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- Title
Wood litter fall in relation to abscission, environmental factors, and the decomposition cycle in a Danish oak forest.
- Authors
Christensen, O.
- Abstract
Wood litter fall was measured during two years in a Danish oak forest. The total wood fall averaged 774.3 kg ha-1 yr-1, constituting 18.5% of the total litter fall. 77% of the total wood tall represent small wood components (diameter ≤ 10 mm). During 1973 the autumn, summer, and winter wood fall amounted to 60.9%, 30.5%, and 8.6% of the total, respectively. Potential environmental factors affecting the seasonal dynamics of wood fall arc discussed. Only in the autumn is a relationship between wood fall and wind speed observed. However, wood fall is largely governed and prepared by physiological processes (abscission). During spring 1974 the abscission was initiated by severe injuries to the buds caused by herbivorous insects, water stress, and frost, producing a summer peak of wood fall additional to the autumnal peak. The peat seasonal and inter-annual variation of the wood litter fall, and the increased nitrogen content of the wood components of the summer wood fall arc discussed in relation to the decomposition cycle of dead wood.
- Subjects
FOREST litter decomposition; WOOD; OAK; SEASONS; WIND speed; ENERGY minerals
- Publication
Oikos, 1975, Vol 26, Issue 2, p187
- ISSN
0030-1299
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.2307/3543708