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Litter production and decomposition in the forested areas of traditional homegardens: a case study from Barak Valley, Assam, northeast India

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Abstract

Homegardens are one of the oldest forms of managed land use systems characterised by high diversity and complexity of their species structure which in turn contribute to efficient nutrient cycling. Litterfall and decomposition are the two major processes that replenish the soil nutrient pools and endow sustainability to these agroforests. A study was carried out in the village Dargakona, Barak Valley, northeast India to understand the pattern of litter production and litter decomposition in the traditional homegardens. Annual litter production was 6.27 Mg ha−1 with a bimodal distribution pattern and the nitrogen input through litterfall accounted for 48.17 kg ha−1 year−1. Litter decomposition studies for ten multipurpose trees revealed Sapium baccatum and Toona ciliata to be the most labile litter species and the decay rate coefficients varied among the species with differing rates of nutrient release pattern. Such studies can provide information regarding the litter quality of indigenous tree species and help validate farmers planting and management of multiple species which allows for efficient nutrient cycling of the system.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the help provided by the farmers in sharing their knowledge on different litter species and special thanks are due to one villager, Shyam Sunder Bharadwaj, for allowing us to carry out the study in his forest garden. They are also thankful for the laboratory facilities for litter analysis, provided by the Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Assam University, Silchar. The comments received from anonymous reviewers were invaluable to the revisions of the paper.

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  1. Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Assam University, Silchar, 788011, Assam, India

    Tapasi Das & Ashesh Kumar Das

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  1. Tapasi Das
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  2. Ashesh Kumar Das
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Correspondence to Ashesh Kumar Das.

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Das, T., Das, A.K. Litter production and decomposition in the forested areas of traditional homegardens: a case study from Barak Valley, Assam, northeast India. Agroforest Syst 79, 157–170 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-010-9284-0

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