Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-ndmmz Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-05-01T03:55:30.363Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Litterfall and nutrient cycling in four Hawaiian montane rainforests

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 July 2009

Peter M. Vitousek ,
Grant Gerrish ,
Douglas R. Turner ,
Lawrence R. Walker  and
Dieter Mueller-Dombois
Peter M. Vitousek*
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA
Grant Gerrish
Affiliation:
Department of Botany, University of Hawaii-Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822, USA
Douglas R. Turner
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA
Lawrence R. Walker
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA
Dieter Mueller-Dombois
Affiliation:
Department of Botany, University of Hawaii-Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822, USA
*
3 Corresponding author.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The mass of fine litterfall and nutrient circulation through litterfall were determined in four Melrosideros polymorpha/Cibotium spp.-dominated rainforests that differed in substrate age, parent material texture and annual precipitation on Kilauea and Mauna Loa volcanoes on the island of Hawaii. Three of the sites had rates of litterfall of 5.2 Mg ha−1 y−1; the fourth, which was on the most fertile soil, produced 7.0 Mg ha−1 y−1 of litterfall with higher concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus. Tree ferns of the genus Cibotium cycled relatively large amounts of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium through litterfall; their contribution to nutrient circulation was disproportionate to their mass in the forest, or in litterfall. The forest on the youngest substrate, which also had the lowest concentrations of nitrogen in litterfall, was fertilized with complete factorial combinations of nitrogen, phosphorus and a treatment consisting of all other plant nutrients. Additions of nitrogen increased the quantity and nitrogen concentration in litterfall during the second year following the initiation of fertilization, while no other treatment had a significant effect. Additions of nitrogen had no effect on litterfall mass or nutrient concentrations in the most nutrient-rich site.

Keywords

HawaiilitterfallMetrosiderosnitrogennutrient cyclingnutrient limitationphosphorustree ferns
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 11 , Issue 2 , May 1995 , pp. 189 - 203
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

LITERATURE CITED

Bruijnzeel, L. A. 1984. Elemental content of litterfall in a lower montane rain forest in central Java, Indonesia. Malayan Nature Journal 37:199–208.Google Scholar
Bruijnzeel, L. A. 1991. Nutrient input-output.budgets of tropical forest ecosystems: a review. Journal of Tropical Ecology 7:1–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cuevas, E. & Medina, E. 1986. Nutrient dynamics within Amazonian forests: nutrient flux in fine litter fall and the efficiency of nutrient utilization. Oecologia 68:466–42.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Edwards, P. J. 1982. Studies of mineral cycling in a montane rain forest in New Guinea. V. Rates of cycling in throughfall and litterfall. Journal of Ecology 70:807–827.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fassbender, H. W. & Grimm, V. 1981. Ciclos bioquímicos en un ecosystema forestal de los Andes Occidentales de Venezuela. II. Productión y descomposición de los residuos vegetales. Turrialba 31:39–47.Google Scholar
Gerrish, G. 1992. Changing photosynthetic capacity during leaf ontogeny in juvenile and mature Metrosideros polymorpha leaves. Pacific Science 46:315–324.Google Scholar
Gerrish, H., Mueller-Dombois, D. & Bridges, K. W. 1988. Nutrient limitation and Metrosideros forest dieback in Hawaii. Ecology 69:723–727.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Giambelluca, T. W., Nullet, M. A. & Schroeder, T. A. 1986. Rainfall Atlas of Hawaii. Department of Land and Natural Resources, State of Hawaii, Honolulu.Google Scholar
Grubb, P. J. 1977. Control of forest growth and distribution on wet tropical mountains, with special reference to mineral nutrition. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 8:83–107.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heaney, A. & Proctor, J. 1989. Chemical elements in litter in forest on Volcan Barva, Costa Rica. Pp. 255–271 in Proctor, J. (ed.). Mineral nutrients in tropical forest and savanna ecosystems. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford.Google Scholar
Holcomb, R. T. 1987. Eruptive history and long-term behavior of Kilauea Volcano. Pp. 261–350 in Decker, R. W., Wright, T. L. & Stauffer, P. H. (eds). Volcanism in Hawaii. US Government Printing Office, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Jenny, H. 1980. Soil genesis with ecological perspectives. Springer-Verlag, New York. 560 pp.Google Scholar
Kellman, M. C. 1970. Secondary plant succession in tropical montane Mindanao. PhD Dissertation, School of Pacific Studies, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.Google Scholar
Lockwood, J. J., Lipman, P. W., Peterson, L. D. & Warshauer, F. R. 1988. Generalized ages of surface lava flows of Mauna Loa Volcano, Hawaii. USGS Map 1–1908. US Government Printing Office, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Marrs, R. H., Proctor, J., Heaney, A. & Mountford, M. D. 1988. Changes in soil nitrogen – mineralization and nitrification along an altitudinal transect in tropical rain forest in Costa Rica. Journal of Ecology 76:466–482.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Matson, P. A. & Vitousek, P. M. 1990. Ecosystem approach to a global nitrous oxide budget. BioScience 40:667–672.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mueller-Dombois, D. 1987. Forest dynamics in Hawaii. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 2:216–220.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mueller-Dombois, D., Vitousek, P. M. & Bridges, K. W. 1984. Canopy dieback and ecosystem processes in Pacific forests: a progress report and research proposal. Department of Botany, University of Hawaii, Honolulu.Google Scholar
Proctor, J. 1987. Nutrient cycling in primary and old secondary rain forests. Applied Geography 7:135–152.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Proctor, J., Anderson, J. M. & Vallack, H. W. 1983. Comparative studies on forests, soils and litterfall at four altitudes on Gunung Sulu, Sarawak. The Malaysian Forester 46:60–76.Google Scholar
Proctor, J., Phillips, C., Duff, G. K., Heaney, A. & Robertson, F. M. 1989. Ecological studies on Gunung Silam, a small ultrabasic mountain in Sabah, Malaysia. II. Some forest processes. Journal of Ecology 77:317–331.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tanner, E. J. J. 1977. Four montane rainforests of Jamaica: a quantitative characterization of the floristics, the soils and the foliar mineral levels, and a discussion of the interrelations. Journal of Ecology 65:883–918.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tanner, E. J. V., Kapos, V. & Franco, W. 1992. Nitrogen and phosphorus fertilization effects on Venezuelan montane forest trunk growth and litterfall. Ecology 73:73–86.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tanner, E. V. J., Kapos, V., Freskos, S., Healey, J. & Theobold, A. M. 1990. Nitrogen and phosphorus fertilization of Jamaican montane forest trees. Journal of Tropical Ecology 6:231–238.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Veneklaas, E. J. 1991. Litterfall and nutrient fluxes in two montane tropical rain forests, Colombia. Journal of Tropical Ecology 7:319–336.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vitousek, P. M. 1982. Nutrient cycling and nutrient use efficiency. American Naturalist 199:553–572.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vitousek, P. M. 1984. Litterfall, nutrient cycling, and nutrient limitation in tropical forests. Ecology 65:285–298.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vitousek, P. M., Aplet, G., Turner, D. & Lockwood, J. J. 1992. The Mauna Loa environmental matrix: foliar and soil nutrients. Oecologia 89:372–382.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Vitousek, P. M., Van Cleve, K., Balakrishnan, N. & Mueller-Dombois, D. 1983. Soil development and nitrogen turnover on recent volcanic substrates in Hawaii. Biotropica 15:268–274.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vitousek, P. M., Fahey, T., Johnson, D. W. & Swift, M. J. 1988. Element interactions in forest ecosystems: succession, allometry, and input-output budgets. Biogeochemistry 5:7–34.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vitousek, P. M. & Matson, P. A. 1988. Nitrogen transformations in a range of tropical forest soils. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 20:361–367.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vitousek, P. M. & JrSanford, R. L. 1986. Nutrient cycling in moist tropical forest. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 17:137–167.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vitousek, P. M., Walker, L. R., Whiteaker, L. D. & Matson, P. A. 1993. Nutrient limitation to plant growth during primary succession in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Biogeochemistry 23:197–215.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vitousek, P. M., Walker, L. R., Whiteaker, L. D., Mueller-Dombois, D. & Matson, P. A. 1987. Biological invasion by Myrica faya alters ecosystem development in Hawaii. Science 238:802–804.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Walker, L. R. & Aplet, G. H. In press. Growth and fertilization responses of Hawaiian tree ferns. Biotropica.Google Scholar
Walker, T. W. & Syers, J. K. 1976. The fate of phosphorus during pedogenesis. Geoderma 15:1–19.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weaver, P. L., Medina, E., Pool, D., Dugger, K., Gonzalez-Liboy, J. & Cuevas, E. 1986. Ecological observations in the dwarf cloud forest of the Luquillo Mountains in Puerto Rico. Biotropica 18:79–85.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wright, T. L. & Helz, R. T. 1987. Recent advances in Hawaiian petrology and geochemistry. In Decker, R. W., Wright, T. L. & Stauffer, P. H. (eds). Volcanism in Hawaii. US Geological Survey Professional Paper, Washington, DC.Google Scholar