Litter decomposition and nutrient release dynamics of leaves and roots of the babassu palm in eastern Amazonia
Acta amaz
; 50(3): 213-222, jul. - set. 2020.
Artigo
em Inglês
| LILACS
| ID: biblio-1118827
Biblioteca responsável:
BR6.1
ABSTRACT
The ruderal babassu palm (Attalea speciosa) is expanding on large areas of degraded Amazon landscapes. Decomposition of leaves and roots is in the center of plantsoil interactions. We evaluated decomposition and nutrient concentrations of leaves and fine roots of babassu in comparison with two exotic reference species, Acacia mangium (slow degradability) and Leucaena leucocephala (fast degradability), in a 138-day litterbag assay carried out in secondary forest stands of different age and babassu abundance. We chose 4-mm over 2-mm mesh litterbags based on a pilot study. Babassu leaves degraded slower than leaves of A. mangium and L. leucocephala, and also had lower nitrogen, phosphorus and calcium concentrations in all stages of decomposition. By contrast, potassium concentrations in babassu leaves were higher than in both reference species at 0 and 50 days. Roots of all three species decomposed slower than leaves. Compared to the leaves, both biomass loss and nutrient concentrations differed less between babassu and reference-species roots, except for lower nitrogen concentration in babassu roots. Leaf-litter decomposition of all three species was significantly faster in old than in young secondary forest, suggesting an acceleration of decomposition along succession. Babassu leaves decomposed faster in old babassu-dominated than non-dominated secondary forest, pointing to the existence of specialized decomposer communities in babassu-dominated stands. (AU)
Texto completo:
Disponível
Coleções:
Bases de dados internacionais
Base de dados:
LILACS
Assunto principal:
Solo
/
Nutrientes
/
Ecossistema Amazônico
/
Acacia
/
Matéria Orgânica
Idioma:
Inglês
Revista:
Acta amaz
Assunto da revista:
Ciência
Ano de publicação:
2020
Tipo de documento:
Artigo
País de afiliação:
Brasil
Instituição/País de afiliação:
Embrapa Agrobiologia/BR
/
ONG Educação e Meio Ambiente/BR
/
Universidade Estadual do Maranhão/BR