Distribution of Net Litter Inputs with Respect to Slope Position
and Wind Direction Authors: Welbourn, M. L.; Stone, E. L.;
Lassoie, J. P. Source: Forest Science, Volume 27, Number 4, 1
December 1981 , pp. 651-659(9) Publisher: Society of American
Foresters Abstract:The influence of topographical position on
the distribution of hardwood litterfall over a steep ridge was
studied in central New York. Unlike the initial distribution of
litterfall, net inputs of litter remaining after autumn
relocation were greatest on the footslopes and in the lee of the
ridge crest. This pattern resulted from the autumnal wind
pattern. Mineral soil N, Ca, and Mg and foliar N and Ca were
significantly correlated with the net input of litter. The
results suggest that nutrient cycling studies in eastern
hardwood ecosystems should not assume that litter nutrients will
be returned to the soil in situ, nor that net inputs from litter
during the course of a year are equal to total litterfall at any
given point. Forest Sci. 27:651-659.