Fractions and Chemical Content of Forest Litterfall in Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) Stand in Level II Forest Monitoring Plot

摘要

Forest monitoring is dated back to early 1980s, when a severe decline in tree crown conditionand forest health occurred across large part of Europe. Foresters and scientists all over the Europe startedto monitor indicators of forest health, including litterfall, in order to objectively describe changes in foresthealth. Since 1985, forest condition in Europe has been monitored within the scope of two-level system ofICP-Forests (International Co-operative Programme on Assessment and Monitoring of Air Pollution Effectson Forests). General information on forest health is annually recorded on Level I monitoring sites, but moreintensive investigations, including quantitative and qualitative characteristics of litterfall, are carried out inLevel II sites. In Latvia, one Level II monitoring plot was established in a Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) standin Valgunde parish of the Jelgava municipality in 2004. Canopy litterfall is a significant pathway for return ofnutrients to soil in a forest ecosystem and may provide important information as a phenological indicator ofclimate change effects on forests. The main objective of this study was to determine preliminary characteristicsof nutrient return with litterfall. The quality and quantity of litterfall fractions in a Level II forest monitoringplot were investigated in 2009. The chemical elements involved into the study were nitrogen (N), calcium (Ca),potassium (K), magnesium (Mg), phosphorus (P), sulphur (S), and carbon (C).