Litterfall and leaf decomposition in forest fragments under different successional phases on the Atlantic Plateau of the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil

Autor(es)

Vendrami, Juliana Lopes ^[1] ; Jurinitz, Cristiane Follmann ^[2] ; Castanho, Camila de Toledo ^[1] ; Lorenzo, Leda ^[1] ; de Oliveira, Alexandre Adalardo ^[1]

Afiliação do(s) autor(es)

^[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Biociencias, Dept Ecol, Lab Ecol Florestas Trop, BR-05508900 Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[2] Univ Fed Rio Grande Sul UFRGS, Dept Ecol, Inst Biociencias, Lab Ecol Quantitat, BR-91540000 Porto Alegre, RS - Brazil

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: BIOTA NEOTROPICA; v. 12, n. 3, p. 136-143, JUL-SEP 2012.
• Citações Web of Science: 9

Resumo

Litterfall and litter decomposition are vital processes in tropical forests because they regulate nutrient cycling. Nutrient cycling can be altered by forest fragmentation. The Atlantic Forest is one of the most threatened biomes in the world due to human occupation over the last 500 years. This scenario has resulted in fragments of different size, age and regeneration phase. To investigate differences in litterfall and leaf decomposition between forest successional phases, we compared six forest fragments at three different successional phases and an area of mature forest on the Atlantic Plateau of Sao Paulo, Brazil. We sampled litter monthly from November 2008 to October 2009. We used litterbags to calculate leaf decomposition rate of an exotic species, Tipuana tipu (Fabaceae), over the same period litter sampling was performed. Litterfall was higher in the earliest successional area. This pattern may be related to the structural properties of the forest fragments, especially the higher abundance of pioneer species, which have higher productivity and are typical of early successional areas. However, we have not found significant differences in the decomposition rates between the studied areas, which may be caused by rapid stabilization of the decomposition environment (combined effect of microclimatic conditions and the decomposers activities). This result indicates that the leaf decomposition process have already been restored to levels observed in mature forests after a few decades of regeneration, although litterfall has not been entirely restored. This study emphasizes the importance of secondary forests for restoration of ecosystem processes on a regional scale. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 08/58357-3 - Aporte e decomposicao de serrapilheira em fragmentos do planalto atlantico paulista.
• Beneficiário: Juliana Lopes Vendrami
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Brasil - Iniciação Científica
• Processo FAPESP: 06/56054-8 - Fragmentacao de florestas e sua influencia na demografia e diversidade de arvores no planalto atlantico de sao paulo.
• Beneficiário: Alexandre Adalardo de Oliveira
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Regular