Abstract
The decomposition of leaves from Cordia africana Lam. and Albizia gummifera G. F.Gmel was investigated during the wet and dry seasons at Wondo Genet (Ethiopia). Litterbags of leaves were buried in soils under farmland and shaded-coffee agroforestry systems. Residual matter was recovered after 4, 8, 12, and 16 weeks and analysed for nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), cellulose, lignin, soluble polyphenol and condensed tannin content. Mass-loss and release of N, polyphenols and condensed tannins were greater from Albizia leaves than from Cordia leaves, suggesting that a high polyphenol content does not necessarily retard decomposition. The rates of mass loss and release of the majority of leaf constituents were considerably faster during the wet season than during the dry season. Lignin decomposition, however, proceeded more rapidly during the dry season, and no significant seasonal differences were observed for polyphenol decomposition. The decomposition kinetics of most leaf components during the wet season were best described by a single-exponential model, but a quadratic model provided the best fit during the dry season. Initial leaf chemistry and season were important decomposition factors, while land-use effects were negligible. However, land-use effects showed distinct seasonal differences, with leaf litter decomposing more rapidly in soil under shaded-coffee than under farmland management, especially during the wet season. This study also demonstrated that polyphenol content does not show the predictive effects it has been attributed to have and that other constituents, such as condensed tannins, would be better suited for this purpose.
![](http://media.springernature.com/m312/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs10705-006-9048-4/MediaObjects/10705_2006_9048_Fig1_HTML.gif)
![](http://media.springernature.com/m312/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs10705-006-9048-4/MediaObjects/10705_2006_9048_Fig2_HTML.gif)
![](http://media.springernature.com/m312/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs10705-006-9048-4/MediaObjects/10705_2006_9048_Fig3_HTML.gif)
![](http://media.springernature.com/m312/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs10705-006-9048-4/MediaObjects/10705_2006_9048_Fig4_HTML.gif)
![](http://media.springernature.com/m312/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs10705-006-9048-4/MediaObjects/10705_2006_9048_Fig5_HTML.gif)
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aerts R (1997) Climate, leaf litter chemistry and leaf litter decomposition in terrestrial ecosystems: a triangular relationship. Oikos 79:439–449
Anderson JM, Swift MJ (1983) Decomposition in tropical forests. In: Sutton SL, Whitmore TC, Chadwick AC (eds) Tropical rain forest: ecology and management. Blackwell Scientific, Oxford, pp 284–309
Berg B, McClaugherty CA (1987) Nitrogen release from litter in relation to the disappearance of lignin. Biogeochemistry 4:219–224
Berg B (2000) Litter decomposition and organic matter turn over in Northern forest soils. For Ecol Manag 133:13–22
Bernhard-Reversat F, Main G, Holl K, Loumeto J, Ngao J (2003) Fast disappearance of the water-soluble phenolic fraction in eucalypt leaf litter during laboratory and field experiments. Appl Soil Ecol 23:273–278
Cornejo FH, Varela A, Wright SJ (1994) Tropical forest litter decomposition under seasonal drought: nutrient release, fungi and bacteria. Oikos 70:183–190
Coûteaux MM, McTiernan KB, Berg B, Szuberla D, Dardenne P, Bottner P (1998) Chemical composition and carbon mineralization potential of Scots Pine needles at different stages of decomposition. Soil Biol Biochem 30:583–595
Dilly O, Munch JC (2004) Litter decomposition and microbial characteristics in agricultural soils in northern, central and southern Germany. Soil Sci Plant Nutr 50:843–853
FAO (1998) World reference base for soil resources. World Soil Resources Reports 84. Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nation, Rome, Italy
Fox RH, Myers RJK, Vallis I (1990) The nitrogen mineralization rate of legume residues in soil as influenced by their polyphenols, lignin, and nitrogen contents. Plant Soil 129:251–259
Handayanto E, Cadisch G, Giller KE (1994) Nitrogen release from prunings of legume hedgerow trees in relation to quality of the pruning and incubation method. Plant Soil 160:237–248
Heal OW, Anderson JM, Swift MJ (1997) Plant litter quality and decomposition: an historical overview. In: Cadisch G, Giller KE (eds) Driven by nature: plant litter quality and decomposition. CAB Int, Wallingford, pp 3–30
Jama BA, Nair PKR (1996) Decomposition and nitrogen-mineralization patterns of Leucaena leucocephala and Cassia siamea mulch under tropical semi-arid conditions in Kenya. Plant Soil 179:275–285
Kurzatkowski D, Martius C, Höfer H, Garcia M, Förster B, Beck L, Vlek P (2004) Litter decomposition, microbial biomass and activity of soil organisms in three agroforestry sites in central Amazonia. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst 69:257–267
Lavelle P, Blanchart E, Martin A, Martin S, Spain A, Toutain F, Barois I, Schaefer R (1993) A hierarchical model for decomposition in terrestrial ecosystems – Application to soils of the humid tropics. Biotropica 25:130–150
Mafongoya P, Dzowela BH, Nair PK (1997a) Effect of multipurpose trees, age of cutting and drying method on pruning quality. In: Cadisch G, Giller KE (eds) Driven by nature: plant litter quality and decomposition. CAB Int, Wallingford, pp 167–174
Mafongoya PL, Giller KE, Palm CA (1997b) Decomposition and nitrogen release patterns of tree prunings and litter. Agroforest Syst 38:77–97
Mafongoya PL, Nair PKR, Dzowela BH (1998) Mineralization of nitrogen from decomposing leaves of multipurpose trees as affected by their chemical composition. Biol Fert Soils 27:143–148
Martius C, Höfer H, Garcia MVB, Römbke J, Hanagarth W (2004) Litterfall, litter stocks and decomposition rates in rainforest and agroforestry sites in central Amazonia. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst 68:137–154
McGroddy ME, Silver WL, de Oliveira RC (2004) The effect of phosphorus availability on decomposition dynamics in a seasonal lowland Amazonian forest. Ecosystems 7:172–179
Melillo JM, Aber JD, Muratore JF (1982) Nitrogen and lignin control of Hard-wood leaf litter decomposition dynamics. Ecology 63:621–626
Moorhead DL, Westerfield MM, Zak JC (1998) Plants retard litter decay in a nutrient-limited soil: a case of exploitative interaction? Oecologia 113:530–536
Musvoto C, Campbell BM, Kirchmann H (2000) Decomposition and nutrient release from mango and miombo woodland litter in Zimbabwe. Soil Biol Biochem 32:1111–1119
Northup RR, Zengshou Y, Dahlgren RA, Vogt KA (1995) Polyphenol control of nitrogen release from pine litter. Nature 377:227–229
Oglesby KA, Fownes JH (1992) Effects of chemical composition on nitrogen mineralization from green manures of seven tropical leguminous trees. Plant Soil 143:127–132
Palm CA (1995) Contribution of agroforestry trees to nutrient requirements of inter-cropped plants. Agroforest Syst 30:105–124
Palm CA, Sanchez PA (1990) Decomposition and nutrient release patterns of the leaves of three tropical legumes. Biotropica 22:330–338
Palm CA, Rowland AP (1997) A minimum dataset for characterization of plant quality for decomposition. In: Cadisch G, Giller KE (eds) Driven by nature: plant litter quality and decomposition. CAB Int, Wallingford, pp 379–392
Palm CA, Gachengo CN, Delve RJ, Cadisch G, Giller KE (2001) Organic inputs for soil fertility management in tropical agroecosystems: application of an organic resource database. Agr Ecosyst Environ 83:27–42
Singh KP, Singh PK, Tripathi SK (1999) Litter fall, litter decomposition and nutrient release patterns in four native tree species raised on coal mine spoil at Singrauli, India. Biol Fert Soils 29:371–378
Somda ZC, Powell JM (1998) Seasonal decomposition of sheep manure and forage leaves in soil. Commun Soil Sci Plan 29:2961–2979
Teklay T, Malmer A (2004) Decomposition of leaves from two indigenous trees of contrasting qualities under shaded-coffee and agricultural land-uses during the dry season at Wondo Genet, Ethiopia. Soil Biol Biochem 36:77–786
Vanlauwe B, Diels F, Sanginga N, Merckx R (1997a) Decomposition of four Leucaena and Senna prunings in alley crop** systems under sub-humid tropical conditions: The process and its modifiers. Soil Biol Biochem 29:131–137
Vanlauwe B, Diels F, Sanginga N, Merckx R (1997b) Residue quality and decomposition: an unsteady relationship? In: Cadisch G, Giller KE (eds) Driven by nature: plant litter quality and decomposition. CAB Int, Wallingford, pp 107–124
Yamashita T, Takeda H (1998) Decomposition and nutrient dynamics of leaf litter in litter bags of two mesh sizes set in two dipterocarp forest sites in peninsular Malaysia. Pedobiologia 42:11–21
Zaady E, Groffman PM, Shachack M, Wilby A (2003) Consumption and release of nitrogen by the harvester termite Anacanthotermes ubachi navas in the northern Negev desert, Israel. Soil Biol Biochem 35:1299–1303
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by research grants from the International Foundation for Science (IFS/D/2950-1) and Wondo Genet College of Forestry. I thank Drs. Anders Malmer, Gert Nyberg and Emma Tilston and anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments on the manuscript. I also wish to thank the analytical service laboratory staff at the International Livestock Research Institute in Addis Ababa for their assistance in the chemical analyses.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Teklay, T. Decomposition and nutrient release from pruning residues of two indigenous agroforestry species during the wet and dry seasons. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst 77, 115–126 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10705-006-9048-4
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10705-006-9048-4