Abstract
Seasonal changes in litter components were measured in a closedLeucaena leucocephala forest stand in Chichijima, Ogasawara (Bonin) Islands, situated in a wet subtropical climate. The phytomass of the stand was estimated as 5.62, 1.47 and 0.448 kg d.w. m−2 for stems, branches and leaves, respectively.
Litter from the canopy was collected semimonthly by ten 0.5 m2 traps. Leaf-litter production rate was low in spring, medium in summer and autumn, and peaked in mid-winter. Annual production of leaf-litter was 498 g d.w. m−2. Annual turnover rate of canopy leaves was 1.1. Flower-litter showed biannual production with peaks in spring and autumn, and the former peak largely exceeded the latter one in quantity. Seed maturation needed about 3 months. Annual production of reproductive organs was 89.2, 89.4, 19.1 and 99.4 g d.w. m−2 for flowers, mature seeds, immature ones and pods, respectively. Number, of mature seeds disseminated exceeded 2,500 m−2. Annual production of branch- and bark-litter was 345 g d.w.m−2.
Annual amount of plant litter from the canopy was as large as 1,150 g d.w. m−2, showing higher productivity and higher rate of matter turnover in this forest than in temperate forests.
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Kimura, M., Funakoshi, M., Sudo, S. et al. Litter-fall and reproductive seasonalities in aLeucaena leucocephala forest at Chichijima, Ogasawara (Bonin) Islands. Bot Mag Tokyo 97, 447–455 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02489577
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02489577