Typology of Stand Litter for Some Types of Plantings at Moscow State University’s Botanical Garden

Abstract

Stand litter of some coniferous and deciduous plantations within the Botanical Garden of Moscow State University is studied. It is established that stand litter of destructive types develops under conditions of deciduous plantations, whereas it is fermentative and humified in coniferous plantations. The total reserves of stand litters range from 500–800 g/m² in deciduous plantations to 1000–5000 g/m² in coniferous plantations. It is shown that small-leaved plantations are characterized by high rates of cycling with a significant decrease in the coniferous ecosystems. It was shown for the first time that the overall decomposition rate of terrestrial litter increases substantially with an increase in the proportion of leaves in the litter, which is confirmed by the theory of “hot points” proposed in the scientific literature.