The litter is the most superficial layer of soil in a forest environment, it's composed by Leaves, Twigs, seeds, roots and remains, which together have innumerous importance in establishing and balancing the ecosystem. The purpose of this work was to evaluate the litterfall in two different areas, shrubs and treed, in a preserved area of biom caatinga. This research was carried out in the Açu Nacional Forest - FLONA/ AÇÚ-RN. The FLONA was divided in two different areas, in relation to aspects and vegetation postage, for shrubs and trees. 12 litter collections were made. Each area had 20 wooden traps installed measuring 1.0m X 1.0m X 0.15m (0.15m3), with 1mm nylon mesh, distributed at random in the Flona's area. The material collected was put in paper bags, named and taken to the UERN botanic lab. The material was oven-dried at 70º C during 72h and weighed. The results were expressed in g/m2 and submitted to the analysis of variance and test t (p<0.05). The source results showed that the average annual litterfall was estimated at 2,984.5 Kg/ha, with an estimated 3,384 Kg/ha in tree vegetation and 2,580 kg/ha in shrub vegetation. The litterfall in caatinga bioma was similar to other sources in the caatinga areas. The highest values of litterfall were observed after rainy seasons and the beginning of dry seasons in the researched area.
Caatinga; Litter and Shrub-trees
