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Litterfall patterns in a tropical deciduous forest in Mexico over a five-year period

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 July 2009

Angelina Martínez-Yrízar  and
Jose Sarukhán
Angelina Martínez-Yrízar
Affiliation:
Centro de Ecología, Universidad National Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, Apdo. Postal 70-275, 04510 México D.F., México
Jose Sarukhán
Affiliation:
Centro de Ecología, Universidad National Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, Apdo. Postal 70-275, 04510 México D.F., México
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Abstract

Continuous litterfall measurements were made from 1977 to 1982, at two sites with contrasting topography in a mature tropical deciduous forest in Chamela, Jalisco, on the Pacific Coast of Mexico (19° 30′ N, 105° 03′ W). The climate is strongly seasonal with the annual rainfall (x = 748 mm) concentrated in six months (June to November) and a mean annual temperature of 24.9°C. Results of the five-year study show that at the Valley Site (slope <5°) the mean annual litterfall was 6.58 ±0.15 (SE) Mg ha−1 y−1 composed of 73.3% leaves, 17.1% woody material, 5.6% reproductive remains and 4.0% finely fragmented debris. At the Hill Site (slope 20°–40°) mean annual litterfall was 3.95 ± 0.16 Mg ha−1 y−1, consisting of 68.8% leaves, 17.0% woody material, 9.4% reproductive remains and 4.7% fragmented debris. At the Valley Site the year-to-year variation in total litterfall was not significant. In contrast, at the Hill Site it fluctuated markedly from year to year. Litter production exhibited a pronounced seasonally: at the Hill Site total litterfall peaked near the onset of the dry season; at the Valley Site it occurred two months later, apparently as a result of differences in soil moisture availability between the study sites.

Keywords

leaf-litterlitterfallMéxicoseasonallytropical deciduous forest
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 6 , Issue 4 , November 1990 , pp. 433 - 444
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1990

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