Dynamics of Litterfall and Its Influential Factors in Evergreen Broad-leaved Forest in Baishanzu Mountain

During 2009 to 2016, vegetative organs (including leaf, branch, bark and their debris) were collected by 50 litter collectors from a permanent sample plot in evergreen broad-leaved forest in Baishanzu Mountain, Zhejiang province. Multiple stepwise regression analysis was used to study the relationship between change of monthly mean temperature and single monthly precipitation with litterfall of vegetative organs and of their components. The results showed that the average annual litterfall of vegetative organs was 362.91 g/m2, dominated by the leaf litterfall, accounting for 87.33%, among them, the leaf litter of evergreen species accounted for 67.07%, that of deciduous species 19.69%, and that of coniferous species 0.56%. The dynamics of litterfall of vegetative organs and its components were obvious with the peaks of litterfall in April-May and October. The results of stepwise regression analysis showed that the de-average monthly total precipitation 2009-2016 significantly increased the de-average monthly litterfall of vegetative organs, especially of evergreen tree species, while annual change of monthly average temperature had no significant effect on annual variation of monthly litterfall of vegetative organs and the components.