Litterfall production and chemistry of Koompassia malaccensis and Shorea uliginosa in a tropical peat swamp forest: plant nutrient regulation and climate relationships

C S P Ong; J C Juan; Catherine M Yule

doi:10.1007/s00468-014-1130-y

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Litterfall production and chemistry of Koompassia malaccensis and Shorea uliginosa in a tropical peat swamp forest: plant nutrient regulation and climate relationships

Journal article

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Litterfall production and chemistry of Koompassia malaccensis and Shorea uliginosa in a tropical peat swamp forest: plant nutrient regulation and climate relationships

C S P Ong, J C Juan and Catherine M Yule

Trees, Vol.29(2), pp.527-537

2015

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-014-1130-y

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Abstract

litterfall pattern

litter quality

biogeochemistry

nutrient regulation

climate-litterfall relationship

emergent tree species

peat swamp

Key message: This study shows that two emergent tree species growing in a nutrient-limited tropical peat swamp forest use different mechanisms for nutrient regulation. The main aim of this study is to understand the contribution of litterfall to nutrient supply and regulation of two emergent tree species in a tropical peat swamp forest (TPSF) in Peninsular Malaysia. The questions posed by this study include: (1) Do coexisting tree species in TPSF differ in terms of litter production, physico-chemical traits and litterfall patterns? (2) How do these relate to possible nutrient regulation mechanisms of the tree species and do the strategies involved differ between a nitrogen (N) fixing legume (Koompassia malaccensis, Family Fabaceae) and a dipterocarp (Shorea uliginosa, Family Dipterocarpaceae)? (3) Is litterfall timing of the selected tree species driven by climatic variables? Litterfall was collected from litter traps placed under the selected trees in the Sungai Karang TPSF. Green leaves of the selected tree species were also collected. Both leaf litter and green leaves were assessed for their physico-chemical properties (toughness, total phenols, total tannins, proximate fibre-cellulose-lignin and a range of nutrients) and compared. Results obtained indicate that K. malaccensis relies on a combination of high litter quality (higher N coupled with lower amount of tannins, fibre and cellulose) and low annual litterfall mass (388.17 g m-2) for nutrient regulation while the opposite strategy is used by S. uliginosa, which was found to produce an annual litterfall mass of 918.14 g m-2. Due to the aseasonal environment, no significant relationships were observed between climatic variables and litterfall. Therefore, litterfall characteristics in aseasonal tropical regions may depend more on species-specific physico-chemical properties than on climatic variables. © 2014, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

Details

Title: Litterfall production and chemistry of Koompassia malaccensis and Shorea uliginosa in a tropical peat swamp forest: plant nutrient regulation and climate relationships
Authors: C S P Ong (Author) - Monash University Malaysia, Malaysia
J C Juan (Author) - Monash University Malaysia, Malaysia
Catherine M Yule (Author) - Monash University Malaysia, Malaysia
Publication details: Trees, Vol.29(2), pp.527-537
Publisher: Springer
Date published: 2015
DOI: 10.1007/s00468-014-1130-y
ISSN: 0931-1890
Organisation Unit: School of Science and Engineering - Legacy; University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; School of Science, Technology and Engineering
Language: English
Record Identifier: 99451236702621
Output Type: Journal article

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Collaboration types: Domestic collaboration
Web Of Science research areas: Forestry

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