Short-term effects of forest management on litter decomposition in Caatinga dry forest

The Caatinga is a Brazilian biome, which belongs to the group of dry tropical forests and constitutes one of the largest semiarid areas in the world, with high housing levels of biodiversity. Despite this, the biome has been intensely impacted by anthropic interference, which makes sustainable forest management (SFM) practices an opportunity to associate the conservation of the biome with the generation of income. However, the effects of different SFM practices on the Caatinga balance have not yet been addressed, especially concerning soil and litter. This study aims to answer the following questions: (1) Do forest management practices influence leaf litter’s decomposition and chemical composition? (2) Does the effect of forest management on litter decomposition vary according to its level of intervention in the vegetation? For this, the leaf litter decomposition was evaluated in three forest management conditions and a control condition: clear cutting (CC), selective cutting by minimum diameter (SCD), selective cutting by species (SCS), and unmanaged Caatinga (UC). Decomposition was evaluated using the litterbags method over 260 days. The levels of total nitrogen, polyphenols, lignin, and cellulose in the leaf litter were determined at the beginning and end of the experiment. Our results showed the participation of leaves in the total litter (CC = 15%; SCD = 24%; SCS = 46%; UC = 55%). In all treatments, the leaf material decomposition process occurred with greater intensity after 120 days, reaching losses greater than 33% at 180 days. The management SCS is the practice that most favors the litter decomposition process with the most expressive value of k constant (0.0038 g g−1 dia−1) and half-life of 182 days compared to the others and may have future implications for nutrient cycling. On the other hand, CC and SCD were the practices that most increased the amount and composition of the accumulated litter and the mineralization of chemical compounds of the leaf litter.