Forest edges bordering on pasture were created by cutting and burning the
surrounding Amazonian lowland rain forest in the dry season (June) of
1990. Litterfall was measured for 3.5 y along transects 10, 50, 100 and
250-m into the forest from the forest edge. Litterfall along the 10-m
transects increased by up to 2.5 times that on spatial controls (250-m
transects) in
the dry season in which the edge was created. In the second dry season
after edge creation litterfall at 10-m was lower than on controls, after
which it returned to control rates in the second wet season, 1.5 y after
edge creation. Litterfall 50-m into the forest was less affected; there
was a smaller rise in the dry season in which the edge was cut, and no
significant effects after that. At
100-m there was no effect of edge creation on litterfall. Phosphorus
concentrations in litterfall were elevated along 10-m transects,
10–12 wk after edge creation, possibly because of reduced
retranslocation prior to abscission. The changes in litterfall described
here are inextricably linked to the biomass collapse, which occurs near
forest-fragment edges in the same area.