Patterns of litterfall and nutrient return at different altitudes in evergreen hardwood forests of Central Taiwan

Table 5 The element fluxes (kg ha⁻¹ year⁻¹) and the contribution (%) of evergreen hardwood litterfall (leaf, twigs, reproduction, and other material) among different elevation in central Taiwan during May, 2009 to February, 2010

Parameter	C		N		P		K		Ca		Mg
Parameter	kg ha⁻¹ year⁻¹	%	kg ha⁻¹ year⁻¹	%	kg ha⁻¹ year⁻¹	%	kg ha⁻¹ year⁻¹	%	kg ha⁻¹ year⁻¹	%	kg ha⁻¹ year⁻¹	%
Mt Peitungyen
Leaves	2039	62	58.22^b	59	1.936	48	15.01^b	64	21.80	59	7.174	61
Twigs	579	18	13.97^j	14	0.499	12	1.98^j	8	9.62	26	1.986	17
Reproduction	519	16	17.59	18	1.098	27	5.21⁰	22	3.15	9	1.837	16
Other	172	5	8.47	9	0.472	12	1.39⁰	6	2.10	6	0.671	6
Total	3308		98.3^y		4.00		23.6^y		36.7		11.7
HSEF
Leaves	2671	66	73.77^ab	64	1.962	48	16.81^b	64	27.18	66	8.636	66
Twigs	741	18	16.13^j	14	0.455	11	2.52^j	10	8.76	21	2.291	18
Reproduction	386	10	12.19	11	0.879	22	4.89⁰	19	2.40	6	1.181	9
Other	261	6	12.48	11	0.755	19	2.02⁰	8	2.99	7	0.852	7
Total	4059		114.6^xy		4.05		26.2^y		41.3		13.0
Luenhauchi
Leaves	3096	68	102.92^a	66	3.019	68	28.36^a	72	27.23	63	9.401	67
Twigs	993	22	31.83ⁱ	20	0.399	9	5.35ⁱ	14	11.70	27	3.004	21
Reproduction	264	6	10.57	7	0.541	12	3.66⁰	9	1.63	4	0.817	6
Other	232	5	10.81	7	0.491	11	2.14⁰	5	2.45	6	0.772	6
Total	4585		156.1^x		4.45		39.5^x		43.0		14.0

Significant differences between components among elevations (p < 0.05) were indicated by letters

ISSN: 1297-966X