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

Abstract

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.

Decomposition and Carbon and Nitrogen Releases of Twig and Leaf Litter Were Inhibited by Increased Level of Nitrogen Deposition in a Subtropical Evergreen Broad-Leaved Forest in Southwest China

“…However, the research work focusing on how twig litter C, N, and P respond to N additions in subtropical forests is relatively limited. Being the second largest component of total litter (26.1%) [18], twig litter plays an important role in the cycling of nutrients in most forest ecosystems. Therefore, it is crucial to assess the responses of N deposition of different litter components (leaves and twigs) simultaneously using the N manipulation experiment in an ecosystem.…”