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Weight and Nitrogen and Calcium Content of the Annual Litter Fall of Forests in the South Carolina Piedmont¹

ABSTRACT

The annual fall of litter was measured in stands of pine, mixed pine-hardwood, and hardwood in the South Carolina Piedmont. The total amount of litter (including twigs, bark, and fruit) dropped annually ranged from 4,059 to 5,619 pounds per acre on an oven-dry basis. Considering leaf fall alone, the annual drop ranged from 2,938 pounds in a 30- to 40-year old stand of shortleaf pine to 4,476 in a 25-year old loblolly pine stand.

The content of nitrogen, calcium, and magnesium in freshly fallen leaves was determined for 14 tree species. The foliage of both loblolly and shortleaf pines was found to contain less of these elements than any of the hardwood species. Based on these chemical determinations and the annual leaf fall, estimates are given of the total amount of these nutrients returned to the forest floor by the annual leaf fall in the nine stands studied. The hardwood stands were found to return about twice as much nitrogen, three times as much magnesium, and five times as much calcium in their leaf fall as did the pine stands. Information given as to the nutrient content of the common forest species and in the litter fall of representative stands can be used by the forester to evaluate the effect of his management practices upon soil conditions.

¹ Paper received for publication October 1, 1951.

² Soil Scientist, Central Piedmont Branch, Southeastern Forest Experiment Station, Union, S. C.