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Forest Floor in the Piedmont Region of South Carolina¹

ABSTRACT

The annual litter fall, weight of forest floor, and organic matter incorporation in the surface foot of mineral soil are reported for three pine, three pine-hardwood, and three hardwood stands in the South Carolina Piedmont.

The litter fall for the stands averaged 4,400 pounds per acre, of which 3,500 pounds was leaf material. The weight of the forest floor was greatest in the pine stands and least in the hardwoods. The forest floor weight, expressed on a volatile matter basis, ranged from 6,160 pounds per acre in an old hardwood stand to 16,430 pounds in a 40-year-old shortleaf pine stand. The organic matter content in the surface foot of mineral soil ranged from 83,550 pounds per acre in the old hardwood stand to 25,780 pounds in a young loblolly pine plantation. The weight of the forest floor and organic matter in the mineral soil show that decomposition is more rapid beneath hardwood stands.

The forest floors are classified as to humus type and the discussion presented shows some practical application of the information to forest management work.

¹ Presented before Div. V-A, Soil Science Society of America, Dallas, Tex., Nov. 20, 1953.

² Forester, Southeastern Forest Experiment Station, Forest Service, USDA.

Received for publication January 7, 1954.