Data from: Fine litterfall in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest

Litterfall is an essential component of tropical forest productivity,
transferring nutrients from the vegetation back to soils. Here, we
summarize the data from 105 estimates of fine litterfall production from
45 sites in the Atlantic Forest domain, including two types of forests,
evergreen and seasonal, and two successional stages, secondary and old
growth. The overall litterfall average was 8.0 ± 2.5 Mg/ha. Litterfall was
significantly in higher seasonal forests than in evergreen forests and in
old growth versus secondary forests. Leaves were the major component of
litterfall, contributing 68 percent to the total. The second most
important component was branches, contributing 22 percent, followed by
reproductive organs (flowers and fruits), at 6 percent. Accurate
measurements of tropical forest productivity are crucial for estimating
their role in sequestering atmospheric carbon, and we suggest some ways to
standardize litterfall sampling to obtain better estimates.