Litter Dynamics in a Forest Dune at Restinga da Marambaia, RJ, Brazil

Abstract

Restingas are extremely degraded, tropical sandy ecosystems and are poorly studied in terms of nutrient cycling. The present study aimed to evaluate litter dynamics in a forest dune at Restinga da Marambaia, RJ. Litterfall was collected monthly using two parallel transects installed 200 m apart from each other with 15 litter traps (0.25 m 2), over two consecutive years. The litterfall was sorted into leaves, twigs, flowers, fruits, and refuse. Litter decomposition was evaluated by the ratio between litterfall and litter layer on the soil surface, which was estimated every four months by quadrats (0.25 m 2) placed next to the litter traps. The average annual litterfall was low (6.8 t ha-1 year-1), mostly constituted by leaves (70%), with the greatest deposits occurring during the rainy season. The decomposition rate was low (0.85) and the turnover time was long (439 days). This litter dynamic contributes to the nutrient economy.

Different Patterns Of Nutrient Cycling In Contiguous Phytophysiognomies Of Atlantic Forest, Brazil

“…There is an equilibrium between the low litterfall rate and slow decomposition in restinga areas that minimizes nutrient losses through the gradual release of nutrients from the organic material (Camara et al, 2018a). The slow decomposition reflects a litter poor in nutrients, as seen in the present study, but rich in lignin, with elevated lignin:nitrogen and/or carbon:nitrogen ratios (Bonanomi et al, 2013).…”

“…On the other hand, leaf litter decomposition in the Mussununga area was considered slow, with the decomposition rate being close to the value observed in a periodically flooded area of restinga forest (Pereira et al, 2012). The low nutrient quality of litter (Castanho & Oliveira, 2008;Pereira et al, 2012) can retard its breakdown and slow its decomposition in some forest ecosystems (Zhang et al, 2008) such as in restingas (Camara et al, 2018a). In fact, the same pattern occurred in the Mussununga area, where lower nitrogen concentrations were observed, which led to lower rates of leaf litter decomposition compared to the Mata Alta area.…”

“…In fact, the canopy in the Mussununga area is higher (7-15 m) when compared with non-flooding areas of restinga (4-7 m) on Ilha do Cardoso and Ilha do Mel (Moraes et al, 1999). On the other hand, the mean annual total litterfall in the Mussununga forest was very close to a dune forest in the Restinga da Marambaia (6.8 Mg ha -1 ) whose canopy height (8-15 m) (Camara et al, 2018a) was similar to the Mussununga forest.…”

FRUIT AND SEED MORPHOLOGY, AND GERMINATION OF Quesnelia quesneliana (BRONGNIART) L.B. SMITH

“…The results for Q. quesneliana were similar to those reported for other Bromeliaceae species, such as Aechmea bambusoides (PAULO; PAULA, 2018). It may be related to genetic factors and greater adaptation of these species in the Restinga, an environment with a high water deficit in the soils (CAMARA et al, 2018).…”

Contribution of Pseudobombax aff. petropolitanum to Nutrient Cycling in Woody Vegetation from a Neotropical Inselberg

“…Nutrient cycling is an important soil entry route for nutrients derived from senescent plant material, and studies have focused on litterfall and its nutrient concentration in forest ecosystems, such as Ombrophilous Forest (Bianchin et al, 2017;Camara et al, 2018a;2018b), Semideciduous Forest (Scheer et al, 2011;Machado et al, 2018;Carvalho et al, 2019;Dick & Schumacher, 2020;Menezes et al, 2020;Câmara et al, 2021;Lagemann et al, 2022), and Deciduous Forest (Schumacher et al, 2018;Araújo et al, 2020). Regardless of the forest typology being subject to greater or lesser seasonality, climate conditions influence nutrient cycling (Scheer et al, 2011;Bianchin et al, 2017;Dick & Schumacher, 2020).…”