The effects of rainfall and vegetation on litterfall production in the semiarid region of northeastern Brazil

Lopes, M C A; Araújo, Virgínia; Vasconcellos, Alexandre

doi:10.1590/1519-6984.21613

Cited by 24 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 25 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Reproductive structures and branches represented approximately 15% of the total litterfall in this study. Martínez-Yrízar and Sarukhán (1990) reported a 17% contribution from the branch fraction in a deciduous forest in Mexico, which was very similar to the value observed by Santos et al (2011) in the Caatinga in Pernambuco, and Lopes et al (2015) in Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. The deposition of the leaf fraction was best explained by precipitation and evapotranspiration in the fourth and third months prior to the collecting events.…”

Section: Fazenda Almas Fazenda Moreirassupporting

confidence: 81%

“…The litterfall production recorded in the drier areas of the Caatinga tends to average between 1,900 and 3,000 kg ha -1 yr -1 (Santana, 2005;Souto, 2006), but it can reach values about 6,000 kg ha -1 yr -1 in relatively more humid areas (Sampaio and Silva, 1996;Dantas, 2003;Lopes et al, 2009;Menezes et al, 2012), and even 8,440 kg ha -1 yr -1 in Piauí (Lima et al, 2015) and 9,160 kg ha -1 yr -1 in Pernambuco (Santos et al, 2011). The value found for the legally protected area in this study (Fazenda Almas: 4,500 kg ha -1 yr -1 ) was higher than the obtained for other areas of hyper-xerophytic Caatinga (between 900 and 3,700 kg ha -1 yr -1 ) with similar amounts of annual precipitation (Santana, 2005;Alves et al, 2006;Souto, 2006;Andrade et al, 2008;Santana and Souto, 2011;Lopes et al, 2015;Silva et al, 2015b). These results indicate that other factors besides precipitation must be influencing litterfall production; including vegetation structure.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 62%

“…who found that leaves constitute 58% to 79% of the organic material deposited in the soil in different macroecological zones. In areas with Caatinga vegetation, the leaf fraction has been observed to vary from 56.2% to 80.6% (Santana, 2005;Alves et al, 2006;Souto, 2006;Costa et al, 2007;Andrade et al, 2008;Lopes et al, 2009;Costa et al, 2010;Lopes et al, 2015;Silva et al, 2015b). Reproductive structures and branches represented approximately 15% of the total litterfall in this study.…”

Section: Fazenda Almas Fazenda Moreirasmentioning

confidence: 54%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Spatial-temporal variation in litterfall in seasonally dry tropical forests in Northeastern Brazil

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract The production of litterfall is essential for nutrient cycling in terrestrial ecosystems. From November 2009 to October 2011, analyzed the monthly litterfall production in two areas of Caatinga, a type of Seasonally Dry Tropical Forest located in the Cariri Paraibano, in the semiarid region of the Paraíba, Northeastern Brazil. One of the areas, Private Natural Heritage Reserve (RPPN) Fazenda Almas, is legally protected, and the other, Fazenda Moreiras, does not. The aims were to evaluate the effects of precipitation, evapotranspiration and vegetation structure on the temporal and spatial dynamics of litterfall production. Eight sampling points were randomly chosen at each site, and two 1 m2 collectors were installed 50 m apart from each other. The collected material was sorted, dried and weighed. Additionally, the characteristics (density, species richness, height and mean basal area) of the tree-shrub stratum in plots with a 10 m radius surrounding each collector. Total litterfall production was 4,500 kg ha-1 yr-1 for Fazenda Almas and 3,300 kg ha-1 yr-1 for Fazenda Moreiras; these values were within the expected range for Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests. The inter- and intra-annual variation in litterfall production was positively correlated with precipitation and evapotranspiration rates, and four months after the highest precipitation rates, there was a marked decrease in litterfall occurred during the dry season. Furthermore, the contributions of the material fractions were distinct with the leaf fraction representing for more than 60% of the litterfall, and the vegetation structure explained 75% of the variation in litterfall production. Therefore, climatic factors and vegetation structure affect the temporal and spatial dynamics of litterfall production and consequently influence nutrient dynamics in the semiarid region of Brazil.

show abstract

Section: Fazenda Almas Fazenda Moreirassupporting

confidence: 81%

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 62%

Section: Fazenda Almas Fazenda Moreirasmentioning

confidence: 54%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Spatial-temporal variation in litterfall in seasonally dry tropical forests in Northeastern Brazil

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The timing and amount of litterfall (i.e., the aboveground senescent biomass that periodically falls to the soil surface; Ewel 1976) are strongly regulated by abiotic conditions, such as water, temperature, photoperiod and soil nutrients (Martínez-Yrízar and Sarukhán 1990;Lopes et al 2015). Litterfall seasonality is tightly related to plant vegetative phenology (i.e., leaf emergence, development, ageing and abscission) because most of the litterfall mass is composed by leaves (Chave et al 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Litterfall dynamics along a successional gradient in a Brazilian tropical dry forest

et al. 2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: This study aimed to determine the influence of soil traits, vegetation structure and climate on litterfall dynamics along a successional gradient in a tropical dry forest (TDF) in southeastern Brazil. We used a chronosequence design consisting of three successional stages (early, intermediate, and old-growth) defined based on forest age and vertical and horizontal structures. Methods: Litterfall was recorded monthly for three years in 12 plots of 50 × 20 m (four plots per stage) where vegetation parameters (species richness, basal area, density and height for trees with diameter at breast height ≥ 5 cm) and soil chemical and physical traits were previously obtained. We placed eight 0.5-m 2 litter traps in each plot, totalling 96 traps. Samples were sorted into leaves, twigs, reproductive parts, and debris. Results: Litterfall mass was composed mainly of leaves and varied slightly among years (4 to 4.5 Mg•ha − 1), within the range observed for other TDFs. Annual litterfall mass was higher at the old-growth forest than at the early and intermediate forest stages and this successional pattern was driven by vegetation characteristics (forest structural parameters and plant functional groups) and soil traits related to water-holding capacity. Litter amount in the intermediate stage was lower than expected for its forest structure (and similar to the early stage), possibly because its higher soil clay content increased the water holding capacity and leaf retention during the dry season. Seasonal variations in monthly litterfall were strongly driven by forest deciduousness and affected by climatic factors related to water availability. This pattern was consistent across the successional gradient, although differences for each litterfall component were observed. Conclusions: Our results suggest that litter production in the studied TDF is influenced by multiple factors along succession, such as above-ground biomass and the degree of leaf retention mediated by soil water-holding capacity. Further studies on community phenological patterns can allow a better understanding of successional changes on litterfall and how fast this fundamental function recovers in secondary forests.

show abstract

“…The higher litter fall values obtained in the bamboo stands in this study was similar to the results from other tropical regions. These results have been attributed to many factors like deciduousness of the species water stress, photoperiod, evapotranspiration and low nutrient availability (Odiwe and Muoghalu 2003;Kumar et al, 2005;Lopes et al, 2015). Some of these factors might have also accounted for the bimodal litter fall observed in this study.…”

Section: Seasonal Fluctuations In Litter Fallmentioning

confidence: 48%

Litter fall and standing crop litter of<i> Bambusa vulgaris</i> Schrad. ex J.C. Wendl. stands in secondary rainforest in Ile-Ife, Nigeria

Odiwe¹,

Borisade²,

Raimi³

et al. 2019

Int. J. Bio. Chem. Sci

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The litter fall production and standing crop litter of Bambusa vulgaris Schrad. ex J.C. Wendl. stands in four 25 m x 25 m plots were evaluated in a secondary rainforest, Nigeria. This was done with a view to providing information on litter fall production, seasonal pattern and monthly variation in bamboo stands. The litter fall was collected using litter traps of 1m x 1m x 30 cm from June 2014-May 2015 and the standing crop litter was quantified at the peak of rainy and dry seasons. The collected litters were sorted into leaf and twigs, oven-dried at 70 °C to a constant weight and weighed. The annual litter production was 13.35±1.18 t ha-1 and leaf litter contributed, 73.90% while twig litter 26.10%; the standing crop litter (t ha-1) at the peak of dry season was 2.38±0.12 (total), 1.59±0.05 (leaf), 79±0.07 (twig); and rainy season, 2.01±0.24 (total), 1.17±0.15 (leaf), 0.84±0.09 (twig). The values of litter production, leaf and twig components obtained in this study were higher than the results of previous litter fall studies obtained in this secondary rainforest though the seasonal trend (variation) was the same.

show abstract

The effects of rainfall and vegetation on litterfall production in the semiarid region of northeastern Brazil

Cited by 24 publications

References 25 publications

Spatial-temporal variation in litterfall in seasonally dry tropical forests in Northeastern Brazil

Spatial-temporal variation in litterfall in seasonally dry tropical forests in Northeastern Brazil

Litterfall dynamics along a successional gradient in a Brazilian tropical dry forest

Litter fall and standing crop litter of<i> Bambusa vulgaris</i> Schrad. ex J.C. Wendl. stands in secondary rainforest in Ile-Ife, Nigeria

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About