Abstract
The Litter nutrient concentrations of N, P, Ca, Mg, K and Na in mature leaves, twigs and reproductive parts and their relationship between senescent and young leaves were investigated in five forest species: Acacia nilotica, Acacia leucophloea. Tectona grandis, Miliusa tomentosa and Butea monosperma in Indian tropical dry deciduous forest in Western India.. Total dry matter of plant species was recorded and analyzed for N, P, Ca, Mg, K and Na. A. nilotica had the highest concentrations of N in leaf, while A. leucophloea had the highest concentrations of Ca and Mg in leaf. The highest concentrations of P in leaf were found in A. nilotica, A. leucophloea and B. monosperma where as lowest in T. grandis and M. tomentosa. No significant differences in K and Na were registered among the species. A marked seasonal variability was observed in the concentrations of N, P and K, except for Ca and Mg. Potassium is the single element that undergoes leaching and mobilization in all species. Resorped N and P can be used for the production of fresh leaf in the following annual cycle. Nutrient resorption and retranslocation from senescent leaves and litter supports the production of new foliage and increase the fertility of soil.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Airts R. 1996. Nutrient resorption from senescing leaves of perennials: are there general patterns? Journal of Ecology, 84: 597–608.
Alley JC, Fitzgerald BM, Berben PH, Haslett SJ. 1998. Annual and seasonal patterns of litter-fall of hard beech (Nothofagus truncata) and silver beech (Nothofagus menziesil) in relation to reproduction. New Zealand Journal of Botany, 36: 453–464.
Bargaly SS, Singh RP, Singh SP. 1992. Structure and function of an age series of eucalyptus plantation in central Himalaya. II. Nutrient dynamics. Annals of Botany, 69: 413–421.
Chapin FS, Moilanen L. 1991. Nutritional controls over nitrogen and phosphorus resorption from Alaskan birch leaves. Ecology, 72:709–715.
Couteaux MM, Bottner P, Berg B. 1995. Litter decomposition, climate and litter quality. Tree, 10: 63–66.
Craine JM, Mack MC. 1998. Bioelements in senesced leaves: comment. Ecology, 79: 1818–1820.
Cuevas E, Lugo AE. 1998. Dynamics of organic matter and nutrient return from Litterfall in stands of ten tropical tree plantation species. Forest ecology and management, 112: 263–279.
Del Arco JM, Escudero A, Garrido MV. 1991. Effects of site characteristics on N retranslocation from senescent leaves. Ecology, 72: 701–708.
Eaton IS, Likens GB and Bormann FH. 1973. Throughfa11 and stem flow chemistry in a northern hardwood forest. I Ecol, 61: 495–508.
Fahey TJ, Birk E. 1991. Measuring internal distribution and resorption. In: J.P. Lassoie and T.M. Hinckley (eds.), Techniques and Approaches in Forest Tree Ecophysiology. CRC Press, Boca Raton, Fla. pp. 225–245.
Helmissari HS. 1992. Nutrient retranslocation in three Pinus sylvestris stands. Forest Ecology and Management, 51: 347–367.
Kappelle M, Leal ME. 1996. Changes in leaf Morphology and foliar nutrient status along a successional gradient in Costa Rican upper montane Quercus forest. Biotropica, 28: 331–344.
Kathryn B, Piatek H, Lee A. 2000. Site preparation effects on foliar N and Puse, retranslocation and transfer to litter in 15-years old Plillrs tnerir. Forest Ecol Manage, 129: 143–152.
Lajtha, K. 1987. Nutrient resorption efficiency and the response to phosphorus fertilization in the desert shrub Larrea tridentate (DC.) Cov. Biogeochem, 4:265–276.
Leonardi, S, Santa Regina I, Rapp M, Gallego HA, Rico M. 1997. Biomass, litter fall, and nutrient content in Castanea sativa coppice stands of Southern Europe. Annals des Sciences Forestieres, 53:1071–1081.
Lodhiyal N, Lodhiyal, LS, Pangtey, YS. 2002. Structure and function of Shisham forests in Central Himalaya, India: Nutrient Dynamics. Annals of Botany, 89: 55–65.
Narwal SS, Sangwan OP, Dhankhar OP. 2007. Plant Analysis-Research Methods. Jodhpur: Scientific publishers (India).
Negi GCS, Singh SP. 1993 Leaf nitrogen dynamics with particular reference to retranslocation in evergreen and deciduous tree species of Kumaun Himalaya. Can J For Res, 23: 349–357.
Nirmal Kumar JI, Rita N Kumar, Kumar Bhoi R, Sajish PR. 2009. Quantification of nutrient content in the aboveground biomass of teak plantation in a tropical dry deciduous forest of Udaipur, India. Journal of Forest science, 55(6): 251–256.
Ola-Adams BA, Egunjobi JK. 1992. Effects of spacing on litter fall and nutrient contents in stands of Tectona grandis L.f. and Terminalia superba Engl. and Diels. African J Ecol, 30:18–32.
Ostman NL, Weaver GT. 1982. Autumnal nutrient transfers by retranslocation, leaching and litterfall in a chestnut-oak forest of southern Illinois. Can J For Res, 12: 40–51.
Palma RM, Prause J, Fontanive AV, Jimenez MP. 1998. Litter fall and litter decomposition in a forest of the Parque Chaqueno Argentino. Forest Ecol Manage, 106: 205–210.
Ralhan PK, Singh SP. 1987. Dynamics of nutrient and leaf mass in Central Himalayan forest trees and shrubs. Ecology, 68: 1974–1983.
Santa RI, Rapp M, Martin A, Gallardo JF. 1997. Nutrient release dynamics in decomposing leaf litter in two Mediterranean deciduous oak species. Annales des Sciences Forestieres, 54: 747–760.
Sundarapandian SM, Swamy PS. 1999. Litter production and leaf-litter decomposition of selected tree species in tropical forests at Kodayar in the Western Ghats, India. Forest Ecol Manage, 123: 231–244.
Van Heerwaarden LM, Toet S, Aerts R. 2003. Current measures of nutrient resorption efficiency lead to a substantial underestimation of real resorption efficiency: facts and solutions. Oikos, 101: 664–669.
Vitousek PM, Turner DR, Parton WJ. 1994. Litter decomposition on the Mauna Loa environmental matrix, Hawaii: pattern, mechanisms, and models. Ecology, 75:418–429.
Woodwell G.M. 1974. Variation in the nutrient content of leaves of Quercus alba, Quercus coccinea, and Pinus rigida in the Brookhaven forest from bud-break to abscission, Amer J Bot, 61: 749–753.
Wright IJ, Westoby M. 2003. Nutrient concentration, resorption and lifespan: Leaf traits of Australian sclerophyll species. Functional Ecology, 17: 10–19.
Yan E, Wang X, Huang J. 2006. Shifts in plant nutrient use strategies under secondary forest succession. Plant Soil, 289: 187–197.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Nirmal Kumar, J.I., Kumar, R.N., Bhoi, R.K. et al. Seasonal changes of bioelements in litter and their potential return to green leaves in five species of tropical dry deciduous forest, western India. Journal of Forestry Research 21, 33–38 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11676-010-0005-3
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11676-010-0005-3