Publication Date:
1989-01-01
Description:
Annual and seasonal variations in the concentration and total return of Al, Fe, Mn, Ca, Mg, K, Na, C, N, and P in litterfall were studied for a period of 2 years in a mature red spruce stand in central Maine. Seasonal differences in elemental composition were large. The greatest change occurred in the autumn, when the concentrations of Al, Fe, N, P, and K declined, while Ca and Mg concentrations peaked. On an annual basis, litterfall contributed 0.5, 0.5, 1.1, 13.8, 2.1, 5.3, 0.2, 17.6, and 1.3 kg •ha−1•year−1 of Al, Fe, Mn, Ca, Mg, K, Na, N, and P, respectively, to the forest floor. The input of Al in litterfall was 10 times as great as that in net canopy throughfall, indicating that the biological cycling of Al in litterfall was an important source of Al to the forest floor at this site.
Print ISSN:
0045-5067
Electronic ISSN:
1208-6037
Topics:
Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition
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