Abstract

NASCIMENTO, Raquel do Espírito Santo Aguiar do; MEHLIG, Ulf; ABREU, Maria Milena de Oliveira  and  MENEZES, Moirah Paula Machado de. Litterfall yield in a tract of terra firme forest adjacent to a mangrove stand on the Ajuruteua peninsula, Bragança, Pará. Bol. Mus. Para. Emilio Goeldi Cienc. Nat. [online]. 2006, vol.1, n.3, pp.71-76. ISSN 1981-8114.

The present study focusses on differences in litter production of a terra firme forest fragment and an adjacent mangrove stand on the coast of the Bragança region. Litterfall was quantified by means of 10 litter traps (0.5 m²) in the mangrove and 10 in terra firme forest, installed along a transect orthogonal to the division between the two ecosystems. Material was collected fortnightly. Litter production in the mangrove forest (11.8 t^.ha^-1yr^-1) was by a third higher than in terra firme forest (8.7 t^.ha^-1yr^-1). Leaves were the most important litter component in both ecosystems (68 e 63% for mangrove and terra firme, respectively). In the mangrove, Rhizophora mangle contributed the major part of litter material. In terra firme, leaves of species of the families Simaroubaceae, Burseraceae e Arecaceae contributed 13, 12 e 11% of the leaf total; 54% of leaves were not identified taxonomically. In the mangrove, reproductive litter components showed seasonal patterns. It was not possible to identify a clear seasonal pattern in R. mangle leaf litter fall. However in mangrove and terra firme, total litter production was higher in dry season.

Keywords : Arecaceae; Burseraceae; Simaroubaceae; Rhizophora mangle; Phenology; Ash content.

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