Litterfall and litter nutrient content in two Brazilian Tropical Forests

Litterfall and litter nutrient content in two Brazilian Tropical Forests

REGINA MARIA DE MORAES¹, WELINGTON BRAZ CARVALHO DELITTI² and YARA STRUFFALDI-DE VUONO¹

(recebido em 03/02/97; aceito em 17/09/98)

 

ABSTRACT - (Litterfall and litter nutrient content in two brazilian tropical forests). Litterfall and transfer of nutrients was estimated in two tropical coastal forests of Brazil - the Atlantic and the Restinga Forests at Cardoso Island, São Paulo. Samples were collected monthly, from June 1990 to May 1991, using thirty 0.25 m² traps. There were significant differences in litter production between the Atlantic Forest (6.3 t.ha^-1.year^-1) and the Restinga Forest (3.9 t.ha^-1.year^-1). Litterfall was continuous throughout the year with maximum in the beginning of the rainy season in both sites. The annual return of mineral elements through litter in the Atlantic Forest was (kg.ha^-1): 101.8 N, 3.8 P, 20.3 K, 60.0 Ca, 18.0 Mg, and 14.6 S and in the Restinga Forest was: 27.5 N, 1.0 P, 6.5 K, 30.0 Ca, 10.9 Mg, and 6.6 S. The return, although small, is relevant due to the low fertility of the soils in those ecosystems, especially in Restinga. The Restinga Forest seems to be an ecosystem well adapted to oligotrophic conditions, lying among those presenting higher nutrient use efficiency.

 

RESUMO - (Produção e conteúdo de nutrientes na serapilheira em duas florestas tropicais brasileiras). A produção de serapilheira e o seu conteúdo de nutrientes foram estimados em duas florestas tropicais costeiras do Brasil - Floresta Atlântica e Floresta de Restinga, localizadas na Ilha do Cardoso, São Paulo. As amostras foram coletadas mensalmente de junho de 1990 a maio de 1991, utilizando-se trinta coletores de 0,25 m². A produção anual de serapilheira diferiu significativamente entre a Floresta Atlântica (6,3 t.ha^-1) e a Floresta de Restinga (3,9 t.ha^-1). O processo foi contínuo ao longo do ano com a queda máxima de serapilheira ocorrendo no início da estação chuvosa nas duas áreas. O retorno anual de elementos minerais na Floresta Atlântica foi (kg.ha^-1): 101,8 N; 3,8 P; 20,3 K; 60,0 Ca; 18,0 Mg e 14,6 S e na Floresta de Restinga foi: 27,5 N; 1,0 P; 6,5 K; 30,0 Ca; 10,9 Mg e 6,6 S. Embora pequeno, este retorno é relevante devido à baixa fertilidade dos solos destes ecossistemas, especialmente da restinga. A Floresta de Restinga mostrou-se um ecossistema bem adaptado às condições de oligotrofismo, estando entre os que apresentam maior eficiência na utilização dos nutrientes.

Key words - Litterfall, litter nutrient content, nutrient cycling, tropical rain forest, restinga forest

 

Introduction

Studies on litterfall have focused on obtaining measures of the production, information on decomposition (when associated with estimates of litter standing-crop), data on phenology and nutrient flux (Proctor 1983), as well as indications of nutrient use efficiency (Vitousek 1982) and the stability and capacity of the ecosystem to recover from disturbance (Meguro 1987). Some models have been proposed to predict litter production (Bray & Gorham 1964, Meentemayer et al.1982, Vogt et al. 1986, Londsdale 1988 and Silver 1994).

Quantification of the nutrient flux associated with litterfall is important to the understanding of ecosystem dynamics. The maintenance of natural systems depends on adequate mineral cycling. Nevertheless investigations of this kind are scarce for brazilian coastal ecosystems, including the Atlantic and Restinga Forests. Oliveira & Lacerda (1993) estimated litterfall and litter mineral content in Rio de Janeiro's Tijuca Forest. Similar investigations were conducted in polluted areas of Brazil's Coastal Mountain Range, the Serra do Mar, in the State of São Paulo (Domingos et al. 1990, Leitão Filho et al. 1993). However, there has been only one investigation of a Restinga Forest (Britez 1994).

The present study compares two contrasting tropical forest ecosystems subjected to the same climatic conditions: a tropical rain forest of the Serra do Mar mountains generally referred to as Atlantic Forest, and a coastal plain forest called Restinga Forest, in order to determine how differences in substrate, flora and vegetation could be reflected in different patterns of litterfall and nutrient transfer.

 

Material and methods

Study area - Study sites were established on Cardoso Island on the south coast of the State of São Paulo, Brazil. Cardoso Island, which is separated from the continent by only a narrow channel, lies between 25°03'-25^o18'S and 47°53'-48°05'W. Mean annual precipitation is 2200 mm, and there is no dry season. The highest rainfall is registered in March (330 mm) and the lowest in August (80 mm). Mean annual temperature is 21.3°C, with the highest monthly mean in February (25.1°C) and the lowest in July (17.8°C). Climatic data were obtained from a meteorological station located 5 km from the study sites, belonging to the Oceanographic Institute of the University of São Paulo. The centre of the island is occupied by a large massif of crystalline pre-Cambrian rocks, reaching 800 m height. Surrounding the massif are the alluvial coastal lowlands typical of the Brazilian meridional coast formed by Holocene and Pleistocene sands (Suguio 1994). These sand deposits are occupied by characteristic animal and plant communities and is referred to as Restinga. The two areas studied, 1 ha each, are located on the NE portion of the island. The Atlantic Forest site (AF) is at 140 m a.s.l. and the Restinga Forest site (RF) is on the coastal lowland at sea level. The vegetation of AF, surveyed by Melo & Mantovani (1994), has 2510 tree individuals per ha (DBH > 8 cm) of 157 species and total basal area of 48 m².ha^-1. The richest families are Myrtaceae, Leguminosae and Rubiaceae. Arecaceae presented the highest IVI (Importance Value Index) value due to the predominance of Euterpe edulis Mart., the most important species in that plant formation. Tree strata cannot be clearly separated, but canopy is more dense at about 10 m height with emergents up to 35 m tall.

In the RF the trees are smaller with irregular crowns forming a single stratum, with canopy around 4-7 m. According to Sugyiama (1993), 867 tree individuals per ha (DBH > 5 cm) were registered, including 31 species and total basal area of 23 m².ha^-1. The richest family is Myrtaceae but higher IVI values are presented by Theaceae, Lauraceae and Guttiferae. The two areas have only six tree species in common. Sorensen's Index of Similarity for the two forest types is therefore very small (6%) showing no floristic similarity between these forests.

Soils of both forests differ sharply in their physical and chemical characteristics (table 1). In the AF the soil is oligotrophic when compared to other tropical forests, but it offers to the vegetation better growing conditions than the restinga.

Methods - Thirty 0.25 m² wooden traps with 1 mm² nylon mesh, were placed in each forest to collect litterfall. They were 20 cm above the ground level and positioned on either side of a 1000 m long transect, at randomly distances. Material was collected monthly between June 1990 and May 1991 and sorted into four categories: leaves (and leaflets and petioles); twigs ( 2 cm diameter following Proctor (1983), and bark fragments); reproductive parts (flowers, fruits and seeds) and miscellaneous material (indeterminate animal and plant material). Sorted material was ovendried at 70°C to a constant weight, grounded and homogenized. The resulting powder was digested with nitric and perchloric acid for determination of P, K, Ca, Mg, S, Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn, B, Al and Na concentrations. Digestion with sulphuric acid and hydrogen peroxide was used to determine N concentrations. Leaf material from the monthly collection of each area was mixed and homogenized from which two replicate determinations were made. The other fractions were each bulked, preserving the monthly percent composition, to constitute a single annual sample. Chemical analyses followed Zagatto et al. (1981).

 

Results

Figure 1. Monthly litterfall (kg.ha^-1, n = 30), and rainfall (mm) in the study areas, Cardoso Island, São Paulo, Brazil. A - Rainfall, B - Litterfall in the Restinga Forest, C - Litterfall in the Atlantic Forest. Total (-_*-); leaves (--); twigs (--); reprod. parts (--); miscellaneous (--) Significant differences (Tukey test) are indicated by different small letters.

The highest values of litter production were observed at the beginning of the rainy period (Tukey test, figure 1). In AF this occurred in November (978 kg.ha^-1) with 42.7% of total annual production from October to December. Leaf production was higher in October and November (718 kg.ha^-1); the twig fraction reached a peak in November and the other fractions in December.

There was little variation in the monthly concentrations of macronutrients in leaf litterfall in both areas. There was no clear evidence of seasonality, although K and S concentrations were lower during the months of higher litter production in AF. N and Ca showed the highest concentrations, and P the lowest. The sequence of concentrations obtained in AF leaf litter was N>Ca>Mg>K>S>P, similar to RF except that in RF litter concentrations of Ca were higher than those of N.

 

Concentrations of trace elements in AF litter were higher, except for Na. The mean annual concentration of Na in the AF litter was higher in leaves. Zn concentration was higher in twigs and Cu, Mn, Al and B concentrations showed higher values in the miscellaneous fraction. Concentrations of Mn and Zn in RF litter were higher in reproductive parts, of Na in leaves and of Fe, Cu, B and Al, in miscellaneous fraction (table 4).

 

Table 5 shows the return of mineral elements from phytomass to soil through litterfall. The order of the relative annual contribution of the various elements to AF litter was N>Ca>K>Mg>S>P and to RF litter was Ca>N>Mg>S>K>P. Concentrations of Ca were higher than N at RF, a fact that may be related to scleromorphism at the vegetation at RF which in turn is probably related to its oligotrophic soils. The sequence of the relative contribution of Na, Al and micronutrients in AF litter was Na>Al>Mn>Fe>B>Zn>Cu, similar to that of RF litter with higher concentrations of Mn than of Al.