Nitrogen and phosphorus cycling in relation to stand age of Ecucalyptus regnans F. Muell: I. Return from plant to soil in litterfall

The N and P contents of the litter layer and the return of these nutrients in litterfall were measured in seven stands of Mountain Ash (Eucalyptus regnans) ranging in age from 5 years to about 250 years. Both annual litterfall and nutrient return were correlated with stand basal area and were high compared with other productive eucalypt forests. In contrast, the fall of dead eucalypt leaves was constant with stand age, demonstrating that sites are fully occupied at an early age (...)