Litter production and organic matter accumulation in exclosures of the Tigray highlands, Ethiopia

Forest Ecology and Management

Volumn 233, Issue 1, 2006, Pages 21-35

  Descheemaeker, Katrien ^a   Muys, Bart ^a   Nyssen, Jan ^a,b   Poesen, Jean ^a   Raes, Dirk ^a   Haile, Mitiku ^b   Deckers, Jozef ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF LEUVEN   (Belgium)

^b MEKELLE UNIVERSITY   (Ethiopia)

Author keywords

Litter accumulation; Litter quality; Microclimate; Succession; Tropical dry forest; Vegetation restoration

Indexed keywords

ORGANIC COMPOUNDS; SOILS; VEGETATION;

LITTER ACCUMULATION; LITTER QUALITY; TROPICAL DRY FOREST; VEGETATION RESTORATION;

FORESTRY;

LEAF LITTER; MICROCLIMATE; ORGANIC MATTER; RAINFALL; RESTORATION ECOLOGY; SEASONAL VARIATION; SEASONALITY; SOIL FERTILITY; VEGETATION COVER;

ORGANIC COMPOUNDS; PLANTS; SHRUBS; SOIL;

AFRICA; EAST AFRICA; ETHIOPIA; SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA; TIGRAY;

ACACIA;

EID: 33747090257     PISSN: 03781127     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.foreco.2006.05.061     Document Type: Article

References (51)

1. Aerts R., Wagendorp T., November E., Mintesinot B., Deckers J., and Muys B. Ecosystem thermal buffer capacity as an indicator of the restoration status of protected areas in the Northern Ethiopian Highlands. Restor. Ecol. 12 (2004) 586-596
2. Anderson J.M., and Ingram J.S. Tropical Soil Biology and Fertility. A Handbook of Methods (1993), Commonwealth Agricultural Bureau, Oxon, UK
3. Berg B. Litter decomposition and organic matter turnover in northern forest soils. Forest Ecol. Manage. 133 (2000) 13-22
4. Borchert R. Soil and stem water storage determine phenology and distribution of tropical dry forest trees. Ecology 75 (1994) 1437-1449
5. Bosellini A., Russo A., Fantozzi P.L., Assefa G., and Solomon T. The Mesozoic succession of the Mekele outlier (Tigre Province, Ethiopia). Mem. Sci. Geol. 49 (1997) 95-116
6. Brown S., and Lugo A.E. Tropical secondary forests. J. Trop. Ecol. 6 (1990) 1-32
7. Búrquez A., Martínez-Yrízar A., and Núñez S. Sonoran desert productivity and the effect of trap size on litterfall estimates in dryland vegetation. J. Arid Environ. 43 (1999) 459-465
8. Cintrón B.B., and Lugo A.E. Litterfall in a subtropical dry forest: Guánica, Puerto Rico. Acta Científica (San Juan) 4 (1990) 37-49
9. Dames J.F., Scholes M.C., and Straker C.J. Litter production and accumulation in Pinus patula plantations of the Mpumalanga Province, South Africa. Plant Soil 203 (1998) 183-190
10. Descheemaeker K., Nyssen J., Rossi J., Poesen J., Mitiku H., Raes D., Muys B., Moeyersons J., and Deckers J. Sediment deposition and pedogenesis in exclosures in the Tigray Highlands, Ethiopia. Geoderma 132 (2006) 291-314
11. Descheemaeker, K., Nyssen, J., Poesen, J., Mitiku, H., Muys, B., Raes, D., Moeyersons, J., Deckers, J. Soil and water conservation through forest restoration in exclosures of the Tigray highlands. J. Drylands, in press.
12. Descheemaeker, K., Muys, B., Nyssen, J., Sauwens, W., Mitiku H., Poesen, J., Raes, D., Deckers, S. Humus forms of exclosures in the highlands of Tigray, Northern Ethiopia, Geoderma, submitted for publication.
13. Eweg H.P.A., Van Lammeren R., Deurloo H., and Woldu Z. Analysing degradation and rehabilitation for sustainable land management in the highlands of Ethiopia. Land Degrad. Dev. 9 (1998) 529-542
14. FAO, ISRIC, ISSS, 1998. World Reference Base of Soil Resources. World Soil Resources Reports 84. FAO, Rome, Italy.
15. Gao Y., Qiu G.Y., Shimizu H., Tobe T., Sun B., and Wang J. A 10-year study on techniques for vegetation restoration in a desertified salt lake area. J. Arid Environ. 52 (2002) 483-497
16. Heal O.W., Anderson J.M., and Swift M.J. Plant litter quality and decomposition: an historical overview. In: Cadish G., and Giller K.E. (Eds). Driven by Nature. Plant Litter Quality and Decomposition (1997), CAB International, Wallingford 3-30
17. Hernandez I.M., Gallardo J.F., and Santa Regina I. Dynamic of organic matter in forests subject to a Mediterranean semi-arid climate in the Duero basin (Spain): litter production. Acta Oecol. 13 (1992) 55-65
18. Herweg, K., Stillhardt, B., 1999. Implications of land use and land cover dynamics for mountain resource degradation in the Northwestern Ethiopian Highlands. The variability of soil erosion in the highlands of Ethiopia and Eritrea. Average and extreme erosion patterns. University of Berne, Switzerland: Soil Conservation Research Programme, Research Report 42.
19. Holbrook N.M., Whitbeck J.L., and Mooney H.A. Drought responses of neotropical dry forest trees. In: Bullock S.H., Mooney H.A., and Medina E. (Eds). Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests (1995), Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 243-276
20. Hongo A., Matsumoto S., Takahashi H., Zou H.Y., Cheng J.M., Jia H.Y., and Zhao H.Y. Effect of exclosure and topography on rehabilitation of overgrazed shrub-steppe in the loess plateau of Northwest China. Restor. Ecol. 3 (1995) 18-25
21. Hurni H. Degradation and conservation of the resources in the Ethiopian highlands. Mountain Res. Dev. 8 (1990) 123-130
22. Kebrom T., Backeus I., Skoglund J., and Zerihun W. Vegetation on hillslopes in southern Wello, Ethiopia: degradation and regeneration. Nord. J. Bot. 17 (1997) 483-493
23. Kindeya Gebrehiwot, Muys B., Mitiku Haile, and Mitloehner R. The use of plant water relations to characterize tree species and sites in the drylands of northern Ethiopia. J. Arid Environ. 60 (2005) 581-592
24. Lavelle P., Blanchart E., Martin A., and Martin S. A hierarchical model for decomposition in terrestrial ecosystems: application to soils of the humid tropics. Biotropica 25 (1993) 130-150
25. Le Houérou H.N. Restoration and rehabilitation of arid and semiarid Mediterranean ecosystems in North Africa and West Asia: a review. Arid Soil Res. Rehabil. 14 (2000) 3-14
26. Lisanework N., and Michelsen A. Litterfall and nutrient release by decomposition in three plantations compared with a natural forest in the Ethiopian highland. Forest Ecol. Manage. 65 (1994) 149-164
27. López-Bermúdez F., Romero-Díaz A., Martínez-Fernandez J., and Martínez-Fernandez J. Vegetation and soil erosion under a semi-arid Mediterranean climate: a case study from Murcia (Spain). Geomorphology 24 (1998) 51-58
28. Lugo A.E. Comparison of tropical tree plantations with secondary forests of similar age. Ecol. Monogr. 62 (1992) 1-41
29. Martínez-Yrízar A. Biomass distribution and primary productivity of tropical dry forests. In: Bullock S.H., Mooney H.A., and Medina E. (Eds). Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests (1995), Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 326-345
30. Martínez-Yrízar A., Núñez S., Miranda H., and Búrquez A. Temporal and spatial variation of litter production in Sonoran Desert communities. Plant Ecol. 145 (1999) 37-48
31. McGill W.B., and Figueiredo C.Y. Total Nitrogen. In: Carter M.R. (Ed). Soil Sampling and Methods of Analysis (1993), Canadian Society of Soil Science, Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton, USA 201-211
32. Medina E., Garcia V., and Cuevas E. Sclerophylly and oligotrophic environments: relationships between leaf structure, mineral nutrient content, and drought resistance in tropical rain forests of the upper Rio Negro region. Biotropica 22 (1990) 51-64
33. Melillo J.M., Aber J.D., and Muratore J.F. Nitrogen and lignin control of hardwood leaf litter decomposition dynamics. Ecology 63 (1982) 621-626
34. Menaut J.C., Lepage M., and Abbadie L. Savannas, woodlands and dry forests in Africa. In: Bullock S.H., Mooney H.A., and Medina E. (Eds). Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests (1995), Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 64-92
35. Nyssen J., Poesen J., Moeyersons J., Deckers J., Mitiku Haile, and Lang A. Human impact on the environment in the Ethiopian and Eritrean highlands-a state of the art. Earth-Sci. Rev. 64 (2004) 273-320
36. Nyssen J., Vandenreyken H., Poesen J., Moeyersons J., Deckers J., Mitiku Haile, Salles C., and Govers G. Rainfall erosivity and variability in the Northern Ethiopian Highlands. J. Hydrol. 311 (2005) 172-187
37. Olson S.R., and Sommers L.E. Phosphorus. In: Page A.L., Miller R.H., and Keeney D.R. (Eds). Methods of Soil Analysis. Part 2. second ed. (1982), American Society of Agronomy, Madison, WI (Agronomy No. 9)
38. Proctor J. Tropical forest litterfall I. Problems of data comparison. In: Sutton S.L., Chadwick T.C., and Whitmore T.C. (Eds). Tropical Rain Forest: Ecology and Management (1983), Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford 267-273
39. Songwe N.C., Okali D.U.U., and Fasehun F.E. Litter decomposition and nutrient release in a tropical rainforest, Southern Bakundu Forest Reserve, Cameroon. J. Trop. Ecol. 1 (1995) 333-350
40. SPSS 11.0.1, 2001. SPSS for windows, release 11.0.1. SPSS Inc.
41. Sundarapandian S.M., and Swamy P.S. Litter production and leaf-litter decomposition of selected tree species in tropical forests at Kodayar in the Western Ghats, India. Forest Ecol. Manage. 123 (1999) 231-244
42. Swift M.J., Heal O.W., and Anderson J.M. Decomposition in Terrestrial Ecosystems. Studies in Ecology vol. 5 (1979), Blackwell Scientific Publications 372 pp
43. Swift M.J., and Anderson J.M. Decomposition. In: Lietsh H., and Werger M.S.A. (Eds). Tropical Rain Forest Ecosystems. Ecosystems of the World 14B (1989), Elsevier, Amsterdam 547-569
44. Tenna S., Sintayehu M., Berihun A., 2001. Stengthening user-rights over local resources in Wollo, Ethiopia. IIED Drylands Programme, Issue paper no. 103, 23 pp.
45. Turner I.M. Sclerophylly: primary protective?. Funct. Ecol. 8 (1994) 185-206
46. Vitousek P.M. Litterfall, nutrient cycling, and nutrient limitation in tropical forests. Ecology 65 (1984) 285-298
47. Van Reeuwijk, L.P., 2002. Procedures for soil analysis, sixth ed. Technical Paper 9, ISRIC, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
48. Wisborg P., Shylendra H.S., Gebrehiwot K., Shanker R., Tilahun Y., Nagothu U.S., Tewoldeberhan S., and Bose P. Rehabilitation of CPRS through re-crafting of village institutions: a comparative study from Ethiopia and India. Paper Presented at the Eighth Biennial Conference of the International Association for the Study of Common Property (IASCP). Bloomington, Indiana, May 31-June 4 (2000) 26 pp
49. Wittich W. Einfluss der Baumart auf den Bodenzustand. Allgemeine Forstzeitschrift 16 (1961) 41-45
50. Xuluc-Tolosa F.J., Vester H.F.M., Ramirez-Marcial N., Castellanos-Albores J., and Lawrence D. Leaf litter decomposition of tree species in three successional phases of tropical dry secondary forest in Campeche, Mexico. Forest Ecol. Manage. 174 (2003) 401-412
51. Zhang B., Yang Y., and Zepp H. Effect of vegetation restoration on soil and water erosion and nutrient losses of a severely eroded clayey Plinthudult in southeastern China. Catena 57 (2004) 77-90