LBA-ECO ND-11 Litter Decomposition, Carbon, and Nitrogen Dynamics in Agroforestry

This data set contains the results of an experiment to determine litter decomposition and dynamics of carbon and nitrogen release from plant litter of differing qualities which occur in combination in agroforestry systems. Reported in five ASCII files are (1) the initial values of soil and plant litter macronutrients, nitrogen; and carbon contents; (2) descriptions of the various experimental treatments; and (3) the final nitrogen and carbon composition of the plant litter and soil and calculated releases from the litter.The study was conducted at the Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuaria-Centro da Pesquisa Agroflorestal (EMBRAPA-CPAA) experimental station located north of Manaus on the BR 174 highway in the central Amazon Basin. The experimental plot, located in an open grassy field, was selected based on low, homogeneous soil C and nutrient contents, minimal prior disturbance, and no previous fertilizer application. The soil was a degraded typic Hapludox with the following soil properties for the upper 0-3 cm: pH in water of 5.05, 1.3 mg N/g, 18.0 mg C/g (automatic CN Analyzer, Elementar), 2.05 mg P/kg, 55.0 mg K/kg (Mehlich-1 extractable), 11.7 mg Ca/kg, and 4.6 mg Mg/kg (KCl extractable). The experiment was conducted in the field in small plots with treatments that vary in the ratio of plant litter of two plants: gliricidia (Gliricidia sepium (Jacq.) Kunth. ex Walp.) and cupuacu (Theobroma grandiflorum). Soil and litter samples were collected prior to and during the experiment. Resin bags were used to retain mineral nitrogen released from the plant litter.