Vegetation of the Olokemeji Forest Reserve, Nigeria: IV. The Litter and Soil with Special Reference to Their Seasonal Changes

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Abstract
Following descriptions of the vegetation, climate and microclimates of the Olokemeji Forest Reserve (Hopkins 1962, 1965a, b), and as a prelude to studies on seasonal changes in the vegetation, an account is given of seasonal changes in the litter and soil. The litter data for the forest site are compared with data from an area of moist evergreen forest in the Omo Forest Reserve. Leaf-fall was highest during the dry season and, to a lesser extent, during the little dry season. The results for the Omo forest showed the least seasonal variation. The annual leaf-falls were: savanna site (excluding grasses), 90 g/m2; forest site, 460 g/m2; Omo forest 720 g/m2. Leaf litter was at a maximum at the end of the dry season and decreased rapidly at the beginning of the wet season. Little decay took place during the dry season. The period taken for a leaf to decay depended mainly on the time of yr. at which it fell. On the Olokemeji forest site these periods ranged from less than 1 mo. to 8 mo.; at Omo they were 3-7 mo. On the savanna site more leaf litter was destroyed by fire than by decay. Wood disappearance was caused by termites rather than micro-organisms. Consequently the rate depended on the abundance of termites. Wood decay on the savanna site took about 1/2 as long as on the forest site and 1/4 as long as at Omo. There was little seasonal change in the soil loss on ignition; the mean values were 4% on the forest site and 3% on the savanna site. The soil moisture on the forest site was greater than that on the savanna. However, the forest site water table was the deeper, probably as a result of differences in soil texture between the 2 sites. These results are correlated with the differences in physiognomy between the 2 sites and their associated different microclimates. The results are compared with those of other workers and shown to be in general agreement with findings for other similar areas.

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