Skip to main content
Log in

Nutrient fluxes via litterfall and leaf litter decomposition vary across a gradient of soil nutrient supply in a lowland tropical rain forest

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Plant and Soil Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The extent to which plant communities are determined by resource availability is a central theme in ecosystem science, but patterns of small-scale variation in resource availability are poorly known. Studies of carbon (C) and nutrient cycling provide insights into factors limiting tree growth and forest productivity. To investigate rates of tropical forest litter production and decomposition in relation to nutrient availability and topography in the absence of confounding large-scale variation in climate and altitude we quantified nutrient fluxes via litterfall and leaf litter decomposition within three distinct floristic associations of tropical rain forest growing along a soil fertility gradient at the Sepilok Forest Reserve (SFR), Sabah, Malaysia. The quantity and nutrient content of small litter decreased along a gradient of soil nutrient availability from alluvial forest (most fertile) through sandstone forest to heath forest (least fertile). Temporal variation in litterfall was greatest in the sandstone forest, where the amount of litter was correlated negatively with rainfall in the previous month. Mass loss and N and P release were fastest from alluvial forest litter, and slowest from heath forest litter. All litter types decomposed most rapidly in the alluvial forest. Stand-level N and P use efficiencies (ratios of litter dry mass to nutrient content) were greatest for the heath forest followed by the sandstone ridge, sandstone valley and alluvial forests, respectively. We conclude that nutrient supply limits productivity most in the heath forest and least in the alluvial forest. Nutrient supply limited productivity in sandstone forest, especially on ridge and hill top sites where nutrient limitation may be exacerbated by reduced rates of litter decomposition during dry periods. The fluxes of N and P varied significantly between the different floristic communities at SFR and these differences may contribute to small-scale variation in species composition.

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

Access this article

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
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aerts R (1997) Climate, leaf litter chemistry and leaf litter decomposition in terrestrial ecosystems: a triangular relationship. Oikos 79:439–449

    Google Scholar 

  • Aerts R, Chapin FS III (2000) The mineral nutrition of wild plants revisited: a re-evaluation of processes and patterns. Adv Ecol Res 30:1–67

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Allen SE (1989) Chemical analysis of ecological materials. Blackwell Scientific Publishers, Oxford, UK

    Google Scholar 

  • Anderson JM, Swift MJ (1983) Decomposition in tropical forests. In: Sutton SL, Whitmore TC, Chadwick AC (eds) Tropical rainforest: ecology and management. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford, UK, pp 267–273

    Google Scholar 

  • Anderson JM, Proctor J, Vallack HW (1983) Ecological studies in four contrasting lowland rain forests in Gunung Mulu National Park, Sarawak: III. Decomposition processes and nutrient losses from leaf litter. J Ecol 71:503–527

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baillie IC, Ashton PS, Court MN, Anderson JAR, Fitzpatrick EA, Tinsley J (1987) Site characteristics and the distribution of tree species in mixed dipterocarp forest on tertiary sediments in central Sarawak, Malaysia. J Trop Ecol 3:201–220

    Google Scholar 

  • Baker TR, Burslem DFRP, Swaine MD (2003) Associations between tree growth, soil fertility and water availability at local and regional scales in Ghanaian tropical rain forest. J Trop Ecol 19:109–125

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baltzer JL, Thomas SC, Nilus R, Burslem DFRP (2005) Edaphic specialization in tropical forest trees: physiological correlates and responses to reciprocal transplantation. Ecology 86:3048–3062

    Google Scholar 

  • Becker P, Rabenold PE, Idol JR, Smith AP (1988) Water potential gradients for gaps and slopes in a Panamanian tropical moist forest’s dry season. J Trop Ecol 4:173–184

    Google Scholar 

  • Bloomfield J, Vogt KA, Vogt DJ (1993) Decay rate and substrate quality of fine roots and foliage of two tropical tree species in the Luquillo Experimental Forest, Puerto Rico. J Plant Nutr Soil Sci 150:230–245

    Google Scholar 

  • Bockheim JG, Jepsen EA, Heisey DM (1991) Nutrient dynamics in decomposing leaf litter of four tree species on a sandy soil in northwestern Wisconsin. Can J For Res 21:803–812

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Burghouts TBA, Campbell EVJ, Kolderman PJ (1994) Effects of tree species heterogeneity on leaf fall in primary and logged dipterocarp forest in the Ulu Segama Forest Reserve, Sabah, Malaysia. J Trop Ecol 10:1–26

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burghouts TBA, Ernsting G, Korthals G, DeVries T (1992) Litterfall, leaf litter decomposition and litter invertebrates in primary and selectively logged dipterocarp forest in Sabah, Malaysia. Philos T Roy Soc B 335:407–416

    Google Scholar 

  • Burslem DFRP, Pinard MA, Hartley SE (2005) Biotic interactions in the tropics: their role in the maintenance of species diversity. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK

    Google Scholar 

  • Chuyong GB (1994) Nutrient cycling in ectomycorrhizal legume-dominated forest in Korup National Park, Cameroon. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Stirling, UK

  • Chuyong CB, Newbery DM, Songwe NC (2000) Litter nutrients and retranslocation in a central African rain forest dominated by ectomycorrhizal trees. New Phytol 148:493–510

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Clark DA, Brown S, Kicklighter DW, Chambers JQ, Thomlinson JE, Ni J (2001) Net primary production in tropical forests: an evaluation and synthesis of existing field data. Ecol Appl 11:371–384

    Google Scholar 

  • Cole DW, Rapp M (1981) Elemental cycling in forest ecosystems. In: Reichle DE (ed) Dynamic principles of forest ecosystems. Cambridge University Press, London, UK, pp 341–409

    Google Scholar 

  • Cornu S, Luizao F, Rouiller J, Lucas Y (1997) Comparative study of litter decomposition and mineral element release in two Amazonian forest ecosystems: litter bag experiments. Pedobiologia 41:456–471

    Google Scholar 

  • Daws MI, Mullins CE, Burslem DFRP, Paton SR, Dalling JW (2002) Topographic position affects the water regime in a semi deciduous tropical forest in Panama. Plant Soil 238:79–90

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Debski I, Burslem DFRP, Palmiotto PA, LaFrankie JV, Lee HS, Manokaran N (2002) Habitat preferences of Aporosa in two Malaysian forests: implications for abundance and coexistence. Ecology 83:2005–2018

    Google Scholar 

  • Dent D (2004) The mechanistic basis of habitat specialisation of dipterocarps: are species differentiated by specialisation to environmental variation? Ph.D. Thesis, University of Aberdeen, UK

  • Didham RK (1998) Altered leaf-litter decomposition rates in tropical forest fragments. Oecologia 116:397–406

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fox JED (1973) Kabili-Sepilok forest reserve. Sabah Forest Record: 9. Borneo Literature Bureau, Malaysia

  • Gibbons JM, Newbery DM (2003) Drought avoidance and the effect of local topography on trees in the understorey of Bornean lowland rain forest. Plant Ecol 164:1–18

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Green PT (1998) Litterfall in rain forest on Christmas Island, Indian Ocean: quantity, seasonality and composition. Biotropica 30:671–676

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heal OW, Anderson JM, Swift MJ (1997) Plant litter quality and decomposition: an historical overview. In: Cadisch G, Giller KE (eds) Driven by nature: plant litter quality and decomposition. CAB International, Wallingford, UK

  • Herrera R (1979) Nutrient distribution and cycling in an Amazon Caatinga Forest on Spodosols in Southern Venezuala. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Reading, UK

  • Itoh A, Yamakura T, Ohkubo T, Kanzaki M, Palmiotto PA, La Frankie JV, Ashton PS, Lee HS (2003) Importance of topography and soil texture in the spatial distribution of two sympatric dipterocarp trees in a Bornean rainforest. Ecol Res 18:307–320

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jordan CF, Murphy PG (1982) Nutrient dynamics of a tropical rain forest ecosystem and changes in the nutrient cycle due to cutting and burning. Annual Report to the U.S. National Science Foundation. Institute of Ecology, University of Georgia, pp 122–166

  • Klinge H (1977) Fine litter production and nutrient returns to the soil in three natural forest stands of Eastern Amazonia. Ecology 1:159–167

    Google Scholar 

  • La Caro FS, Rudd RC (1985) Leaf litter disappearance rates in Puerto Rican montane rain forest. Biotropica 17:269–276

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Loranger G, Ponge J-F, Daniel I, Lavelle P (2002) Leaf decomposition in semi-evergreen tropical forests: influence of litter quality. Biol Fert Soils 35:247–252

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Luizao F, Proctor J, Thompson J, Luizao RCC, Marrs RH, Scott DA, Viana V (1998) Rain forest on Maraca Island, Roraima, Brazil: soil and litter process response to artificial gaps. For Ecol Manage 102:291–303

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Melillo JM, Aber JD, Muratore JF (1982) Nitrogen and lignin control of hardwood leaf litter decomposition dynamics. Ecology 63:621–626

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Melillo JM, McGuire AD, Kicklighter DW, Moore B III, Vorosmarty CJ, Schloss AL (1993) Global climate change and terrestrial net primary production. Nature 363:234–240

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mesquita R, Workman S, Neely C (1998) Slow litter decomposition in a Cecropia-dominated secondary forest of central Amazonia. Soil Biol Biochem 30:161–167

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moran JA, Barker MG, Moran AJ, Becker P (2000) A comparison of the soil water, nutrient status and litterfall characteristics of tropical heath and mixed dipterocarp forest sites in Brunei. Biotropica 32:2–13

    Google Scholar 

  • Nilus R (2003) Effect of edaphic variation on forest structure, dynamics, diversity and regeneration in a lowland tropical rain forest in Borneo. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Aberdeen, UK

  • O’Connell AM, Sankaran KV (1997) Organic matter decomposition and mineralization. In: Nambiar EKS, Brown AG (eds) Management of soil nutrients and water in tropical plantation forests. ACIAR, Canberra, Australia, pp 443–480

    Google Scholar 

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

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Palmiotto PA, Davies SJ, Vogt KA, Ashton PMS, Vogt DJ, Ashton PS (2004) Soil-related habitat specialization in dipterocarp rain forest tree species in Borneo. J Ecol 92:609–623

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paoli GD, Curran LM, Zak DR (2006) Soil nutrients and beta diversity in the Bornean Dipterocarpaceae: evidence for niche partitioning by tropical rain forest trees. J Ecol 94:157–170

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Parker GG (1983) Throughfall and stemflow in the forest nutrient cycle. Adv Ecol Res 13:57–133

    Google Scholar 

  • Potts MD, Ashton PS, Kaufman LS, Plotkin JB (2002) Habitat patterns in tropical rain forests: a comparison of 105 plots in Northwest Borneo. Ecology 83:2782–2797

    Google Scholar 

  • Proctor J (1984) Tropical forest litterfall. II. The data set. In: Sutton SL, Chadwick AC (eds) Tropical rain forest: the Leeds symposium. Leeds Phil. Lit. Soc., Leeds

  • Proctor J, Fogden SCL, Vallack HW (1983) Ecological studies in four contrasting lowland rain forests in Gunung Mulu National Park, Sarawak: II. Litterfall, litter standing crop and preliminary-observations on herbivory. J Ecol 71:261–283

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rai SN, Proctor J (1986) Ecological studies on four rainforests in Karnataka, India: II. Litterfall. J Ecol 74:455–463

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rogers HM (2002) Litterfall, decomposition and nutrient release in a lowland tropical rain forest, Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea. J Trop Ecol 18:449–456

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rorison IH, Robinson D (1984) Calcium as an environmental variable. Plant Cell Environ 7:381–390

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Russo SE, Davies SJ, King DA, Tan S (2005) Soil-related performance variation and distributions of tree species in a Bornean rain forest. J Ecol 93:879–889

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Shariff AHM, Miller HG (1990) Shorea leprosula as an indicator species for site fertility evaluation in dipterocarp forests of peninsular Malaysia. J Trop For Sci 3:101–110

    Google Scholar 

  • Sokal RR, Rohlf FJ (1995) Biometry. W.H. Freeman and company, New York, USA

    Google Scholar 

  • Swift MJ, Anderson JM (1989) Decomposition. In: Lieth H, Werger MJA (eds) Ecosystems of the World 14B, tropical rain forest ecosystems. Elsevier, Amsterdam, Netherlands, pp 547–569

    Google Scholar 

  • Swift MJ, Heal OW, Anderson JM (1979) Decomposition in terrestrial ecosystems. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford, UK

    Google Scholar 

  • Upadhyay VP, Singh JS (1989) Patterns of nutrient immobilization and release in decomposing forest litter in central Himalaya, India. J Ecol 77:127–146

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Soest PJ (1963) Use of detergents in the analysis of fibrous feeds.II. Rapid method for the determination and lignin. J Assoc Off Anal Chem 46:830

    Google Scholar 

  • von Ende CN (2001) Repeated-measures analysis: growth and other time-dependent measures. In: Scheiner SM, Gurevitch J (eds) Design and analysis of ecological experiments. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK, pp 134–157

    Google Scholar 

  • Villela DM, Proctor J (2002) Leaf litter decomposition and monodominance in the Peltogyne Forest of Maraca Island, Brazil. Biotropica 34:334–347

    Google Scholar 

  • Vitousek PM (1982) Nutrient cycling and nutrient use efficiency. Am Nat 119:53–72

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vitousek P (1984) Litterfall, nutrient cycling and nutrient limitation in tropical forests. Ecology 65:285–298

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Vitousek P (1997) On regression and residuals: response to Knops et al. Oecologia 116:557–559

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vitousek P, Sanford RLJ Jr (1986) Nutrient cycling in moist tropical forest. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 17:137–167

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Waterman P, Mole S (1994) Analysis of phenolic plant metabolites. Blackwell Scientific Publications, London, UK

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank the Natural Environment Research Council and the British Ecological Society for financial support. The Economic Planning Unit of the Federal Government of Malaysia kindly granted permission to conduct research in Malaysia. We also thank Reuben Nilus for advice, Dot Mackinnon, Kenn Cruickshank, Malcolm Leitch, Valerie Beattie and Niall Ferguson for assistance with the chemical analysis of litter samples, and Rineson Yudot, Doilin Yudot, Oliver Johnny, Edwin Matalin, Adzmi Madran and Bunga Seligi for their contribution to the field and laboratory work in Sepilok.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Daisy H. Dent.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Dent, D.H., Bagchi, R., Robinson, D. et al. Nutrient fluxes via litterfall and leaf litter decomposition vary across a gradient of soil nutrient supply in a lowland tropical rain forest. Plant Soil 288, 197–215 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-006-9108-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-006-9108-1

Keywords

Navigation