Disponible para usuarios de ECOSUR con su clave de acceso

Litterfall, decomposition, and nutrient release to the soil are important biogeochemical cycling processes in agroecosystems. The objective of this study was to evaluate the patterns of decomposition and nutrient release of the leaves of four tree legumes with agroforestry potential: Piscidia piscipula, Gliricidia sepium, Leucaena leucocephala, and Lysiloma latisiliquum, common in the areas with natural regeneration after the abandonment of agriculture in south-eastern Mexico. We employed 112 litterbags with 40 g of dry leaf litter on ground surface for decomposition and recollected seven bags per species at 30, 60, 90, and 120 days. The initial and recollected samples were oven-dried, and weighed to determine the remaining dry mass (DM), organic matter (OM), carbon (C), nitrogen (N) content, and the C:N ratio. The initial OM and N contents of L. leucocephala leaves were greater, compared to the rest of the legumes. P. piscidia and G. sepium showed the highest C content. P. piscidia, G. sepium, and L. latisiliquum had the highest C:N ratio, compared to L. leucocephala. The relative decomposition rate k values of DM, OM, C, and N were greater for L. leucocephala. The remaining DM, OM, C, and N were affected by the interaction between species and decomposition time. G. sepium and L. latisiliquum showed greater remaining mass from 30 to 60 days of decomposition. However, after 60 days L. latisiliquum showed the greatest remaining DM and OM until the end of the incubation period (120 days). We conclude that L. leucocephala had the highest rate of decomposition and the fastest release of nitrogen, however, the asynchronous pattern of litter decomposition among the tree legumes showed the potential to supply OM and nutrients to the soil for a prolonged period if planted in combination in agroforestry systems. Inglés