Okoh et al Greener Journal of Agricultural Sciences Vol. 9(2), pp. 250-258, 2019 ISSN: 2276-7770 Copyright ©2019, the copyright of this article is retained by the author(s) DOI Link: http://doi.org/10.15580/GJAS.2019.2.052719103 http://gjournals.org/GJAS Leaf Decomposition and Nutrient Release in Four Selected Species in Makurdi, Benue State, Nigeria Okoh T.1; Edu E.A.2; Ebigwai J.K.2 1 Department of Botany, Federal University of Agriculture Makurdi, Nigeria. 2 Department of Plant and Ecological Studies, University of Calabar, Nigeria. ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Article No.: 052719103 Type: Research DOI: 10.15580/GJAS.2019.2.052719103 Leaf decomposition rates in Prosopis africana, Parkia biglobosa, Daniellia oliveri and Morinda lucida were investigated in Makurdi, Benue State, Nigeria. Decomposition was determined as loss in mass of litter over a period of 8 weeks (January 15- March 15, 2016 and August 15 –October 15, 2016). The exponential decay model Wt / W0 =e–kd t. was used to evaluate the percentage mass of litter remaining over time while the time taken for half the initial material to decompose (t50) was evaluated using t50= ln 2/k and the nutrient accumulation index was determined by (NAI = ωtXt/ωoXo) Leaf decomposition rates (g d-1) varied significantly (p<0.01) with species exposure time with % dry weight remaining ranging from 89.63% to 77.4% in both seasons. P. africana (0.0033, 0.0039) had the fastest decomposition rates in both seasons, while P. biglobosa, M. lucida and D. oliveri (0.0017) were slowest in the wet season. Mean projected residence time ranged between 363 and 476 days (wet and dry seasons) across species. Average C: N ratio increased generally across species in both seasons with a net mineralization of nitrogen except in M. lucida (0.99) and D. oliveri (0.16), while carbon was immobilized except in P. africana (0.93) with net mineralization in both seasons. The contributions of selected species in nutrient cycling are implicated in this study, hence their importance in ecosystem management. Submitted: 27/05/2019 Accepted: 30/05/2019 Published: 13/06/2019 *Corresponding Author Okoh T. E-mail: thomasokoh@ gmail.com Keywords: Litter decomposition; Nutrient dynamics; % carbon; Nutrient accumulation index; Turnover rate; Prosopis Africana; Parkia biglobosa; Daniellia oliveri; Morinda lucida Return to Content View [Full Article – PDF] [Full Article – HTML] [Full Article – EPUB] Post-Publication Peer-review Rundown View/get involved, click [Peer-review] REFERENCES Abugre, S. C., Oti-Boateng & Yeboah, M. F. (2011). Litterfall and decomposition trend of Jatropha curcas L. leaves mulches under two environmental conditions. Agriculture and Biology Journal of North America, 2(3), 462-470. Aldair, E. C., Hobbie, S. E. & Hobbie, R. K. (2010). Single pool exponential decomposition models; potential pit falls in their use in ecological studies. Ecology, 91, 1225-1236. Aerts, R. (1997). Climate, leaf litter chemistry and leaf litter decomposition in terrestrial ecosystems: a triangular relationship. Oikos, 79, 439–49. Aerts, R. (2006). The freezer defrosting: global warming and litter decomposition rates in cold biomes. Journal of Ecology, 94, 713–24. Anderson, J. M. & Swift, M. J. (1983). Decomposition in tropical forest. In: S. L. Sulton, A. C. Chadwick & T. C. Whitmore (Eds.), The tropical rain forest ecology and management (pp 289-309). Oxford, Blackwell. Aponte, C., Garcia, L. V., Perez-Ramos, I. M., Gutierrez, E. & Maranon, T. (2011). Oak trees and soil interactions in Mediterranean forests: a positive feed-back model. Journal of Vegetation Science, 22, 856-867. Aponte, C., Garcia, L. V. & Maranon, T. (2012). Tree species effect on Litter decomposition and nutrient release in Mediterranean Oak forests changes over time. Ecosystems, 15, 1204-1218. Austin, A. T. & Vivanco, L. (2006). Plant litter decomposition in a semi-arid ecosystem controlled by photo-degradation. Nature, 442, 555–558. Ayres, E., Steltzer, H., Berg, S. & Wall, D. H. (2009). Soil biota accelerates decomposition in high-elevation forests by specializing in the breakdown of litter produced by the plant species above them. Journal of Ecology, 97, 901-912. Berg, B. & McClaugherty, C. (2008). Plant litter, decomposition, humus formation and carbon sequestration. (Ist ed.). New York. Springer-Verlag. Berg, B. (2000). Litter decomposition and organic matter turnover in Northern forest soils. Forest ecology and management, 133, 13-22. Berg, B., Davey, M., De Marco, A., Emmett, B., Faituri, M., Hobbie, S., Johansson, M. B.,Liu, C., McClaugherty, C., Norell, L., Rutigliano, F., Vesterdal, L. & De Virzo S., A. (2010). Factors influencing limit values for pine needle litter decomposition: a synthesis for boreal and temperate pine forest systems. Biogeochemistry, 100, 57-73. Cornelissen, J. H. C., Van Bodegom, P. M., Aerts, R., Callaghan, T. V., Van Logtestijin, R. S. P. & Alatalo, J. (2007). Global negative feed-back to climate warning responses of litter decomposition rates in cold biomes. Ecological Letters, 10, 619- 627. Cornwell, W. K., Cornellissen, J. H. C., matangelo, K., Dorrepaal, E., Eviner, V. T., Godoy, O., Hobbie, S. E., Hoorens, B., Kurokawa, H., Perez-Harguindeguy, N., Quested, H. M., Diaz, S., Callaghan, T. V., Wright, I. J., Allison, S. D., Bodegom, P. V., Aerts, R., Santiago, L. S., Wardle, D. A., Brovkin, V., Chatain, A., Garnier, E., Gurvich, D. E., Kazakou, E., Klein, J. A., Read, J., Reich, B., Soudzilovskaia, N. A., Vaieretti, M. V. & Westoby, M. (2008). Plant species traits are the predominant control on litter decomposition rates within biomes worldwide. Ecological Letters, 11, 1065-1071. Dechaine, J., Ruan, H., Sanches de Leon, Y. & Zou, X. (2005). Correlation between earthworms and plant litter decomposition in a tropical wet forest of Pueto Rico. Pedobiologia, 49(6), 601-607. Edu, E. A. (2012). Litter dynamics (production, composition and Decomposition) of mangroves in a mixed riverine Mangrove forest of the Cross River Estuary, Nigeria. Unpublished Doctoral Thesis, Faculty of Science, University of Calabar, Calabar Nigeria. Goulden, C. (2005). Decomposition rates of forest and steppe vegetation. http; //www.hovsgoecology.org/04research /decomposition. Retrieved December 2, 2006 Gusewell, S. & Gessner, M. O. (2009). N:P ratios influence litter decomposition and colonization by fungi and bacteria in microsoms. Functional Ecology, 23, 211-219. Hobbie, S. E., Reich, P. P. B., Oleksyn, J., Ogdahl, M., Zytkowiak, R., Hale, C. & Karolewski, P. (2006). Tree species effect on decomposition and forest floor dynamics in a common garden. Ecology, 87, 2288-2297. Karberg, N. J., Neal, A. S. & Giadina, P. C. (2008). Methods for estimating litter decomposition. In: C. M. Hoover (ed.). Field Measurements for Forest Carbon Monitoring (pp. 103-111), New York, Springer Science +Business Media B.V. Kemp, P. R., Reynolds, J. F., Virginia, R. A. & Whitford, W. G. (2003). Decomposition of leaf and root litter of Chihuahuan desert shrubs: effects of three years of summer drought. Journal of Arid Environment, 53, 21–29. Laura, A. & Yolanda, M. (2007). Spatial variability in decomposition rates in a desert scrub of North-western Mexico. Plant Ecology, (213-225). Baja, California Sur, Mexico.Springer Science + Business Media B.V. Litton, C. M., Giardina, C. P., Albano, J. K., Long, M. S. & Asner, G. P. (2011). The magnitude and variability of soil-surface CO2 efflux increase with mean annual temperature in Hawaiian tropical montane wet forests. Soil Biology and Biogeochemistry, 43, 2315-2323. Minderman, G. (1968). Addition, decomposition and accumulation of organic matter in forests. Journal of Ecology, 56, 335-362. Mitchell, R. J., Campbell, C. D., Osler, G. H. R., Van Bergen, A. J., Ross, L. C., Cameron, C. M. &. Cole, L. (2007). The cascading effects birch on heather moorland: a test for the top-down control of an ecosystem engineer. Journal of Ecology, 93, 540-554. Negrete-Yankelevich, S., Fragoso, C., Newton, A., Russell, G. & Heal, O. (2008). Species specific characteristics of trees can determine the litter macro-invertebrate community and decomposition process below their canopies. Plant Soil, 307, 83-97. NIMET (Nigerian Meteorological Agency) (2015). Annual weather bulletin of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency, Tactical Air Command, Nigerian Air Force, Makurdi, Benue State, Nigeria. NIMET (Nigerian Meteorological Agency) (2016). Annual weather bulletin of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency, Tactical Air Command, Nigerian Air Force, Makurdi, Benue State, Nigeria. Obi, J. U. (2002). Statistical methods of determining differences between treatment means and research methodology issues in laboratory and field experiments. Enugu: SNAAP Press. Olson, J. S. (2007). Energy storage and the balance of producers and decomposers in ecological systems. Ecology, 44, 322-331. Sariyildiz, T. Anderson, J. M. & Kucuk, M. (2005). Effects of tree species and topography on soil chemistry, litter quality and decomposition in Northeast Turkey. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 37, 1695-1706. Shields, A. B. (2006). Leaf litter decomposition and substrate chemistry of early successional species on land slides in Puerto Rico. Biotropica, 38, 348–53. Vivanco, L. & Austin, A. T. (2008). Tree species identity alters forest litter decomposition through long-term plant and soil interactions in Patagonia, Argentina. Journal of Ecology, 96, 727-736. Zhang, D., Hui, D., Luo,Y. & Zhou, G. (2008). Rates of decomposition in terrestrial ecosystems: global patterns and controlling factors. Journal of Plant Ecology, 1(2), 85-93. Cite this Article: Okoh T; Edu EA; Ebigwai JK (2019). Leaf Decomposition and Nutrient Release in Four Selected Species in Makurdi, Benue State, Nigeria. Greener Journal of Agricultural Sciences 9(2): 250-258, http://doi.org/10.15580/GJAS.2019.2.052719103.
