Litter Production, Decomposition, and Nutrient Release in Silver Fir (<I>Abies pindrow</I>) and Spruce (<I>Picea smithiana</I>) Forests of Northwest Himalayas

Ombir Singh; V. P. Panwar; Akhlaq Amin Wani

doi:10.36808/if/2021/v147i4/158505

Litter Production, Decomposition, and Nutrient Release in Silver Fir (Abies pindrow) and Spruce (Picea smithiana) Forests of Northwest Himalayas

Authors

Ombir Singh Forest Research Institute, Dehradun
V. P. Panwar Forest Research Institute, Dehradun
Akhlaq Amin Wani Faculty of Forestry, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agriculture Sciences and Technology, Ganderbal, Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.36808/if/2021/v147i4/158505

Keywords:

Litter, Conifers, Nutrients, Silver Fir, Spruce.

Abstract

Temperate forests of silver fir and spruce in western Himalayas meet high turnover of litter fall of 10393.97 Â± 488.43 kg/ha/y and 9708.17 Â± 1341.07 kg/ha/y, respectively. The decomposition rates (decay constant - k) are also very low (0.221 to 0.294) in both the species. Accordingly, a time period of 10 to 13 years is required for decomposing 95 per cent of total litter in these forests. Low concentration of N, P and K nutrients were observed in the month of April in which maximum needle fall was recorded in both the species. Nearly 35 per cent and 38 per cent of the nutrients may be withdrawn from the needles before leaf fall in silver fir and spruce, respectively. The mobility of different nutrients from decomposing needle litter is found as: K > Mg > P > N > Ca and K > Ca > N > P > Mg for silver fir and spruce, respectively. The annual nutrient return was observed as: Ca > N > K > Mg > Pin both these temperate coniferous species

References

Barnes B.V., Zak D.R., Denton S.R. and Spurr S.H. (1998). Forest Ecology (4^th ed.). New. York, NY: John Wiley and Sons.

Bisht V.K., Nautiyal B.P., Kuniyal C.P., Prasad P. and Sundriyal R.C. (2014). Litter Production, Decomposition, and Nutrient Release in Subalpine Forest Communities of the Northwest Himalaya. Journal of Ecosystems. doi:10.1155/2014/294867.

Brinson M.M., Bradshaw H.D., Holmes R.N. and Elkins JR. J.B. (1980). Litterfall, stem flow and through fall nutrient fluxes in an Alluvial Swamp forest. Ecology, 61(4): 827-835.

Champion H.G. and Seth S.K. (1968). A Revised Survey of the Forest types of India. Govt. of India. Manager of Publications. New Delhi.

Chapin F.S. III. (1980). The mineral nutrition of wild plants. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics, 2: 233-260.

Chowdhury K.A. (1974). Abies and Picea. Morphological studies. Botanical Monograph No.9. Publications and Information Directorate. CSIR, New Delhi.

Christensen O. (1978). The dynamics of wood litterfall in Danish oak forest. Natura jutlandica, 20: 155-162.

Dorghetti M., Oiannini R., Manolacu R., and Vendramin M. (1980). Biomass distribution, litter production and nutrient content in a Douglas fir plantation. Annali accademia Italiana dia discienze Forestali, 37: 473-494.

Edmonds R.L. (1984). Long-term decomposition and nutrient dynamics in Pacific Silver fir needles in western Washington. Canadian J. For. Res., 14(3): 395-400.

Edmonds R.L. and Erickson H.E. (1994). Influence of Mount St. Helens ash on litter decomposition, I. Pacific Silver fir Needle decomposition in ash fall zone, Canadian For. Res., 24(4): 826-831.

Edmonds R.L. and Thomas T.D. (1995). Decomposition and nutrient release from green needles of western Hemlock and Pacific Silver fir in an old growth temperate rainforest, Olympic National Park Washington. Canadian For. Res., 25(7): 1047-1057.

Edwards R.L. (1979). Decomposition and nutrient release in Douglas fir needle litter in relation to stand development. Canadian J. For. Res., 9: 132-140.

Ewel J.J. (1976). Litterfall and leaf decomposition in a tropical forest succession in Eastrern Guatemala. J. Ecol., 64: 293 308.

Faboya I. O., Adebola S. I. and Awotoye O.O. (2015). Assessment of decomposition rate and soil nutrientstatus under different woody species combination in a tree plantation. Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, 4, 46â€“54. doi:10.11648/j.aff.20150402.14

Finner L. (1996). Variation in the amount and quality of litterfall in Pinus sylvestris I. Stand growth on bog. Forest Ecology and Management, 80(1/3): 1-11.

Furuno T. (1986). Litterfall and its fluctuations in the mixed Fir and Hemlock stand over thirteen years. Bull. of Kyoto Uni. Fors., 58: 35-50.

Hart S.C., Firestone M.K. and Paul E.A. (1992). Decomposition and nutrient dynamics of Ponderosa pine needles in a Mediterranean type climate. Canadian For. Res., 22(3): 306-314.

Gessel S.P. and Turner J. (1976). Litter production in western Washington Douglas fir stands. Forestry, 49(1): 63-72.

Jackson M.L. (1967). Soil Chemical Analysis, Prentice Hall of India Pvt. Ltd., and New Delhi.

Johnson F.L. and Risser G.P. (1974). Biomass, annual net primary production and dynamics of six mineral elements in a Post Oak-Black Jack Oak forest. Ecology, 55(6): 1246-1258.

Kramer P.J. and Kozlowski T.T. (1960). Physiology of Trees. Mc Grew-Hill Book Co. Inc, New York. pp. 642.

Medina E. (1981). Nitrogen content, leaf structure and photosynthesis in higher plants. Report to UNEP study group on photosynthesis and Bio productivity. London.

Mehra M.S., Pathak P.C. and Singh J.S. (1985). Nutrient movement in litterfall and precipitation components for central Himalayas. Ann. Bot., 55: 153-170.

Mishra R. (1968). Ecology workbook. Oxford and IBH Publ. Co. Calcutta, 244 p.

Nirmal Ram, Yadav Y.P., Vashisht H.B. and Chauhan J.M.S. (1986). Litter production from protected and unprotected watershed under Cryptomeria japonica plantation. Van Vigyan, 24(3 and 4): 56-60.

Olson J.B. (1963) Energy storage and the balance of producers and decomposers in Ecological system. Ecology, 94: 322- 333.

Patricio M.S.; Nunes L.F. and Pereira E.L. (2012). Litterfall and litter decomposition in chestnuthigh forest stands in northern Portugal. Forest Systems, 21(2): 259â€“271. doi:10.5424/fs/2012212-02711.

Robert B., Caritat A., Bertoni G., Vilar L. and Molins M. (1996). Nutrient content and seasonal fluctuations in the leaf component of Cork Oak (Quercus robur L) litterfall. Vegetatio, 122(1): 29-35.

Singh, J.S. and Singh S.P. (1987). Structure and function of central Himalayan Chirpine forest ecosystems. Curr. Sci., 56: 383-391.

Swift M.J., Heal O.W. and Anderson J.M. (1979). Decomposition in terrestrial Ecosystems. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford.

Troup R.S. (1921). Silviculture of Indian Trees. Oxford, Clarendon Press.

Varian (1989). Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometry, Analytical methods. Varian Australia Pvt. ltd. Mulgrave Victoria. Australia. Publ. No. 85-100009-00.