Nutrient cycling indicators in different models of successional groups and spacing for forest restoration

doi:10.3832/ifor4468-018

Nutrient cycling indicators in different models of successional groups and spacing for forest restoration

Lucas Florêncio Mariano⁽¹⁾ , Glória Fabiani Leão da Costa⁽²⁾, Fernando Santos Boggiani⁽²⁾, Francisca Alcivnia de Melo Silva⁽¹⁾, José Mauro Santana da Silva⁽²⁾, Fátima Conceição Márquez Piña-Rodrigues⁽²⁾

iForest - Biogeosciences and Forestry, Volume 19, Issue 1, Pages 61-68 (2026)
doi: https://doi.org/10.3832/ifor4468-018
Published: Feb 23, 2026 - Copyright © 2026 SISEF

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The increasing demand for forest restoration necessitates new strategies and assessments of nutrient returns to support functional restoration. This study aims to evaluate the production, nutrient cycling, and litter decomposition in different restoration models using both different seedling densities and varying proportions of pioneer and non-pioneer species. The experiment was established in 2012, with litter collection occurring in the sixth and seventh years; the leaf fraction was used for chemical analysis. To assess decomposition, litterbags were installed and collected monthly for six months, and climatic data were recorded during this period. The annual litter production in the sixth and seventh years was 7255 and 7953 kg ha^-1, respectively. The decomposition process was unaffected by the treatments but was influenced by the microclimate, with minimum temperature showing the strongest correlation. Litter input and nutrient release (kg ha^-1) varied significantly only with plant spacing, with the highest releases observed at 1 × 0.3 m spacing. The P, K, and S contents were not affected by either successional groups or plant spacing, while only calcium content varied significantly with the proportion of successional groups. Plant density was linked to higher litter and nutrient production in the system. The highest plant density was more effective at promoting short-term nutrient cycling at the beginning of the restoration process.

Keywords

Forest Nutrition, Litterfall, Plant Density, Successional Groups

Authors’ address

(1)

0000-0002-5258-1105
0000-0001-8664-0532
São Paulo State University - Unesp, São Paulo, SP (Brazil)

(2)

0000-0001-5964-276x
0000-0003-4559-9996
0000-0003-0662-4132
0000-0001-8713-448x
Federal University of São Carlos - UFSCar, São Carlos, SP (Brazil)

Corresponding author

Lucas Florêncio Mariano
lucaslvl@gmail.com

Citation

Mariano LF, da Costa GFL, Boggiani FS, de Melo Silva FA, da Silva JMS, Piña-Rodrigues FCM (2026). Nutrient cycling indicators in different models of successional groups and spacing for forest restoration. iForest 19: 61-68. - doi: 10.3832/ifor4468-018

Academic Editor

Michele Carbognani

Paper history

Received: Sep 11, 2023
Accepted: Aug 28, 2025

First online: Feb 23, 2026
Publication Date: Feb 28, 2026
Publication Time: 5.97 months

Open Access

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.

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