Effect of litter manipulation on the herb layer of an oak forest
Abstract
In temperate forest ecosystems the soil microbial processes, soil chemical quality and the structure of vegetation are both basically influenced by the quantity and distribution of the litter. To study these phenomena long term litter–manipulation research (five treatments, 3 repetitions) was started in 2000 in a North–Hungarian oak forest (Tóth et al. 2007). In this study we examined how the herb layer of 7x7 m permanent plots reacted to the different litter treatments between 2000 and 2003. The herb species number and cover were followed. In the quadrates with doubled litter the herbs increased slightly. On the plots where the litter was removed the increase was higher, but only the species number increased significantly. On the plots where the transpiration was reduced by the exclusion of roots and the removal of the woody vegetation, the increase of species number and cover was great and abrupt. The seed bank of the soil quickly activated. Weed species expansion was observed, while the perennial species of the forest were forced back. According to our results the role of litter was verified in the preserving of forest naturalness. The quick mobilization of the persistent weed seed bank after disturbance was also proved.
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