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Savannas are prominent members of tropical terrestrial ecosystems. Leaf and branch litter fractions were sampled from ten isolated, natural tree stands of Azadirachta indica (A. Juss), Daniella oliveri (Rolfe) Hutch & Dalziel, Parkia biglobosa (Jacq.) Benth.,Prosopis africana (Guill.&Perr.) and Vitellaria paradoxa (Gaertner) F.}, in the dry season. Litterfall samples were analysed for Calcium and Magnesium (Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry) (AAS), Potassium (Flame Photometry), Nitrate-nitrogen and Phosphate-phosphorus (Colorimetric titration). Results showed that branch litter fractions generally returned higher nutrient content than leaf litter. While, the eco-physiologically significant potassium, nitrate-nitrogen, and magnesium were top of the nutrient return spectrum across the litter fractions, with a prominent nutrient return magnitude in the form of K > NO3-N- > Mg > Ca > PO4 3 -P- . This indicates the biogeochemical significance of tree litter in tropical savanna ecosystems. Equally, the outcomes of this study indicate the ecological significance of tropical savanna tree cover in litterfall production, decomposition, as well as base content supply and cycling, for soil fertility.
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Oyeyinka et al. (2025) studied this question.
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