Abstract

REYES-CARRERA, Santiago A.; MENDEZ-GONZALEZ, Jorge; NAJERA-LUNA, Juan A.  and  CERANO-PAREDES, Julián. Litterfall production in a Pinus cembroides Zucc. stand, in Arteaga Coahuila Mexico and its relationships to climatic variables. Rev. Chapingo ser. cienc. for. ambient [online]. 2013, vol.19, n.1, pp.147-155. ISSN 2007-4018.  https://doi.org/10.5154/r.rchscfa.2012.01.006.

Litterfall represents the main source of organic matter in terrestrial ecosystems. The assessment of litterfall production is important to understand the forest productivity, but it also provides important information as phenological indicator of the climate change effects. This study was carried out in a young Pinus cembroides Zucc. stand in La Sierra de Arteaga, Coahuila, Mexico. Litterfall was collected monthly using 40 traps (1 m²) located systematically on 1-ha plot. The Kruskal-Wallis non parametric test was employed to detect significant differences among sampling dates. The stepwise regression and the principal component analysis were employed to evaluate the relationships of litterfall to climatic variables. Total annual litterfall was over 1000 kg.ha^-1.year^-1, which was dependent on temperature and wind. Needles and branches comprised about 33 and 22 % of the total litterfall.

Keywords : Litterfall; organic matter; pinyon pine; temperature.

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