Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Assessment of nutrient returns in a tropical dry forest after clear-cut without burning

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Tropical dry forests (TDFs) are being deforested at unprecedented rates. The slash/burn/agriculture/fallow-extensive livestock sequence causes significant nutrient losses and soil degradation. Our aim is to assess nutrient inputs and outputs in a TDF area under an alternative management system, for exclusive wood production. The study involved clear-cutting a preserved caatinga TDF site without burning, quantifying nutrients exported in firewood/timber and nutrients returned to the soil from the litter layer plus the slash debris, left to decompose unburned on the soil surface. Before clear-cut, the litter layer on the forest floor contained 6.1 t ha of dry matter (DM). After clear-cut, the aboveground biomass was 61.9 t DM ha−1 (consisting of 21.5 t DM ha−1 of commercial wood and 40.4 t DM ha−1 of clear-cut debris that did not include the underlying litter layer). The litter layer was composed of fine and coarse litter, with turnovers of 0.86 and 0.31 year−1, respectively, separately measured in uncut control plots during two rainy seasons (Dec-2007/June-2008 and Dec-2008/June-2009). In a single season, its decomposition returned to the soil 48.4, 1.16 and 12.3 kg ha−1 of N, P and K. The clear-cut debris was mainly composed of branches, 33.4 t ha−1, bromeliads, 5.63 t ha−1 and green leaves, 1.32 t ha−1. In-situ decomposition rates for branches and bromeliads were 0.24 and 1.47 year−1, respectively. After two rainy seasons the clear-cut debris released 206, 6.5 and 106 kg ha−1 of N, P and K respectively. This input plus that of the underlying litter layer exceeded exports in the commercial wood, and replenished a soil nutrient stock (0–30 cm) of approximately the same magnitude.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Alves GD, Sampaio EVSB, Salcedo IH, Silva VM (1999) Potencial de mineralização de N e de C em vinte solos da Pernambuco. Rev Bras Cienc Solo 23:245–256

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Andrade RL, Souto JS, Souto PC, Bezerra DM (2008) Deposição de serrapilheira em área de caatinga na RPPN “fazenda tamanduá”, Santa Terezinha–PB. Caatinga 21:223–230

    Google Scholar 

  • Chambers JQ, Higuchi N, Schimel JP, Ferreira LV, Melack JM (2000) Decomposition and carbon cycling of dead trees in tropical forests of the central Amazon. Oecologia 122:380–388

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Costa CCA, Souza AM, Silva NF, Valera RGC, Dantas IM (2007) Produção de serapilheira na caatinga da Floresta Nacional do Açú-RN. Rev Bras Biociênc 5:246–248

    Google Scholar 

  • Devore JL (2011) Probability and statistics for engineering and the sciences, 8th edn. Cengage Learning, Boston

    Google Scholar 

  • Dossa EL, Khouma M, Diedhiou I, Sene M, Kizito F, Badiane AN, Samba SAN, Dick RP (2009) Carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus mineralization potential of semiarid Sahelian soils amended with native shrub residues. Geoderma 148:251–260

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Eaton JM, Lawrence D (2006) Woody debris stocks and fluxes during succession in a dry tropical forest. For Ecol Manag 232:46–55

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • EMBRAPA Semiárido (2009) Médias anuais da Estação Agrometeorológica de Bebedouro (Petrolina-PE 09°09′S, 40°22′W) Período 1975–2008. http://www.cpatsa.embrapa.br:8080/servicos/dadosmet/ceb-mes.html. Accessed 6 Oct 2014

  • Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária–Embrapa (2006) Centro Nacional de Pesquisa de Solos. Sistema brasileiro de classificação de solos, 2 ed, Rio de Janeiro

  • Finegan B et al (2009) Shared functions and constraints of natural and managed systems: implications for human well-being in a changing environment. In: Tiessen H, Stewart JWB (eds) Applying ecological knowledge to Landuse Decisions. SCOPE/IAI/IICA, São Paulo, pp 14–22

  • Fleming R, Kanowski P, Brown N, Jenik J, Kahumbu P, Plesnik J (2011) Emerging perspectives on forest biodiversity. In: Bech S, Goverse T (eds) UNEP Year Book 2011: emerging issues in our global environment. United Nations Environment Programme, Nairobi, pp 47–59

  • Fraga VS, Salcedo IH (2004) Declines of organic nutrient pools in tropical semi-arid soils under subsistence farming. Soil Sci Soc Am J 68:215–224

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Francelino MR, Fernandes Filho EI, Resende M, Leite HG (2003) Contribuição da caatinga na sustentabilidade de projetos de assentamentos no sertão norte-rio-grandense. Rev Árvore 27:79–86

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Giardina CP, Sanford RL Jr, Døckersmith IC, Jaramillo VJ (2000) The effects of slash burning on ecosystem nutrients during the land preparation phase of shifting cultivation. Plant Soil 220:247–260

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Harmon ME, Whigham DF, Sexton J, Olmsted I (1995) Decomposition and mass of woody detritus in the dry tropical forests of the Northeastern Yucatan Peninsula. Mexico Biotropica 27:305–316

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jara P, Martínez E, Campo J (2009) N and P dynamics in the litter and soil of Mexican semi-arid forests, state of Morelos. Agric Ecosyst Environ 130:164–170

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jaramillo VJ, Kauffman JB, Rentería-Rodríguez L, Cummings DL, Ellingson LJ (2003) Biomass, carbon, and nitrogen pools in Mexican tropical dry forest landscapes. Ecosystems 6:609–629

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kauffman JB, Sanford RL Jr, Cummings DL, Salcedo IH, Sampaio EVSB (1993) Biomass and nutrient dynamics associated with slash fires in neotropical dry forests. Ecology 74:140–151

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kauffman JB, Steele MD, Cummings DL, Jaramillo VJ (2003) Biomass dynamics associated with deforestation, fire, and, conversion to cattle pasture in a Mexican tropical dry forest. For Ecol Manag 176:1–12

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maass JM et al (2005) Ecosystem services of tropical dry forests: insights from long-term ecological and social research on the Pacific Coast of Mexico. Ecol Soc 10(1):17

    Google Scholar 

  • Malmström A, Persson T, Ahlström K, Gongalsky KB, Bengtsson J (2009) Dynamics of soil meso and macrofauna during a 5-year period after clear-cut burning in a boreal forest. Appl Soil Ecol 43:61–74

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marques MWCF, Pareyn FGC, Figueiredo MAB (2011) A composição da renda e a contribuição do manejo florestal em dois projetos de assentamento no sertão de Pernambuco. Revista Econômica do Nordeste, vol 42(2). Banco do Nordeste, Fortaleza, pp 247–258

  • Martinez-Yrízar A (1995) A biomass distribution and primary productivity of tropical dry forests. In: Bullock SH, Mooney HA, Medina E (eds) Seasonally dry tropical forests. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 326–345

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Martins CM (2009) Atributos de solos e sua relação com o processo de desertificação no semiárido de Pernambuco. Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Dissertação

    Google Scholar 

  • Miles L, Newton AC, DeFries RS, Ravilious C, May I, Blyth S, Valerie Kapos V, Gordon JE (2006) A global overview of the conservation status of tropical dry forests. J Biogeogr 33:491–502

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MMA—Ministério do Meio Ambiente Monitoramento do Desmatamento nos Biomas Brasileiros por Satélite Acordo de Cooperação Técnica MMA/IBAMA (Instituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente e dos Recursos Naturais Renováveis) Monitoramento do Bioma Caatinga 2002 a 2009 Relatório Técnico, Brasília, 2011

  • Nunes LAPL, Araújo Filho JA, Holanda Júnior EV, Menezes RIQ (2009) Impacto da queimada e de enleiramento de resíduos orgânicos em atributos biológicos de solo sob caatinga no semi-árido nordestino. Caatinga 22:131–140

    Google Scholar 

  • Olson JS (1963) Energy storage and the balance of producers and decomposers in ecological systems. Ecology 44:322–331

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pareyn F, Riegelhaupt E, Gariglio MA (2009) Environmental impacts of caatinga forest management—a study case. In: Grossberg SP (ed) Forest management. Nova Science Publisher, New York, pp 179–202

  • Perrings C, Folke C, Mäler KG (1992) The ecology and economics of biodiversity loss: the research agenda. Ambio 21:201–211

    Google Scholar 

  • Petersen RG, Calvin LD (1996) Sampling. In: Sparks DL et al (eds) Methods of soil analysis, part 3, chemical methods book series of the soil science society of America. 5 Soil Science Society of America, Madison, pp 1–18

    Google Scholar 

  • Riegelhaupt EM, Pareyn FGC (2010) A questão energética e o manejo florestal da Caatinga. In: Gariglio MA et al (eds) Uso sustentável e conservação dos recursos florestais da caatinga. Serviço Florestal Brasileiro, Brasília, pp 65–75

    Google Scholar 

  • Salcedo IH, Tiessen H, Sampaio EVSB (1997) Nutrient availability in soil samples from shifting cultivation in the semi-arid caatinga of NE Brazil. Agric Ecosyst Environ 65:177–186

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sampaio EVSB (1995) Overview of the Brazilian Caatinga. In: Bullock SH, Money H, Medina E (eds) Seasonally dry tropical forests. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 35–63

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Sampaio EVSB, Silva GG (1996) Ciclagem de nutrientes. In: Sampaio EVSB, Mayo SJ, Barbosa MRV (eds) Pesquisa Botânica Nordestina: progresso e perspectivas. Sociedade Botânica do Brasil, Recife, pp 191–201

    Google Scholar 

  • Sampaio EVSB, Araújo EL, Salcedo IH, Tiessen H (1998) Regeneração da vegetação de caatinga após corte e queima, em Serra Talhada, PE. Pesqui Agropecu Bras 33:621–632

    Google Scholar 

  • SAS Institute (2002) Software and services: system for Windows, versão 8.0

  • Silveira DG, Lino LSM, Souza AS, Souza FVD (2013) Somatic embryogenesis of Neoglaziovia variegata (Arruda) Mez, an important source of fiber from native Brazilian bromeliads. Braz Arch Biol Technol 56(4):547–555

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Snyder JD, Trofymow JA (1984) A rapid accurate wet oxidation diffusion procedure for determining organic and inorganic carbon in plant and soil sample. Commun Soil Sci Plant Anal 15:587–597

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Thomas RL, Sheard RW, Moyer JR (1967) Comparison of conventional and automated procedures for N, P and K analysis of plant material using a single digestion. Agron J 59:240–243

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tiessen H, Salcedo IH, Sampaio EVSB (1992) Nutrient and soil organic matter dynamics under shifting cultivation in semi-arid northeastern Brazil. Agric Ecosyst Environ 38:139–151

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The first author would like to thank the scholarship received to pursue this study, Granted by CAPES (MEC/Brazil), through the graduate program in Soil Science at UFRPE, the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation unit in the Semi-Arid (Embrapa Semiárido) and also the help in the field offered by Kleber Costa (APNE). The authors thank the anonymous reviewers that contributed to the improvement of the manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto Nacional do Semiárido (INSA), Av. Francisco Lopes de Almeida, S/N, Serrotão, Campina Grande, PB, 58434-700, Brazil

    L. B. Amorim & I. H. Salcedo

  2. Associação Plantas do Nordeste - APNE, Rua Dr. Nina Rodrigues, 265, Iputinga, Recife, PE, 50731-280, Brazil

    F. G. C. Pareyn

  3. Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária, EMBRAPA, Centro de Pesquisa Agropecuário do Trópico Semiárido - Embrapa Semiárido, BR 428, Km 152, Petrolina, PE, 56300-970, Brazil

    I. .A. Alvarez

  4. National Institute of Semiarid (INSA), Av. Francisco Lopes de Almeida, S/N, Serrotão, Campina Grande, PB, 58429-940, Brazil

    L. B. Amorim

Authors
  1. L. B. Amorim
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. I. H. Salcedo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. F. G. C. Pareyn
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. I. .A. Alvarez
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to L. B. Amorim.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Amorim, L.B., Salcedo, I.H., Pareyn, F.G.C. et al. Assessment of nutrient returns in a tropical dry forest after clear-cut without burning. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst 100, 333–343 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10705-014-9646-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10705-014-9646-5

Keywords

Search

Navigation