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Scientia Silvae Sinicae ›› 2013, Vol. 49 ›› Issue (9): 8-15.

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Water-Holding Characteristics of Litters in Three Forests at Different Successional Stages in Dinghushan

Liu Xiaodong1,2, Qiao Yuna1, Zhou Guoyi1, Xiao Yin1,2, Zhang Deqiang1   

  1. 1. South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences Guangzhou 510650;
    2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing 100049
  • Received:2012-07-25 Revised:2013-07-15 Online:2013-09-25 Published:2013-09-19

Abstract:

Water storage, water-holding capacity, water-absorption rate, and water-holding rate of the litters in three forests at different successional stages in the Dinghushan Biosphere Reserve in the subtropical region of southern China were studied using the field survey and laboratory soaking extraction methods. The three forests included a regional climax (monsoon evergreen broad-leaved forest, or MEBF), a transitional forest (mixed Pinus massoniana/broad-leaved forest, or MF), and a pioneer forest (P. massoniana forest, or PF). The results showed that the litter water storage decreased along the successional gradient in the order of PF (21.96 t·hm-2) > MF (14.59 t·hm-2) > MEBF (10.40 t·hm-2). The maximum water-holding capacity of litters in Dinghushan was between 13.68-50.10 t·hm-2, in an order of PF(5.0 mm) > MF (2.8 mm) > MEBF (1.4 mm). The decomposed layer of litters took up a large portion of total water-holding capacity in PF (44.3%), while it was only 16.7% in late-succession stage MEBF. The total water-holding capacity and proportional water holding capacity of litters increased logarithmically with increasing immersion time. Additionally, the water-holding process of forest litters occurred mainly in 0.5-2 h, and the average water-holding rate in 0.5 h was 4.35 mm·h-1 in PF, 2.22 mm·h-1 in MF,1.19 mm·h-1 in MEBF, respectively. The rates decreased according to the equation WA = a·t -b with the increasing immersion time. The order of the maximum water-holding rate in the three forests was PF (306.3%) > MF (289.0%) > MEBF (239.3%), and with natural succession from planted PF to climax MEBF, the maximum water-holding rate which represented the water-holding ability of different litters decreased obviously. As described above, the PF litters, especially in the decomposed layer, had a higher water-holding ability compared to the other two forest types, while the un-decomposed layer of litters in late-succession stage MEBF played. a more important role.

Key words: Dinghushan, forest succession, litter, water-holding capacity, water-holding characteristics, hydrological benefits

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