Abstract:

The hydrological character parameters of the litter amount, the maximum water capacity and water absorption speed of the litter on the forest land under four type of Abies fabri forest (young, half-mature,mature and overmature stand)on the Gongga Mountain were studied in this paper. The result showed that the litter amount under the overmature stand was the maximum(67.8?t·hm^-2), the second was the mature stand(53.4 t·hm^-2), the third was the half mature stand(40.4 t·hm^-2), the fourth was the young stand(32.6t·hm^-2). The maximum water capacity of the undecomposed litter under the mature stand was 428.8% of the litter's dry weight, that of the litter under the overmature stand was 411.6%, that of the litter under the half-mature stand was 378.8%, that of the litter under the young stand was 296.7%. The maximum water capacity of the half-decomposed litter under the mature stand was 234.5% of the litter's dry weight, that of the litter under the overmature stand was 175.6%, that of the litter under the half mature stand was 160.3%, that of the litter under the young stand was 132.5%. The equation between the water absorption speed of the litter and the soaked time is S=ktⁿ. The result also shows that the litter's variation with the time has no relation to forest age, while its decomposition degree is positively related to stand age.

Key words: Gongga Mountain, Abies fabri forest, Litter, Water capacity character