ESTIMATE OF LITTER FALL IN SEASONAL DECIDUOUS FOREST IN ITAARA, RS, BRAZIL

This work was carried out in the farm of the Military Brigade in the city of Itaara, RS, Brazil. The present work has as main objective to evaluate the estimate of litter fall in Seasonal Deciduous Forest. For the litter collection, six plots of 25 m x 17 m had been demarcated, placed in the forest. In each plot, five litter traps had been distributed, totalizing 30 traps. The litter collections had been carried out monthly, during a period of 2 years (December of 2002 to November of 2004). In the laboratory, the material was separated in fractions, leaves, small twigs and miscellaneous (flowers, fruits, seeds and residues not identified). During the two years of collection, it could be observed great litter deposition in the in the beginning of the winter and mainly in the spring with the biggest depositions during September and November, indicating a standard seasonal in this forest. The leaves had been responsible for 71.3% of the composition of the litter, the fine twigs had contributed with 16.7%, and the miscellany with the lesser ratio of 12.1%, in the two years of collection. A significant correlation between the litter deposition and the climatic variables was not verified.