Accumulated litter and nutrient stock in biomass and in soil in forest formations in the Cerrado

Abstract

The physiognomy of the Cerrado can be understood in part with regards the structural aspect of the vegetation and botanical composition. However, little is known about the dynamics of the biomass of the different forest formations in the soil and their respective nutritional contribution. Thus, the objective of this work was to evaluate the accumulated litter and nutrient stock in the biomass and soil in forest formations (Cerradão and semideciduous seasonal forest) in the Cerrado biome. The litter samplings were carried out during the dry period. The accumulated litter biomass was higher in the Cerradão (10.8 Mg.ha-1) than in the semideciduous seasonal Forest (8.3 Mg.ha–1). Soil and biomass nutrient contents of Ca, Mg, K, and P were higher in the semideciduous seasonal forest. The carbon content in the Cerradão biomass was higher (460.7 g.kg–1) than the semideciduous seasonal forest (453.9 g.kg–1). Nitrogen was higher in the biomass of the semideciduous seasonal Forest (13.7 g.kg–1) than in the Cerradão (10.6 g.kg–1). The principal component analysis (PCA) indicated the formation of two main components, which account for 70.0% of the variance. The C/N ratio was higher in the Cerradão biomass in all components (leaves, branches and bark, and miscellaneous).