The litter stock is effective as an environmental indicator in forest fragments slope?

Abstract

The fragmentation of the Atlantic Forest, together with its importance, are stimuli for basic conservationist research and recovery of remnants, which can be done through environmental indicators. With this, the objective of this work is to evaluate the efficiency of litter stock as an environmental indicator in hillside forest fragments. The study was carried out in dry and wet seasons in four fragments of Ombrófila Densa forest in Itaboraí, RJ. The litter stock in the smallest forest fragment (P2) was lower than the others and there were no differences between the thirds of the fragments. Thus, this indicator showed to portray the fragments in the same way as their biotic and abiotic characteristics, mainly in the dry season of the year, presenting relations with the floristic composition. The leaves and branches and bark fractions were the most representative, but the remains fraction was the best environmental indicator in this study. This is a result of the contribution, stock and decomposition promoted by soil organisms, presented lower values of weight and higher C N-1 ratio in the P2 fragment.