The objective of this work was to evaluate the annual deposition of litter and macronutrient devolution (N, P, K, Ca and Mg) in a 17 year - old stand of Araucaria angustifolia in Pinhal Grande, RS. The experiment was arranged in a randomized design (5 plots of 10 m x 20 m). In each plot 4 wooder collectors of 1 m² of area were systematically distributed. The material was collected monthly during one year and separated in needle and branch fractions, stove-dried and weighed in a precision balance, milled and analyzed chemically. Litter deposition was 6.96 Mg/ha, composed by 74% needles and 26% branches. An outstanding deposition seasonality with deposition peacs between spring and summer was observed, decreasing towards the autumn and winter months, according to the average monthly precipitation. Needles and branches were responsible for the return to the forest floor of 84% and 16% of the total of the nutrients, which was 254,3 kg/ha. Calcium presented the highest devolution (177.1 kg/ha). The expressive amount of nutrients returned to the soil demonstrates the importance of litter in maintaining productive local capacity.
Araucaria angustifolia; litter; sustainability
