Nutrient Dynamics in Decomposing Leaf Litter and Litter Production at the Long-Term Ecological Research Site in Mt. Gyebangsan

We measured the litterfall quantity and investigated the nutrient dynamics in decomposing litter for three years at the LTER sites installed in a deciduous broadleaf natural forest in Mt. Gyebangsan, South Korea. Litterfall production was significantly different among the sampling dates, whereas it was not significantly different among the years. The total annual mean litterfall production for three years was 6,593 kg and leaf litter accounted for 82.6% of the litterfall. The leaf litter quantity was highest in Quercus mongolia, followed by leaf of other species, Betula schmidtii, Kaplopanax pictus, Acer pseudo-sieboldianum, etc., which are dominant tree species in the site. The mass loss from the decomposition of leaf litter was fastest in Cortinus controversa (100%), followed by A. preudo-sieboldianum, K. pictus, and B. schmidtii. 100% of litter for C. controversa, 96.1% for A. pseudo-sieboldianum, 92.8% for K. pictus decomposed, while 66.2% of litter for Q. mongolia decayed for 1,003 days. The lower rate of the mass loss in the litter of Q. mongolia may be attributed to the difference in substrate quality, such as lower nutrient concentrations compared with those of other tree species. The concentrations of N, P, and Ca for five litter types increased over time, while the concentrations of K and Mg decreased over time. Compared with the nutrients in the litter of Q. mongolia, the nutrients (N, P, K, Ca, Mg) in the litter of other species, C. controversa, A. pseudo-sieboldianum, and K. pictus, were released more rapidly. The results showed that the mass loss and the nutrient dynamics in the litter are variable depending on the tree species even in the same site conditions.