Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-p9bg8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T07:05:20.042Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Litter decomposition and nutrient release in a tropical rainforest, Southern Bakundu Forest Reserve, Cameroon

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 July 2009

Nicholas C. Songwe ,
D. U. U. Okali  and
F. E. Fasehun
Nicholas C. Songwe
Affiliation:
Department of Forest Resources Management, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria.
D. U. U. Okali
Affiliation:
Department of Forest Resources Management, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria.
F. E. Fasehun
Affiliation:
Department of Forest Resources Management, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Decomposition of litter on the forest floor and of leaves of five species, Celtis zenkeri, Cola lepidota, Desbordesia glaucescens, Ceiba pentandra and Terminalia superba in nylon mesh bags, as well as wood decay were studied in the tropical rainforest at Southern Bakundu Forest Reserve, Cameroon.

The rate of loss of dry matter was fastest in Celtis zenkeri which was significantly different from the other species, while potassium was the most rapidly released element from all species with more than 50% being released in the first two months of the experiment. Nitrogen and phosphorus showed initial increases in bagged leaf litter independent of dry weight losses and while nitrogen was later released phosphorus continued to increase reaching 2–3 times the initial concentration. Decomposition constant (k) of litter on the forest floor was found to be 2.23 whereas the mean decomposition constants of the different species were as follows: Celtis zenkeri 4.18, Cola lepidota 2.18, Desbordesia glaucescens 1.60 and Ceiba pentandra 2.16 for the two experiments.

Termites were found to have a very great influence on the decay of the wood of Terminalia superba with decay due to micro-organisms being negligible.

Keywords

Africadecompositionlitternutrientsphosphorusrainforesttermites
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 11 , Issue 3 , August 1995 , pp. 333 - 350
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

LITERATURE CITED

Alexander, M. 1976. Introduction to soil microbiology. John Wiley & Sons, New York.Google Scholar
Anderson, J. P., Proctor, J. & Wallack, H. W. 1983. Ecological studies in four contrasting lowland rain forests in Gunung Mulu National Park, Sarawak. Journal of Ecology 71:503–527.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Anderson, J. M. & Swift, M. J. 1983. Decomposition in a tropical forests. Pp. 287–309 in Sutton, S. L., Chadwick, A. C. & Whitmore, T. C. (eds). Tropical rainforest: ecology & management. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford.Google Scholar
Barton, J. C. 1948. Photometric analysis of phosphate rock. Analytical Chemistry 20:1068–1073.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bernhard, F. 1970. Etude de la litière et de sa contribution aux cycle des éléments minéraux en forêt ombrophile de Côte d'Ivoire. Oecologia Plantarum 5:247–266.Google Scholar
Bernhard-Reversat, F. 1972. Décomposition de la litière de feuilles en forêt ombrophile de basse, Côte d'Ivoire. Oecologia Plantarum 7:279–300.Google Scholar
Bocock, K. L. 1963. Changes in the amount of nitrogen in decomposing leaf litter of sessile oak (Quercus petra). Journal of Ecology 5:555–566.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cornforth, I. S. (1970). Leaf fall in a tropical rainforest. Journal of Applied Ecology, 7:603–608.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Edwards, J. P. 1977. Studies of mineral cycling on a montane rainforest in New Guinea. II – The production and disappearance of litter. Journal of Ecology 65:971–992.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ewel, J. J. 1976. Litter fall and leaf decomposition in a tropical succession in eastern Guatemala. Journal of Ecology 64:293–308.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Geze, B. 1943. Geographique physique et géologie du Cameroun Occidental, II. – Géologic Mémoires du Musée d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris. Nouvelle Série 18:84–219.Google Scholar
Gong, W. K. & Ong, J. E. 1983. Litter production and decomposition in a coastal hill dipterocarp forest. Pp. 275–285 in Sutton, S. L., Chadwick, A. C. & Whitmore, T. C. (eds). Tropical rainforest: ecology & management. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford.Google Scholar
Gosz, J. R., Likens, G. E. & Bormann, F. H. 1973. Nutrient release from decomposing leaf and branch litter in Hubbard Brook Forest, New Hampshire. Ecological Monographs 43:173–191.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hopkins, B. 1966. Vegetation of Olokemeji Forest Reserve, Nigeria. IV. The litter and soil with special reference to seasonal changes. Journal of Ecology 54:687–703.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hutchinson, J. & Dalziel, J. M. 1954–1972. Keay, R. W. J. & Hepper, F. N. (eds). Flora of West tropical Africa. (2nd edition). Crown Agents, London, England.Google Scholar
Jackson, M. L. 1962. Chemical analysis. Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.Google Scholar
Jenny, H., Gessel, S. P. & Bingham, F. T. 1949. Comparative study of decomposition rates of organic matter in temperate and tropical regimes. Soil Science 68:419–432.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Klinge, H. 1973. Biomas y materia organica dal sucio en el ecosistema de la pluviselva centro-amazonica. Acta cientifica 24:174–181.Google Scholar
John, D. M. 1973. Accumulation and decay of litter and net production of forest in tropical West Africa. Oikos 24:430–435.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jones, J. A. 1989. Environmental influences on soil chemistry in central semi-arid Tanzania. Soil Science Society of America Journal 53:1748–1758.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jones, J. A. 1990. Termites, soil fertility and carbon cycling in dry tropical Africa: a hypothesis. Journal of Tropical Ecology 6:291–305.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Laudelout, H. & Meyer, J. 1954. Les cycles d'elements minéraux et de matière organique en forêt equatoriale congolaise. Transactions of the Fifth International Congress of Soil Science 2:267–272.Google Scholar
Lepage, M. G. 1979. La récolte en strate herbacés de macroterres aff. subhyalinus (Isoptera: Macrotermitinae) dans un écosystème semi-arid (Kajiado, Kenya). Comptes Rendus University International Society Study of Insects (IUSSI), Lausanne 1979:145–151.Google Scholar
Lepage, M. G. 1981. L'impacte des populations récoltantes de macroterres michaelseni (Sjostadt) (Isoptera: Macrotermitinae) dans un écosystème semi-arid (Kajiado, Kenya). II. Nourriture recoltés comparaison avec les grands herbivores. Insectes Sociaux 28:309–319.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Madge, D. S. 1965. Leaf fall and litter disappearance in a tropical forest. Pedobiologia 5:273–288.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Maheswaran, J. & Gunatilleke, A. U. N. 1988. Litter decomposition in a lowland rainforest and a deforested area in Sri Lanka. Biotropica 20(2):90–99.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Matsumoto, T. 1978. The role of termites in the decomposition of leaf litter on the forest floor of Pasoh study area. Malayan Nature Journal 30:405–413.Google Scholar
McHargue, T. S. & Roy, W. R. 1932. Mineral and nutrient content of the leaves of some forest trees at different times of the growing season. Botanical Gazette 94:381–393.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ogawa, H. 1978. Litter production and carbon cycling in Pasoh Forest. Malayan Nature Journal 3:367–373.Google Scholar
O'Connell, A. M. 1988. Nutrient dynamics in decomposing litter in karri (Eucalyptus diversicola F. Muall) forests of South West Australia. Journal of Ecology 86:1186–1203.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Olson, J. S. 1963. Energy storage and the balance of producer and decomposer in ecological systems. Ecology 44:322–331.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Proctor, J., Anderson, J. M., Fogden, S. C. L. & Vallack, H. W. 1983. Ecological studies in four contrasting lowland rain forests in Gunung Mulu National Park, Sarawak. Journal of Ecology 71:261–283.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Richards, P. W. 1963. Ecological notes on West African vegetation, II. Lowland forest of the Southern Bakundu Forest Reserve. Journal of Ecology 51 (1): 123–149.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Selman, A., Waksman, S. A. & Tenney, F. C. 1928. Composition of natural organic materials and their deposition in soils, III. The influence of the nature of plants upon rigidity of decomposition. Soil Science 26:155–170.Google Scholar
Songwe, N. C. 1984. Litter production and decomposition in a tropical rainforest. PhD thesis, Department of Forest Resources Management, University of Ibadan. Pp. 176–219.Google Scholar
Songwe, N. C., Fasehun, F. E. & Okali, D. U. U. 1988. Litter fall and productivity in a tropical rainforest, Southern Bakundu Forest Reserve, Cameroon. Journal of Tropical Ecology 4:25–37.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Steel, R. G. D. & Torrie, J. H. 1960. Principle and procedures of statistics with special reference to biological sciences. McGraw Hill Book Co. Inc., New York.Google Scholar
Swift, M. J., Heal, O. W. & Anderson, J. M. 1979. Decomposition in terrestrial ecosystems. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford.Google Scholar
Tanner, E. V. J. 1981. The decomposition of leaf litter in Jamaican montane rain forest. Journal of Ecology 69:263–275.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
UNESCO/UNEP/FAO. 1978. Decomposition and biogeochemical cycles. In Tropical forest ecosystems. Natural Resources Research XIV, pp. 270–285.Google Scholar
Waksman, S. A. 1952. Soil microbiology. John Wiley & Sons, New York.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wiegert, R. G. 1970. The effect of ionizing radiation on leaf fall, decomposition and litter micro-arthropodes of a montane rainforest. Pp. H.89–100 in Odum, H. T. & Pigeon, R. F. (eds). A tropical rainforest, a study of irradiation and ecology at El Verda, Puerto Rico. Division of Technical Information. US Atomic Energy Commission.Google Scholar
William, S. T. & Gray, T. R. Y. 1974. Decomposition of litter on soil surface. Pp. 611–632 in Dickenson, C. H. & Pugh, G. I. F. (eds). Biology of plant litter decomposition, Vol. 2. Academic Press, London.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wood, T. G. 1978a. Food and feeding habits of termites. Pp. 55–80 in Brain, M. V. (ed.). Production ecology of ants and termites. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.Google Scholar
Wood, T. G. 1978b. The role of termites (Isoptera) in decomposing processes. Pp. 145–161 in Anderson, J. M. & MacFayden, A. A. (eds). The role of terrestrial and aquatic organisms in decomposition processes. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford.Google Scholar
Yoda, K. 1978. Organic carbon, nitrogen and mineral nutrient stock in the soil of Pasoh Forest. Malayan Nature Journal 30:229–251.Google Scholar