Heterogeneity of Plant Litter Accumulation in Successional Communities

FACELLI, J. M. AND W. P. CARSON (Department of Biological Sciences, Rutgers University, P.O. Box 1059, Piscataway, NJ 08855). Heterogeneity of plant litter accumulation in successional communities. Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 118: 62-66. 1991.-We sampled the litter accumulated in five seral sites (aged 5, 15, 23, 29, and 47 yr) and in an oldgrowth forest in early spring and fall. We collected and weighed all the litter in twelve 0.24 m2 quadrats per field, arranged in three parallel transects. In the four younger sites, the transects were 12, 24, and 36 m distant from a forest edge. Total litter was lower in the four younger fields than in either the older site or in the forest. Litter composition in the four younger fields was rather similar, and mostly composed of herb litter. In the 47 yr site and in the forest, litter of tree leaves and wood were the main components. Spatial heterogeneity in the litter layer was high, specially in the 23 and 29 yr oldfields. In the four younger fields, the composition of the litter was significantly affected both by the age of the field and by the distance from the forest edge.