Seasonal variation in the litter chemical quality of a wet evergreen forest in the Western Ghats.

Seasonal pattern in the resource quality of freshly fallen leaves in a wet evergreen forest floor of Western Ghats was assessed. High resource quality litter was shed during monsoon seasons and low quality litter during the summer season. We propose that the observed variations are related to nutrient source-sink interactions during summer periods and pulse of increased soil nutrient availability and uptake during rainy season, resulting from wind-mediated green leaf fall. Significant seasonal variations in the nutrient content of fresh litter suggest complex decomposition patterns during different seasons of a year. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]