LITTER DEPOSITION AND SOIL MESOFAUNA OF A SECONDARY FOREST AND EUCALYPTUS PLANTATION

ABSTRACT

To evaluate litter deposition and soil mesofauna of a secondary forest and Eucalyptus, an experiment was carried in FLONA Mário Xavier, Seropédica, RJ. The litter deposition, in each season, was harvest from 10 litter traps. The soil mesofauna was collected in summer and fall seasons and analyzed the diversity and vertical distribution. The highest input of litter, was observed in secondary forest, in winter, and leaves were the most important contributor. To the organism distribution was observed a migration from soil to litter on summer, in secondary forest, and the highest diversity value was verified on fall.

Key words
Litter; organic matter; moisture.