecol Manag 253(1):19–29
Pandey RR, Sharma G, Tripathi SK, Singh AK (2007) Litterfall, litter decomposition and nutrient dynamics in subtropical natural forest and managed plantations in northeastern India. For Ecol Manag 240:96–106
Qi Y, ** G, Liu Z (2013) Optical and litter collection methods for measuring leaf area index in an old-growth temperate forest in northeastern China. J For Res 18:430–439
Qiu XZ, **e SC, Liu WY (1998) Studies on the forest ecosystem in Ailao mountains, Yunnan, China. Yunnan Sciences and Technology Press, Kunming
Silva AKL, Vasconcelos SS, de Carvalho CJR, Cordeiro IMCC (2011) Litter dynamics and fine root production in Schizolobium parahyba var. amazonicum plantations and regrowth forest in eastern Amazon. Plant Soil 347:377–386
Singh KP, Singh PK, Tripathi SK (1999) Litterfall, litter decomposition and nutrient release pattern in four native tree species raised on coal mine spoil at Singrauli, India. Biol Fertil Soils 29:371–378
Staaf H, Berg B (1981) Accumulation and release of plant nutrients in decomposing Scots pine needle litter. Long-term decomposition in a Scots pine forest II. Can J Bot 60:1561–1568
State Forestry Administration (2010) Results of the 7th national forest resources survey (in Chinese). http://www.forestry.gov.cn/portal/main/s/65/content-326341.html
Sundarapandian SM, Swamy PS (1999) Litter production and leaf-litter decomposition of selected tree species in tropical forests at Kodayar in the Western Ghats, India. For Ecol Manag 123:231–244
Tang JW, Cao M, Zhang JH, Li MH (2010) Litterfall production, decomposition and nutrient use efficiency varies with tropical forest types in **shuangbanna, SW China: a 10-year study. Plant Soil 335:271–288
Tripathi SK, Singh KP (1992) Nutrient immobilization and release pattern during plant decomposition in a dry tropical bamboo savanna, India. Biol Fertil Soils 14:191–199
Tripathi SK, Singh KP (1995) Litter dynamics of recently harvested and mature bamboo savannas in the dry tropics. J Trop Ecol 12:403–417
Tripathi SK, Sumida A, Shibata H, Ono K, Uemura S, Kodama Y, Hara T (2006) Leaf litterfall and decomposition of different above- and belowground parts of birch (Betula ermanii) tree sand dwarf bamboo (Sasa kurilensis) shrubs in a young secondary forest in Northern Japan. Biol Fertil Soils 43:237–246
Vitousek PM (1982) Nutrient cycling and nutrient use efficiency. Am Nat 119:553–572
Wang HC, Wang SF, Lin KC, Lee Shaner PJ, Lin TC (2013) Litterfall and element fluxes in a natural hardwood forest and a chinese-fir plantation experiencing frequent typhoon disturbance in Central Taiwan. Biotropica 45(5):541–548
Watanabe T, Fukuzawa K, Shibata H (2013) Temporal changes in litterfall, litter decomposition and their chemical composition in Sasa dwarf bamboo in a natural forest ecosystem of northern Japan. J For Res 18:129–138
Wei XH, Blanco JA (2014) Significant increase in ecosystem C can be achieved with sustainable forest management in subtropical plantation forests. PLoS One 9(2):e89688. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0089688
Wei X, Blanco JA, Jiang H, Kimmins JH (2012) Effects of nitrogen deposition on carbon sequestration in Chinese fir forest ecosystems. Sci Total Environ 416:351–361
Wu B (1995) Study on the dynamics and rhythms of midmontane wet evergreen broad-leaved forest at Xujiaba, Ailao mountains, Yunnan. Acta Bot Sin 37(12):969–977
Xu X, Shibata H (2007) Landscape patterns of overstory litterfall and related nutrient fluxes in a cool-temperate forest watershed in northern Hokkaido, Japan. J For Res 18:249–254
Yadav RS, Yadav BL, Chhipa BR (2008) Litter dynamics and soil properties under different tree species in a semi-arid region Rajasthan, India. Agrofor Syst 73:1–12
Yanai RD, Arthur MA, Acker M, Levine CR, Park BB (2012) Variation in mass and nutrient concentration of leaf litter across years and sites in a northern hardwood forest. Can J For Res 42(8):1597–1610
Yang LP, Liu WY, Ma WZ (2008) Woody debris stocks in different secondary and primary forests in the subtropical Ailao Mountains, southwest China. Ecol Res 23:805–812
Yang L, Wang J, Huang Y, Hui D, Wen M (2014) Effects of the interception of litterfall by the understory on carbon cycling in eucalyptus plantations of South China. PLoS One 9(6):e100464
Yankelevich SN, Fragoso C, Newton AC, Russell G, Heal OW (2006) Spatial patchiness of litter, nutrients and macro-invertebrates during secondary succession in a tropical montane cloud forest in Mexico. Plant Soil 286:123–139
Young SS, Carpenter C, Wang ZJ (1992) A study of the structure and composition of an old growth and secondary broad-leaved forest in the Ailao Mountains of Yunnan, China. Mt Res Dev 12:269–284
Zhao HF, Yao XJ, Wang Q, Chen YS, Xu XN (2013) Nitrogen deposition and soil nitrogen dynamics in subtropical evergreen broad-leaved stands along an age-sequence. J Soil Sci Plant Nut 13:237–250
Zhou J, Feng X, Liu H, Zhang H, Fu X, Bao Z, Wang X, Zhang Y (2013) Examination of total mercury inputs by precipitation and litterfall in a remote upland forest of southwestern China. Atmos Environ 81:364–372
Zhou J, Wang Z, Zhang X, Chen J (2015) Distribution and elevated soil pools of mercury in an acidic subtropical forest of southwestern China. Environ Pollut 202:187–195
Acknowledgments
This research was financially supported by National Key Basic Research Program of China (2013CB430003), and National Science Foundation of China (41003051) and (41173024). We greatly appreciate the help of technical staff in the Research Station of Ailao Mountain Forest Ecosystems and the Atmospheric Observatory of Damei Mountain. We thank Dr. Yu Weimin from Guangdong Institute of Eco-environmental and Soil Sciences for identifying the soil type. We are grateful to Climatic Data Center, National Meteorological Information Center, China Meteorological Administration for the meteorological data sharing service.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Handling Editor: Dr. Rainer Matyssek.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Zhou, J., Lang, X., Du, B. et al. Litterfall and nutrient return in moist evergreen broad-leaved primary forest and mixed subtropical secondary deciduous broad-leaved forest in China. Eur J Forest Res 135, 77–86 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10342-015-0918-7
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10342-015-0918-7