[Nutrient content in litterfall and its translocation in plantation forests in south China]

The amounts of litterfall, nutrient content in it and leaves of five plantation forests in south China were determined. The order of litterfall biomass was in sequence of Acacia mangium (11.1 t.hm-2) > Pinus elliotii (7.3 t.hm-2) > Schima superba (6.5 t.hm-2) > Acacia auriculaiformis (4.8 t.hm-2) > Eucalyptus citriodora (2.6 t.hm-2). A. mangium returned soil much more nutrient to soil through litterfall than other forests did. N, P and K were largely translocated from senescing leaves for all the five forests, and especially for A. mangium. Nutrient translocated varied greatly with seasons. The translocation of other elements was not definite.