| Abstract: | The composition and amount of the litterfall and coarse woody debris (CWD), their time and space distribution and the element return were studied in mid-mountain humid ev-ergreen broad-leaved forest in Ailao Mountain in Yunnan, China. The average litterfall (leaves, wood (< 2.5 cm diameter), flower, fruit and mixed matter) was (6.77± 1.43) t/(hm2 · a) while the large wood litterfall () 2.5 cm diameter) was (0.45±0.18) t/(hm2 · a). There were two marked peaks of annual litterfalh the main one from April to May and the second one from October to November. The standing crop of CWD in the forest was 98.46 t/hm2, in which logs made up to 85.8% of the total. As the CWD was not well-distributed in the forest, it increased the diversities of structure and site in the forest ecosystem. The total storage of C, N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Mn, A1 and Fe in the CWD was 48699 t/hm2, but return of elements to the forest ground in the litterfall only made up 7.77% of the nutrient storage of the CWD. |
