Litter dynamics of forest ecosystem in an urban and pristine area of West Bengal, India

Aim: A comparative assessment of forest litterfall dynamics was carried out between the Garadaha forest (GF or urban) and the Pratappur forest (PF or pristine), located in Burdwan districts of West Bengal, and the litterfall components were correlated with the environmental factors that govern the dynamics. Methodology: Nets of dimension 1m × 1m were placed below the tress of both forests and litter was collected at regular intervals per month and brought to the laboratory for separation into the categories like leaf litter, woody litter (bark), miscellaneous (mixed) and twig. Two types of litterfall such as specific litterfall and standing litterfall were calculated. Environmental factors such as maximum and minimum temperature, rainfall, relative humidity, wind speed, solar irradiance, and photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) were studied simultaneously followed by correlation and Principal Component Analysis. Results: Pre-monsoon showed the highest total litterfall (specific litterfall and standing litterfall) in both types of forests. The decomposition quotient was higher in the pristine forest than in the urban forest. The correlation between litterfall components and environmental factors showed that solar irradiance was positively correlated with litterfall dynamics. Interpretation: The work emphasizes the forest management of urban areas impacted by industrialization and urbanization. The anthropogenic causes influence the plant growth and litterfall pattern thereby affecting the decomposition process and soil health. The selection of proper tree species should be given priority for social forestry in industrialized zones of India. Key words: Litter decomposition, Seasonal pattern, Solar irradiance, Standing litter, Temperature