Litter production and accumulation in naturally seeded, old-field, Virginia pine (Pinus virginiana Mill.) stands

Litter-fall and litter-layer data were collected from stands of 7, 13, 19 and 36-year-old naturally seeded, old-field, Virginia pine. The pattern of yearly litter-fall was highly seasonal with maximum needlefall occurring during the fall months. Estimated annual total litterfall ranged from2.90mt/ha dry weight in the 7-year-old stand to 5.49 mt/ha dry weight in the 36-year-old stand: The percent annual contribution of non-needle material to the total increased from 16.5% in the 7- year-old stand to 43.9% in the 36-year-old stand. Maximum litter-layer dry matter weight of 139 mt/ha and volatile matter weight (loss on ignition at 525°C) of 52 mt/ha occurred in the 36-year-old stand. The depth and maximum water storage of the litterlayer increased with stand age to a maximum of 5.34 cm and 1.42 cm respectively in the 36-year-old stand. Several models characterizing the accumulation and decomposition of litter were developed. The best fit model assumes that litter-fall changes with time and that the litter is split into two fractions with ea.ch fraction decomposing at a different fixed annual rate. This model supports the fact that litter-fall is a mixture of different components such as cellulose and lignin which are known to decompose at different rates.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science

Level thesis:degree_level

masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Forestry

Department dc:contributor.department

Forestry

Grantor dc:publisher

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Year dc:date.issued

1973

Author dc:creator

• Kreh, Richard Edward

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/10919/76375

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/76375