Litterfall, Accumulation and Decomposition in Forest Groves Establishment on Savannah in the Plateau Teke, Central Africa

Abstract

The carbon budget of marginal forests that developed on the savannah in the Plateau Teke has not yet been studied despite increasing evidences of their spatial expansion. Measurements of litter fall, litter amount on forest floor and leaf litter decomposition was undertaken, on three plots in a Gallery Forest (GF) and three plots in a hill-slope forest clump (HF). The aim of the study was to study the dynamic of litter in two types of forest groves. Litterfall was collected biweekly for two years and averaged 1063 g m-2 y-l in GF and 1097 g m-2 y-l in HF, with leaves accounting for more than 95%of the total litterfall. The amount of litter on the floor was estimated twice within each plot and averaged 1824 g m-2 in GF and 1381 g m-2 in HF. The relative mass remaining after seven months of decomposition assessed in litterbags was 40% in GF and 33% in HF in 2007 and 44 and 53%in the 2008, with a strong impact of dry season. Despite differences in forest structure and species composition,litterfall, litter accumulation and decomposition rates were similar between the two types of forest groves.