Composition and spatial variability of forest litter in the spruce forest with bilberry-green moss cover, Middle Karelia

摘要

Forest litter in Piceetum myrtilloso-hylocomiosum (with Picea abies and Vaccinium myrtillus) from Middle Karelia, Russia, was subdivided into size fractions and the composition of fraction components was determined. Roots, fragments of wood, and dead needles prevail in large-size fractions. The content of detritus increases with decreasing fraction size. The geostatistical method of constructing the curves of the semivariance of properties versus the characteristic distance was applied. The semivariance demonstrated a non-linear increase because of the tessera and parcellar structure of the phytocoenosis. The semivariance of large-size fractions was high and sometimes stochastic. The semivariance of small-size fractions was low at all characteristic distances. Only the thickness of forest litter is required when estimating its sorption capacity.