Lignin and nitrogen in the decomposition of leaf litter in a sub-tropical forest ecosystem at Shiroy hills in north-eastern India

The effect of the initial lignin and nitrogen contents of the leaves of five tree species, on their decomposition dynamics, was studied in the sub-tropical forest ecosystem existing at Shiroy hills. The decomposition dynamics of litter materials are described by inverse linear relationships between the percentage of the original biomass remaining and the nitrogen concentration in the residual material. Initial lignin and nitrogen were highly correlated with remaining biomass (r=0.94 and 0.77). The rate constants (K), for the annual leaf mass loss, ranged from −0.18 to −0.56. The values for initial lignin (%), initial nitrogen (%), the ratio between initial lignin, initial nitrogen and the annual decomposition rate constants were compared with similar results from other studies in various climatic zones of the world.