Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-lj6df Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-11T09:56:21.910Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Seasonal effects on litterfall in a Hong Kong mixed forest

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 July 2009

Paul K. S. Lam  and
David Dudgeon
Paul K. S. Lam
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
David Dudgeon
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

An investigation of seasonal rates of litter production in a mixed forest, Hong Kong Island, was undertaken from October 1982 to January 1984. Total annual litterfall amounted to 1218.96 g m−2 yr−1, comprising 68.6% leaves, 18.9% woody material, and 12.5% fruits, seeds and insect frass. 398.70 g m−2 of litter was recorded immediately after a severe typhoon (9 September 1983). Rates of leaf-fall and organic debris production were correlated with prevailing temperature and rainfall. Leaf-fall peaked in January 1983, March to July 1983, and in September 1983 after the typhoon, while large amounts of insect faeces were collected in May and June. Woody litter production rates were correlated with temperature and rainfall recorded in previous months. Woody litterfall exhibited no obvious periodicity but was slightly increased during March and April. The seasonal distribution of litterfall is discussed in relation to climatic factors and habitat nutrient economy.

Keywords

Hong Konglitterfallphenologyseasonal effectssubtropical forest
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 1 , Issue 1 , February 1985 , pp. 55 - 64
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1985

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

Addicott, F. T. 1982. Abscission. University of California Press, California, 369 pp.Google Scholar
Anderson, J. M. 1973. Stand structure and litter fall of a coppiced beech Fagus sylvatica and sweet chestnut Castanea sativa woodland. Oikos 24:128–135.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Attiwill, P. M., Guthrie, H. B. & Leuning, R. 1978. Nutrient cycling in a Eucalyptus obliqua (L'Herit.) forest. I. Litter production and nutrient return. Australian Journal of Botany 26:79–91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brasell, H. M., Unwin, G. L. & Stocker, G. C. 1980. The quantity, temporal distribution and mineral-element content of litterfall in two forest types at two sites in tropical Australia. Journal of Ecology 68:123–139.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bray, J. R. & Gorham, E. 1964. Litter production in the forests of the world. Advances in Ecological Research 2:101–157.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Christensen, O. 1975. Wood litter fall in relation to abscission, environmental factors, and the decomposition cycle in a Danish oak forest Oikos 26:187–195.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Daubenmire, R. 1972. Phenology and other characteristics of tropical semi-deciduous forest in north western Costa Rica. Journal of Ecology 60:147–170.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dixon, K. R. 1976. Analysis of seasonal leaf fall in north temperate deciduous forests. Oikos 27:300–306.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dudgeon, D. 1982. Spatial and seasonal variations in the standing crop of periphyton and allochthonous detritus in a forest stream in Hong Kong, with notes on the magnitude and fate of riparian leaf fall. Archiv für Hydrobiologie (Supp. 64): 189–220.Google Scholar
Edwards, P. J. 1977. Studies of mineral cycling in a montane rain forest in New Guinea. II. The production and disappearance of litter. Journal of Ecology 65:971–992.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Enright, N. J. 1979. Litter production and nutrient partitioning in rainforest near Bulolo, Papua New Guinea. Malaysian Forester 42:202–207.Google Scholar
Ewel, J. J. 1976. Litter fall and leaf decomposition in a tropical forest succession in eastern Guatemala. Journal of Ecology 64:293–308.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gaur, J. P. & Pandey, H. N. 1978. Litter production in two tropical deciduous forest communities at Varanasi, India. Oikos 30:570–575.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gong, W. K. 1982. Leaf litter fall, decomposition and nutrient element release in a lowland dipterocarp forest. Malayan Forester 45:367–378.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., Whitmore, T. C. & Chadwick, A. C. (eds). Tropical rain forest: ecology and management. Special Publication Series of the British Ecological Society, No. 2. Black-well Scientific Publications, Oxford. 498 pp.Google Scholar
Gosz, J. R., Likens, G. E. & Bormann, F. H. 1972. Nutrient content of litter fall on the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, New Hampshire. Ecology 53:769–784.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
hopkins, B. 1966. Vegetation of the Olokemeji Forest Reserve, Nigeria. IV. The litter and soil with special reference to their seasonal changes. Journal of Ecology 54:687–703.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hughes, M. K. 1971. Tree biocontent, net production and litter fall in a deciduous woodland. Oikos 22:62–73.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jackson, J. F. 1978. Seasonality of flowering and leaf-fall in a Brazilian sub-tropical lower montane forest. Biotropica 10:38–42.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Janzen, D. H. 1967. Synchronization of sexual reproduction of trees within the dry season in Central America. Evolution 21:620–637.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
John, D. M. 1973. Accumulation and decay of litter and net production of forest in tropical West Africa. Oikos 24:430–435.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Klinge, H. & Rodrigues, W. A. 1968. Litter production in an area of Amazonian terra firme forest. Part I. Litter-fall, organic carbon and total nitrogen contents of litter. Amazoniana 1:287–302.Google Scholar
Kunkel-Westphal, I. & Kunkel, P. 1979. Litter fall in a Guatemalan primary forest, with details of leaf-shedding by some common tree species. Journal of Ecology 67:665–686.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lam, P. K. S. 1984. Ecological studies of litter production and decomposition in a mixed forest in Hong Kong with special reference to Ficus fistulosa Reinw. ex Bl. (Moraceae). Unpublished M.Phil. thesis, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong. 371 pp.Google Scholar
Lambert, J. D. H., Arnason, J. T. & Gale, J. L. 1980. Leaf-litter and changing nutrient levels in a seasonally dry tropical hardwood forest, Belize, C.A. Plant and Soil 55:429–443.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lim, M. T. 1978. Litterfall and mineral nutrient content of litter in Pasoh Forest Reserve. Malayan Nature Journal 30:375–380.Google Scholar
Lousier, J. D. & Parkinson, D. 1976. Litter decomposition in a cool temperate deciduous forest. Canadian Journal of Botany 54:419–436.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Madge, D. S. 1965. Leaf fall and litter disappearance in a tropical forest. Pedobiologia 5:273–288.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Malaisse, F., Freson, R., Goffinet, G. & Malaisse-Mousset, M. 1975. Litter fall and litter breakdown in miombo. Pp. 137–152 in Golley, F. B. & Medina, E. (eds). Tropical ecological systems. Ecological Studies 11. Springer-Verlag, New York. 398 pp.Google Scholar
Merriam, G., Dwyer, L. & Wegner, J. 1982. Litterfall in two Canadian deciduous woods: quality, quantity and timing. Holarctic Ecology 5:1–9.Google Scholar
Newbould, P. J. 1967. Methods for estimating the primary production of forests. IBP Handbook No. 2. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford. 62 pp.Google Scholar
Nilsson, S. G. 1983. Evolution of leaf abscission times: alternative hypotheses. Oikos 40:318–319.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Owen, D. F. & Wiegert, R. G. 1976. Do consumers maximize plant fitness? Oikos 27:488–492.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pressland, A. J. 1982. Litter production and decomposition from an overstorey of Eucalyptus spp. on two catchments in the New England region of New South Wales. Australian Journal of Ecology 7:171–180.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. II. Litterfall, litter standing crop and preliminary observations on herbivory. Journal of Ecology 71:261–283.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rochow, J. J. 1974. Litter fall relations in a Missouri forest. Oikos 25:80–85.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rogers, R. W. & Westman, W. E. 1977. Seasonal nutrient dynamics of litter in a subtropical eucalypt forest, North Stradbroke Island. Australian Journal of Botany 25:47–58.Google Scholar
Sykes, J. M. & Bunce, R. G. H. 1970. Fluctuations in litter-fall in a mixed deciduous woodland over a three-year period, 1966–68. Oikos 21:326–329.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tanner, E. V. J. 1980. Litterfall in montane rain forest of Jamaica and its relation to climate. Journal of Ecology 68:833–848.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thomas, W. A. & Grigal, D. F. 1976. Phosphorus conservation by evergreenness of mountain laurel. Oikos 27:19–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thrower, L. B. 1975. The vegetation of Hong Kong. Pp. 21–43 in Thrower, L. B. (ed.). The vegetation of Hong Kong. Its structure and change. Proceedings of a Week-end Symposium of the Royal Asiatic Society, Hong Kong Branch. 86 pp.Google Scholar