Litterfall and nutrient deposition in three forest Ecosystems, Northeastern Mexico

Abstract

Litterfall contributes to the development of forest soils, since it undergoes a decomposition process that generates the release of nutrients onto the soil. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the annual litterfall production, the return of nutrients (Ca, Mg, K and P) and the nutrient use efficiency (NUE) in three forest ecosystems of northeastern Mexico. Litterfall was quantified on a monthly basis from january to december 2020 at three study sites: Site 1 Jesús María (Tamaulipan Thornscrub), Site 2 Crucitas (Submontane Scrub) and Site 3 Bosque Escuela (Pine-Oak Forest). Regarding the annual litterfall production (g·m⁻²·año⁻¹), the Crucitas site had the highest production (591.88) while the lowest one was registered at the Bosque Escuela site (466.77). Nutrient deposition (g·m⁻²·año⁻¹) varied as follows: Ca from 8.62 (Bosque Escuela) to 27.29 (Crucitas); Mg from 0.70 (Bosque Escuela) to 1.97 (Jesús María), K from 0.70 (Bosque Escuela) to 1.96 (Jesús María), and P from 0.19 (Bosque Escuela) to 0.51 (Crucitas). Regarding the NUE, Ca fluctuated from 21.68 (Crucitas) to 54.10 (Bosque Escuela), Mg from 253.43 (Jesús María) to 665.98 (Bosque Escuela), K from 64.16 (Jesús María) to 275.35 (Bosque Escuela), and P from 2413.3 (Bosque Escuela) to 1077.3 (Jesús María). The differences between litterfall production and nutrient deposition are due, in part, to the diversity of species in each forest ecosystem, the phenology of the species and the environmental conditions prevailing at each study site.