LITTER PRODUCTION AND DECOMPOSITION DURING SUCCESSION IN ATLANTIC TROPICAL FOREST, BRAZIL

• Autor(a) principal: Chirol, Achilles d Avila
• Data de Publicação: 2020
• Outros Autores: Coelho Netto, Ana Luiza
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por; eng
• Título da fonte: Ra'e Ga (Online)
• Texto Completo: https://revistas.ufpr.br/raega/article/view/66383
• topic: Geografia; Biogeografia; Litter production and decomposition during succession in Atlantic Tropical Forest, Brazil

Landslides are natural features of the Atlantic rainforest environment, causing various changes to the landscape, both from ecological and hydrological viewpoints. This paper observed how litterfall production and litter decomposition works in three landslide areas, taking into account the morphological characteristics of each, which vary in size and shape, always comparing them to an area of a late secondary forest. It was found that the larger landslides show conditions less favorable to decomposition, have less litterfall and a greater spread of edge effect, that can be seen by higher litter production, higher decomposition time at the edges. The edge effect can also be perceived by the structural characteristics of the vegetation. The succession in landslides scars is more complex than in areas where there were burnings and even the introduction of pastures, since the latter have better soil conditions that do not occur in gaps whose succession practically occurs on saprolite. In tropical areas, this is a particular problem given the importance of decomposition dynamics in these ecosystems.  The diversity of habitats created by these landslides gaps can be closely associated with the typical high biodiversity of these ecosystems, directly influencing their dynamics and their resilience